I have had really good experiences with our orpingtons. They’re from Tractor Supply, so pet quality and Hatchery based always can run a risk (from my research at least!) from being more likely to be aggressive as they are bred for mass production vs temperament/quality. They come in lots of lovely colors and SO FAR (knocking on wood here) we have had no issues with heat. We’ve gotten up to 105 here but we DO have ample shade, ventilation in the coop, and constantly check the waterers. Our EEs also are incredibly sweet and social, again hatchery/pet quality on those so we weren’t sure what we would get! And no issues on heat there either this far.
Turkens and Speckled Sussex I hear are quite good in the heat too. Ours are still rather young, but very sweet! The Turkens are looks-wise an acquired taste, and I hear prone to going broody, but very sweet youngsters for us where other breeds have been a little more skittish.
Our Marans is a cockerel but he’s a doll. We were very against keeping a cockerel from our oldest batch as we’ve heard it’s best to let Older hens teach younger cockerels manners, but even in his puberty stage he’s been gentlemanly so far with the pullets!
Our Brahmas are also still young, but also have shown no issues with the heat just yet (mostly feathered but not quite fully there), and also very docile personalities. They aren’t really cuddle bugs for us yet, but calm and curious. They’ve so far enjoyed perching on one of our young Hamburg cockerels, who allows it with grace. (I’ve also heard Hamburgs can be good with heat - and our two are a bit lively but sweet personalities so far!)
I can’t speak to how any have fared in cold weather yet as this is our first year with them, but hopefully this will help shed a light on some ideas! We’ve got a little bit of nearly everything here but a lot are still quite young. Every chicken is a gamble as personalities aren’t strictly breed specific 100% of the time, but so far have had pretty reliable experience on “majority public opinion” with our breeds.
Definitely with good shade and ventilation and offered hydration/nutrients, I’ve read some temperature issues can at least be mitigated and that has so far seemed to be the case for us with this heat wave we’re enduring.
This is all from a newbie though, so take grain of salt with everything I say.
Best of luck on your chicken adventure! It has been very fulfilling for us. Our 14 year old is loving every minute of it.
Turkens and Speckled Sussex I hear are quite good in the heat too. Ours are still rather young, but very sweet! The Turkens are looks-wise an acquired taste, and I hear prone to going broody, but very sweet youngsters for us where other breeds have been a little more skittish.
Our Marans is a cockerel but he’s a doll. We were very against keeping a cockerel from our oldest batch as we’ve heard it’s best to let Older hens teach younger cockerels manners, but even in his puberty stage he’s been gentlemanly so far with the pullets!
Our Brahmas are also still young, but also have shown no issues with the heat just yet (mostly feathered but not quite fully there), and also very docile personalities. They aren’t really cuddle bugs for us yet, but calm and curious. They’ve so far enjoyed perching on one of our young Hamburg cockerels, who allows it with grace. (I’ve also heard Hamburgs can be good with heat - and our two are a bit lively but sweet personalities so far!)
I can’t speak to how any have fared in cold weather yet as this is our first year with them, but hopefully this will help shed a light on some ideas! We’ve got a little bit of nearly everything here but a lot are still quite young. Every chicken is a gamble as personalities aren’t strictly breed specific 100% of the time, but so far have had pretty reliable experience on “majority public opinion” with our breeds.
Definitely with good shade and ventilation and offered hydration/nutrients, I’ve read some temperature issues can at least be mitigated and that has so far seemed to be the case for us with this heat wave we’re enduring.This is all from a newbie though, so take grain of salt with everything I say.
Best of luck on your chicken adventure! It has been very fulfilling for us. Our 14 year old is loving every minute of it.
