Best heat tolerant breeds? GO!

[ChazzanHillel]

I'm sure there are those of you BYC'ers that live in hotter climates than I do, but here in Fort Worth, Texas it still gets pretty hot over the summer. Baruch HaShem we have had an exceptionally mild summer so far compared to previous summers and decent rainfall. Today we got up to 99 degrees for I think the first time this year. For the remainder of the summer, it's likely that we will reach temps up to about 110. I've got about 4 different breeds in my little flock and I can tell that some of them are handling the heat better than others. They have plenty of shade and I will even go out and spray some of the shady ground with water so they have a place to cool off. I am also freezing milk jugs full of water and then putting them out in the spots they like to cool of and that seems to be helping.

Anyway, I just got to wondering about people who live in places like say Arizona where I know temps can soar easily into the hundred teens. I am new to raising chickens and was curious to take a poll and get a vote for some of the best breeds that tolerate temps above triple digit temps. 1...2...3... GO!

 

[donrae]

The Mediterranean class of birds are all pretty heat tolerant--Leghorns, Andalusians, breeds like that. Mostly white egg layers. Those big ol combs help cool them, I believe.

I think Turkens are heat tolerant, if you can have them and not laugh hysterically

The naked neck is cooler, and they're supposed to have less feathers on the body as well.

 

[Michael OShay]

I don't think that any breed is more heat tolerant than Black Australorps. Black Australorps are commonly raised in the Australian outback where temperatures frequently reach 115-116 F, and I raised them in the northern Sacramento Valley in CA where summer temperatures frequently reached 117-118 F (123 F once) and with shade, good ventilation in their coop, and plenty of fresh water, they did just fine.