Hello we are new and need advice

[JesseTab]

Hello we are new to this and need advice. We are looking to get 3 to 4 hens for fun and eggs. We live in a Houston suburb so we need to find a bread that can handle Tx summers. I believe that the coop we need to build should be about 4x8 and a 4x 20 foot run to keep the hens happy. Does this sound about right?
Thank you for any and all input. This is the wife’s long stand wish list item and I am going to build this and surprise her for her birthday.

 

[Judy]

You can sort our Breeds section by hot weather tolerant, but any chicken will have some difficulty with our summers. I have read that 100 degrees is their upper limit. They require breeze and shade to survive, at a minimum. They will also do best in an open living space. A small enclosed area like a 4x8 enclosed coop will only tend to build more heat from their body heat. (Texas never has anything that a chicken would call winter.) Here is a thread showing the sort of setup that works well in this climate:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/163417/please-show-me-your-hot-weather-coops/0_20