Hello!

[onalark22]

Greetings from the San Fernando Valley in Southern California! My husband and I are about to embark on our chicken journey! Our daughter and grand kids live nearby and have had backyard chickens for 6 months now (they just got their first egg!). We are in the process of setting up a coop and run and getting everything ready before we order our chickens. I think we will start with 3-4 pullets and are researching breeds. We would like the friendlier breeds; don’t really care about egg color, but they must be heat tolerant as we frequently have summer temps over 100. We welcome any suggestions!
We are recently retired and live with our adult autistic son. I’m hoping he takes to the chickens and he can incorporate help with their care into his daily routine. Our 3 young (6, 4, and 2 hrs) grands are frequently with us. My husband is an avid pickle baller, reader, golfer. I love all things domestic… gardening, cooking, stitching and textile arts.
I’m so happy to find this forum and learn from everyone as we go along. If you live near Woodland Hills/West Hills, I would love to know what breeds you have been successful with and any tips on handling those hot summer days. We’re also looking for suggestions on where to procure our chickens as well as input on starting with pullets rather than chicks.
Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I can't answer all your questions but I do want to welcome you and your family to BYC! In general, heat-tolerant chickens will have large, "single" combs, consider those their air conditioners where they release body heat, like an elephant does through its ears. Leghorns have this type of comb, but they are not the friendliest of breeds.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

You may want to pop in on your Southern California thread. There are folks there as well that can answer more of your specific questions.

Also, here's our Articles forum where you'll see articles about raising chickens on the left, and coop articles on the right. All of these were written by our members.

We're glad you're here!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC. I'm partial to welsummers & naked necks, myself. Both do well in our Texas heat. Naked necks may look a little strange at first but they grow on you.