Marans in hot climates?

[texas_chick]

I'd love to get a couple of marans but am worried about how they'd hold up here in Texas?
Also the only ones available here in the near future are the feathered legs ones. Does that make a big difference in regards to heat tolerance?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BeckyLa]

What part of Texas? Some parts get way hotter than others.

 

[texas_chick]

San Antonio area

 

[onthespot]

I have mine in So Cal and they did fine this summer. They had a lot of shade and their water was fresh and cool. In the afternoon I would give them treats like cold watermelon and stuff and they never looked bad. Sometimes they would pant and stretch their wings out but never looked like the were in trouble so to speak. Oh, also I would hose down the dirt every day so it was cool and damp in the shade and they would dig little wallows and stay in there in the heat of the day.

 

[skeeter9]

It's in the hundreds here in the summer and my Marans haven't had any problems. I do the same thing Onthespot suggested - hose down the dirt in the shade. If it gets too bad here, I also run a box fan for them, but they rarely need it. They seem to like laying in the damp dirt the best.

 

[texas_chick]

I am glad to hear the dampness is okay.
My horse can't sweat (has anhidrosis) so the horse barn gets cooled by a livestock fan and misting system.
Our goats like to lay in the barn aisles to 'chill' out.
If the chickens get along with the goats and horses they can get a cool spot in the barn...

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Mine did fine here in Louisiana heat & humidity. Lots of shade & froze 1/2 gallon jugs of ice & put out there for them in a pan of water.

 

[Kev]

Summers are normally in the 110-120F range here.

The first Marans roosters defnitely had problems with the heat. Half of them got heat stroke.. despite being free range with lots of big mature trees, had freedom to move around to comfortable areas. But nope, they did not handle it well. The cockerels that made it through the first summer dropped dead in the second summer. These were smooth legged cuckoo Marans. They were extremely large and heavy though.

Hens handled the summers okay.. they did get "hot" but none stroked or died.

Now I have a few feather leg BC and blue coppers, they made it through their first summer last year.. interestingly they handled the summer much better but then it was not a very hot summer(only went up to 110 a few times).

 

[skeeter9]

Texas-chick, your flock will probably love your damp, cool horse barn!!!

Kev, your summers are a bit hotter than ours, so maybe they don't do so well when it gets much over 110???

When our temps get up that high, I turn the box fan on and let it run on the damp dirt. I know that the poultry farms around here all run fans in the summer, and the research I did showed that air movement was important in the heat.

 

[sandypaws]

i live in the desert of calif...part of the mojave...
give them plenty of shade and wind block... on really hot days i will wet the ground under the shade... some chickens will "dustbathe" in the damp ground..
all my chickens do just fine... i even have cochins..
usually i have one hen a year die of the heat.. even tho i offer nesting boxes everywhere.. some hens insist on going into the coop/house to lay during the heat of the day,, become over heated an die..