Nevadans?

[Newchikmama]

I'm new to chickens and have started my chicken adventure with 5 pullets; two Plymouth barred rocks, one jersey black giant, one turken/naked neck, and one buff brahman. They are warm and fuzzy in their brooder (our spare bathroom). I'm learning as much as I can but I'm sure there are many more tips. That said I'm looking for advice on transitioning to the coop and when to expect laying to begin etc... Glad to join the ranks of Reno urban chicken families!!

 

[chicharomirinda]

Hello everyone:
I am new to this thread and just starting to look into raising chickens for eggs. I live in Vegas and am mostly concerned about the heat. Any recommendations on heat tolerance with chickens? What breds are best? Where to get chicks?

Welcome to the Nevada thread! I'm up north in Reno and this is my first year with chickens so I haven't been through a summer with them yet. But if you look at the breeds page on BYC, you can get some information about them. There are some Vegas people on the thread occasionally, so they may have advice for you.

Here's another link that has a list of chicken breeds with detailed info.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
Just briefly glancing at that list here are some birds listed as heat tolerant: Sumatra, Silkie, Rosecomb, Rhode Island, New Hampshire Red, Naked Neck/Turken, Modern Game, Minorca, Malay, Leghorn, Fayoumi, Delaware, Cubalaya, Catalana, Sicilian Buttercup, Brahama, Andalusian,

So, there are quite a few that are listed as heat tolerant. You can narrow it down by what other characteristics you're looking for--color of egg, frequency of laying, etc. Feed stores probably have chicks right now or you could order from a hatchery, or you could find breeders near you.

I'm new to chickens and have started my chicken adventure with 5 pullets; two Plymouth barred rocks, one jersey black giant, one turken/naked neck, and one buff brahman. They are warm and fuzzy in their brooder (our spare bathroom). I'm learning as much as I can but I'm sure there are many more tips. That said I'm looking for advice on transitioning to the coop and when to expect laying to begin etc... Glad to join the ranks of Reno urban chicken families!!

Welcome to the Nevada thread! Pullets can start laying around 5-7 months. My first egg came at exactly 20 weeks on Feb 1st and we've been building up the supply since then. Mine hatched Sept 14 and not all are laying yet, but most are. Then I have a batch of new chicks, too. When they have feathered out, you can probably transition them to the coop. depending on what our nighttime temps are then, you may want to have a heat lamp for them for awhile until it warms up and they are more fully feathered.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Bcook0315 and Newchikmama,

Regarding heat-tolerant chickens... I've heard that silkies are not heat tolerant. We could be reading different sources, and I could be totally wrong. I think it was on this site that I read that. I find that most laying breeds are pretty good for either climate, hot or cold, with the right shelter. If you have a good, shady area, even a black chicken should be fine. I would avoid super-fancy breeds, except for ones that originated in a hot climate, or anything that's heavily feathered.

My oldest chickens hatched out around April 15th. Though they were fully feathered at 6 weeks, they didn't spend the night outside until it stopped freezing. They spent days in the coop, and I carried them in at night. But that was more about my own neurosis about my babies and what temps they could take. Now that they're older... yeah, they're fine. I got my first egg at almost exactly 6 months old, and they've been laying steadily since.

 

[2seth2]

Bcook0315 and Newchikmama

2 newbies

my chicks ar already getting bigger i love seeing there new feathers come in.
I am thinking of puttiing in a chick order would it be better to get them this year or wait til next year?

 

[2seth2]

i'd go buttercup, brahama, delaware, famio, leghorn, naked neck, New hampshire red and Rhode island to name common ones for heat

 

[2seth2]

missy how old are your rabbits?

 

[SunnyDawn]

Hello everyone:
I am new to this thread and just starting to look into raising chickens for eggs. I live in Vegas and am mostly concerned about the heat. Any recommendations on heat tolerance with chickens? What breeds are best? Where to get chicks?

Hi Bcook! Welcome to the Nevada thread.

I will add you to the opening post as soon as I finish up here.

The rule of thumb for heat tolerant chickens is to go with the larger combed birds The larger combs help them stay a little cooler in the heat, Of course you also have to consider how heavily feathered they are. Although I know that some of our Vegas folks here have Orpingtons and they are very full feathered. They just use a lot of different methods to keep them cool.

Ventilation no matter what breed you get is SUPER important in your area. Well it is very important everywhere but in Vegas you need a lot of it to keep the coop from becoming an oven. I have also heard folks mention misters and frozen treats, like watermelon and wet ground in a shady spot as a few methods for keeping fowl cooled off.

BYC has a breed finder tool in the learning section that is great for when you are just starting out. It doesn't list all breeds but they are adding to it all the time. As you learn more about chickens you will find out about all kinds of breeds that can be fun to have that will work in your area. Hopefully some Vegas folks will chime in here.

I'm new to chickens and have started my chicken adventure with 5 pullets; two Plymouth barred rocks, one jersey black giant, one turken/naked neck, and one buff brahman. They are warm and fuzzy in their brooder (our spare bathroom). I'm learning as much as I can but I'm sure there are many more tips. That said I'm looking for advice on transitioning to the coop and when to expect laying to begin etc... Glad to join the ranks of Reno urban chicken families!!

Hi Newchikmama! Welcome to the Nevada thread.

I will also add you to the opening post now.

Sounds like you have an interesting mix of chickens already! The Barred Rocks will usually start to lay between 4 and 6 months but there are some that have their own schedule and either lay a little early (not healthy for them in the long term though) or will be late starters. I had Brahmas years ago but don't remember when they started laying.

There are threads for just about any breed you can imagine on BYC. Just go to the search area and type in the breed you are curious about. If there are too many posts to wade through just ask them when they usually start to lay.

As far as transitioning chicks to the coop it is really pretty easy. Once they are fully feathered out (hold their wings out and make sure the backs are fully feathered as well) they can go in the coop. I'm afraid I spoil mine and they get to stay inside for longer but all the experts say they can go outside then. Even when I do put them out I give them a light for awhile moving it up a little each week to wean them off the heat slowly. Hanging lights in the coop is a tricky thing too since they can cause problems but you can do a search on "moving chicks out to the coop" and you will get a ton of info about the topic.

Most important is to have ventilation for them and have a nice wide roost to keep their feet completely covered by their bodies to prevent frostbite. They can handle a lot more than we think but I, myself, can't seem to stop babying them. I'm always a little nervous about the transition.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

missy how old are your rabbits?

I'm not sure exactly, but it looks like 6-8 weeks.

It turns out my friend can't keep her rabbit, so I'll have 2 bucks and 2 does. Someone is going to be dinner. My husband is teasing me because I want him to do it when he comes home, when I could very well do it myself. It's a good excuse to let him get bigger, though.

 

[pigtail21]

Oh how badly i wanted to hold one of them! Ive never held a baby duck before!

Oh Aubrey you should have grabbed one LOL they are a bit different than chicks, very wiggly and strong LOL And I adore their little webbed feet!!

 

[pigtail21]

I'm new to chickens and have started my chicken adventure with 5 pullets; two Plymouth barred rocks, one jersey black giant, one turken/naked neck, and one buff brahman. They are warm and fuzzy in their brooder (our spare bathroom). I'm learning as much as I can but I'm sure there are many more tips. That said I'm looking for advice on transitioning to the coop and when to expect laying to begin etc... Glad to join the ranks of Reno urban chicken families!!

Welcome Newchikmama!!

I raise Buff Brahmas currently and because Brahmas are a dual purpose breed they are slower to mature and tend to be later to start laying. It takes them a little longer to fill out. Brahmas are one of my favorite standard breeds( I have raised Light and Dark Brahmas as well as Bantam buff Brahmas)

If anyone is interested I have light and buff Brahma chicks available. ALSO Show Girl, Silkies and Standard Cochin chicks and ducklings available TOO!