What breed should I get in South Texas

[7L Farm]

You need to get a red , white & blue chicken. You need a RIR for red, a leghorn for white, & a blue orp after all you live in Texas!! LOL

 

[S.L.Swope]

Quote:
Nice thought love the color idea, I love the orpingtons maybe a buff and a blue!

 

[ChicKat]

Hi---

We are about 1-hour from SA.

My husband's grandmother raised white leghorns and she was very successful here. (but was Texas that hot back in the day?)

I know a man in Cuero who has a mixed flock of Welsumer, Australorp and New Hampshire Red...he always has a lot of eggs to sell, and his chickens are doing fine.

I have a Golden Comet (wonder Chicken) and 2 Barred Plymouth Rocks. Thus far they are doing well (got them April 19 as laying hen and POL pullets.) I really worry about the heat though--- Hope it doesn't get any hotter (104 today) per the news, and hope we get rain.


I like the idea of Red White and Blue chickens.... Also--- It is neat to get different egg colors, then you would know who is naughty and who is nice. Leghorn for white egg, Golden Comet for Brown, and Barred Rock for light pinkish brown, and -- who is the speckled Brown..I think the Welsumer. Saw someone on Criags List selling chocolate-colored egg layers in St. Hedwig...and then there are the blue and/or green layers.

Happy deciding!

 

[Freeholder]

Quote:
Need to correct your information on how well these breeds lay. Buff Orpingtons lay around 160-180 eggs per year. White Leghorns will lay close to three hundred eggs per year if from production strains.

It can, briefly, get over a hundred degrees here in the summer (thankfully it always cools off at night, though), and I've made a couple of observations. One year I had some Cuckoo Marans and several other breeds (Easter Eggers, White Leghorns, and something else, don't remember what). The chickens were in chicken tractors (cages on the ground, with no floors in them) covered by a tarp for shade. Tarp blew off when I wasn't home (it was weighted down, but we get some terrific winds here), and I ended up losing two of the Cuckoo Marans to heat stroke, but none of the other birds. Fast forward to last year -- I had some young Salmon Faverolles in chicken tractors with a bunch of other chicks (Buff and Golden-laced Wyandottes, Buckeyes, Mille Fleur Leghorns). Again lost the tarp on a hot day and lost birds -- the only birds I lost were the Salmon Faverolles. What the Marans and the Faverolles have in common is that both are heavy breeds, leaning more to meat than eggs (both were originally raised for meat at least as much as for eggs), and both are Continental breeds. Both are also fluffy-feathered. In a really hot climate, I would stick to breeds listed at heat-tolerant on the Henderson breeds chart that someone else already posted a link to. My first choices would be Mediterranean breeds such as the Leghorns.

Kathleen

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
White Leghorns are not duel purpose birds, they are scrauny and small, bred for egg laying and thats it. Unless you want a small soup bird. Depending on the conditions they don't always lay through winter, mine didn't lay one egg all winter.

 

[josh44]

get any breed of chicken you like, they all do very well in our TX heat .

Just Make sure they are have access to plenty of shade & fresh cool water.

I have Owned
Marans,
Welsummer,
Black Penedesenca,
Ameracauna,
Araucana,
Easter Eggers,
Olive Eggers,
Naked Necks,
Polish,
Sultans,
Houdans,
Asil,
Shamo,
Silkies,
Cochins in both bantam & Large Fowl,
Seramas,
Modern Games,
Rhode Island Reds,
Production Reds,
Barred Rocks,
Orpingtons,
Showgirls,
Leghorns,
Light Sussex,
White Face Black Spanish & many others.

I have raised many breeds through out the years

,
All do just fine in out 100 - 105 degree weather My chickens are even kind of laying better, with all the extra sunlight.

If anyone is having troubble with the weather it's me

With this heat it's been soooo hot I can't even sit out back & enjoy all the chicks & their moms running around the yard.

 

[S.L.Swope]

josh44 thanks,

good to her from somebody in my same city. I'm soooo happy that you've had all the breeds I want and all did well for you!

Thank You to everyone who responded!

 

[Zaxby's2]

Get a buff orpington! They make good broodies, great egg layers, good for meat, tolerate cold very well but are okay with heat, are sweet and beautiful! Here are some pics of mine! Here is one with her chicks:

Her laying an egg:

My other BO hen:

Sadly the first hen was killed by a dog, but I still love their breed! Not to mention their fluffy butts!

 

[S.L.Swope]

Zaxby's2 :

Get a buff orpington! They make good broodies, great egg layers, good for meat, tolerate cold very well but are okay with heat, are sweet and beautiful! Here are some pics of mine! Here is one with her chicks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/86025_139.jpg
Her laying an egg:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/86025_160.jpg
My other BO hen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/86025_101.jpg
Sadly the first hen was killed by a dog, but I still love their breed! Not to mention their fluffy butts!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/86025_271.jpg

Yeah the fluffy but thing gets me everytime! I just love how soft and round they look.
By the way never even touched a chicken till we took our son to a petting zoo at the local rodeo, and thats where the obsesion started!!

 

[skylinepoultry]

I'm introducing Euskal Oiloas ( Marraduna Basque ) late august mid september if you want to read about them. Very heat hardy. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=510045