The REAL best chicken breeds for hot climates: NOT what you’ve been told
If you’ve been reading blog posts about “the best chickens for hot climates,” here’s my advice:
Forget everything you’ve read.
Most of the breeds people are recommending for hot climates are, simply put, very bad options.
In this post, you’ll learn:
Why most chickens aren’t great for hot climates
Which breeds do thrive in hot climates
How those breeds differ from each other—so you can pick the exact right breeds for your circumstances!
Or, just watch my video on this topic below:
Can’t be bothered to read this article?
No problem. You can just take a look at the summary table below instead.
Or, better yet, download a pdf of this table here.
Why most chicken breeds don’t thrive in hot climates
Chicken breeds that are developed for cold winters and hot summers aren’t good for year-round hot climates.
As I write this, my chickens and I are dealing with a heat wave. Where I live (Southwest Idaho), the usual temperatures this time of year are in the mid-80s Fahrenheit. But today is forecasted to be over 100° as it has been for the last couple of weeks. The worst thing? There’s no end in sight to these high temps.
And my chickens are SUFFERING! Despite me doing everything possible to help keep them cool (short of moving them into my air-conditioned home), they’re miserable.
Wings drooping and spread away from their bodies. Constant heavy panting. Lethargy. And that look that says, “Just kill me now.”
My poor Barred Rocks always look the worst, but my Rhode Island Reds are clearly miserable as well. And a few of my Ameraucanas may actually look a bit worse than my Barred Rocks—turns out those adorable little muffs and beards aren’t so great when it comes to cooling down.
My chickens always suffer in the heat—some of them don’t even do well in the 80s. But that’s the trade-off when you have mixed-climate breeds.
Chickens that were developed to live in mixed climates—i.e., climates with both hot and cold temperatures—will survive heat and cold, but they won’t thrive in either. That’s the trade-off.
Mixed-climate breeds include many of the most popular breeds, such as:
Welsummers
And here’s where all the bloggers out there are getting it wrong—they’re recommending mixed-climate breeds, such as those above, for hot climates. This is a huge mistake!
The features that make a chicken thrive in the cold are the exact opposite of those that make a chicken thrive in the heat.
Chickens who do well in the cold have an abundance of downy feathers. They generally have small combs, earlobes, and wattles.
Chickens who thrive in the heat have the exact opposite features:
A small amount of down (some even have significantly fewer feathers overall)
Large combs
Large earlobes
Large wattles
Check out the photos below to see the difference between the mixed-climate Barred Rock rooster and the hot-climate White Leghorn rooster.
Barred Rock rooster, a mixed-climate breed
Leghorn rooster, a hot-climate breed
And this is why you don’t want to keep mixed-climate chickens in a hot climate. Mixed-climate breeds have some cold-weather features, and these are detrimental to their quality of life in the heat.
If you want your birds to have a great quality of life in your hot climate, then get breeds with NO cold-weather features. Get a breed that’s been developed primarily for the heat.
Dangerous myth: Brahmas and Orpingtons do well in hot climates.
When I did an online search for “chickens for hot climates,” I was horrified to see that almost all of the blogs were recommending Brahmas and Orpingtons. These breeds are HORRIBLE for hot climates.
Some of your Brahmas and Orpingtons won’t survive the heat and humidity of your hot climate, and those who do will be living a low quality of life.
Just take a look at the Brahmas and Orpingtons below and notice their cold-weather features.
Brahma hen
Buff Orpington hen
Brahmas and Orpingtons are cold-weather breeds. Let that sink in—cold-weather. These aren’t even mixed-climate breeds.
Brahmas have small combs, earlobes, and wattles, and they have an enormous amount of down. On top of that, their legs and feet are covered in thick feathers, which greatly reduces the amount of heat they can lose from their legs. Imagine wearing your heaviest sweat pants in the sweltering heat and humidity.
Brahma rooster
Orpingtons are also heavily feathered with an abundance of down. Although their legs aren’t feathered, they’re very short and don’t provide the chickens with a good means of cooling.
Buff Orpington rooster
I cannot stress this enough. If you live in a hot climate, never, ever, ever raise Brahmas or Orpingtons.
For more information on Brahmas and Orpingtons, see my articles:
Buff Orpington chickens: The lovable, versatile egg-laying giants
Orpington chickens: Giant backyard layers the whole family will love
The 10 BEST layer breeds for hot climates
The best laying breeds for hot climates are:
These are the breeds that have been developed over centuries with heat (and often humidity) at the forefront. If you want detailed information on any one of these breeds, simply click on that breed in the list above for full articles.
You can see what all these chickens look like in the slideshow below:
How to choose the best breeds for you
I included this comparison table at the top of this article, but here it is again. It’s large enough you may want to download the table as a pdf, so it’s easier to read and you can save it for later.
You’ll notice the qualities of “foraging” and “predator evasion” are missing from the list—that’s because all of these breeds are excellent at both of these things. There’s no differentiation there.
Out of all these breeds, my top recommendation for urban and suburban chicken keepers is the Naked Neck or even the Naked Neck Bantam (i.e., the miniature version of the Naked Neck). These birds are amazing in the heat because not only do they have bare necks to keep them cool, but they have about 50% fewer feathers than most other breeds!
Naked Necks are sweet and gentle birds, not particularly noisy, and they can tolerate confinement better than the other breeds listed here.
To learn more about them, see my article, Considering Naked Neck chickens? The 17 things you must know first.
Egyptian Fayoumis aren’t good for small backyards. These are very rugged and wild birds. They fly better than most breeds too and can be difficult to confine. You can read more about them in my article, The 5 incredible landrace chicken breeds no one is talking about.
All the other breeds listed above are Mediterranean breeds—hailing originally from Italy and Spain. Most of these breeds are flighty and active and don’t do well in very small runs. They can get aggressive with each other in small runs. If you don’t have a lot of space, consider getting the bantam versions of these breeds instead of the full-size versions.
So, take a look at the table above to find the breeds that meet your needs, and then you can make your final decision based on looks and availability.
Are you obsessed with your chickens too?
Learn the latest on what your chickens want and wish you knew!
Join the Featherbrain flock for sporadic emails on raising chickens—science-based and from the heart! You won’t find this info anywhere else.