Hot weather is dangerous for chickens. Unlike us who can take layers on and off, chickens are stuck with their feathers during hot weather. Chickens naturally have a high body temperature and thrive in temperate to slightly cool weather conditions. If you live in a region that regularly experiences hot weather, you will want to consider choosing heat-tolerant chicken breeds for your homestead flock. This guide to heat tolerant chicken breeds will help you choose some breeds that can handle warm temperatues and provide you with tips for caring for heat tolerant chicken breeds!
This post may contain affiliate links. See our Disclosure for more information.
Chicken Breeds with Large Comb & Wattles
One of the chief resources a chicken has for regulating its body temperature during hot weather are it comb and wattles. As a brief anatomy review, the comb is located at the top of a chicken’s head and the wattles are located below and on either side of a chicken’s beak. The comb and wattles are basically exposed skin that are not covered by feather follicles.
A chicken’s circulatory system naturally circulates a lot of blood through the comb and wattles. As the blood flows through those appendages, it can be cooled as long as the air temperature is lower than the chicken’s body temperatute (105-107°F). This method of heat control is called ‘convection’, which is the transfer of heat between a chicken and the surrounding air.
In the winter, chickens will often restrict circulation to their comb and wattles to conserve body heat, which then can lead to frostbite in those appendages. But for hot weather, chickens with large comb and wattles are at an advantage! The bigger a chicken’s comb and wattles are, the more blood can be cooled through circulation. Heat tolerant chicken breeds will often have large comb and wattles.
Here are some chicken breeds known to have large combs and wattles:
- Andalusian
- Catalana
- Leghorn
- Minorca
How to Care for Chickens with Large Combs & Wattles
Large comb and wattles are great for helping a chicken stay cool, but there are a few care considerations you need to think about when getting breeds with large combs and wattles. Since the comb and wattles have large volumes of blood flowing through them, they will also bleed profusely when cut or scraped.
Injuries to the comb and wattles should be attended to immediately. You will need to stop the bleeding by applying direct pressure to the wound. Once the bleeding has been stopped, you can treat the wound with Vetericyn to prevent infections. The good thing is that lots of blood flow also means those wounds will heal very quickly.
Large combs and wattles can be injured from sharp objects in a chicken’s environment, bullying or fights, predator attacks, or chapped skin during cold weather.
Chickens with large comb and wattles are also more prone to frostbite during cold weather. If your region experiences cold weather during the winter months, you will need to take extra frostbite prevention measures for your heat tolerant birds. Here are some ways you can help prevent frostbite for chickens with large combs & wattles:
- Proper Ventilation: Proper ventilation will minimize moisture in the coop which is a leading cause of frostbite (moisture freezes on the skin).
- Comb Salve: A beeswax based salve can be applied to a chicken’s comb and wattles to prevent moisture from freezing on the skin.
- Encourage Activity: Activity paired with proper nutrition will help a chicken keep blood flowing to all its appendages.
- Reduce Exposure: Provide your flock with a sheltered run and coop to prevent cold stress from wind chill, real feel factors, and precipitation.
- Circulation Supplements: Give your flock natural supplements that stimulate the circulatory system to encourage blood flow to the comb and wattles.
Tightly Feathered Chicken Breeds
Some chicken breeds are considered ‘loosely feathered’. Other chicken breeds are more tightly feathered. ‘Loosely feathered’ or ‘tightly feathered’ simply refers to have a chicken’s feathers rest against its body. Tightly feathered chicken breeds have feathers that lie close to the body. Tightly feathered chicken breeds will have a slim and sleek look with well-defined angles.
Having featheres that are not loose and fluffy will minimize how much heat can be trapped against the body. A tightly feathered chicken still has the ability to fluff out its feathers to trap heat. However, the feathers won’t fluff out as much as loosely feathered chicken breeds and they won’t trap as much heat.
Tightly feathered chicken breeds also tend to have less feathers than loosely feathered chicken breeds. They won’t have as much loose down feathers under their outer feathers, which gives them less insulation for staying warm. In hot weather, the less feathers a chicken has, the easier it will be to stay cool.
Here are some chicken breeds that are considered tightly feathered:
- Fayoumi
- La Fleche
- Naked Neck (minimal feathers)
- Rosecomb (true bantam)
- Sebright (true bantam)
- Sumatra
How to Care for Tightly Feathered Chicken Breeds
The main care concern for tightly feathered chicken breeds is cold stress during cold weather. Since tightly feathered chickens are more adapted to hot weather, they are more prone to cold stress during cold weather. Their tightly layered feathers won’t be as efficient for trapping body heat. They also won’t have as many feathers for insulation against the cold temperatures.
Here are some tips for helping chickens deal with cold stress, which can be helpful for tightly feathered chicken breeds during cold weather:
- winterize the coop– ensure good ventilation but make it draft free and possibly insulated
- reduce exposure– provide protection in the enclosure to eliminate exposure to wind chill
- use straw– straw helps insulate and can generate heat when it starts to compost
- provide entertainment- get the birds active, but make sure you supply extra energy in the form of healthy treats
- provide warm treats– give your flock healthy warm treats to provide supplemental ‘internal’ heat
- winter diet– feed your flock a proper winter diet to provide them with the energy and nutrition they need to stay warm
Light & Leggy Chicken Breeds
Light & leggy may seem like strange terms for describing a chicken, but it is the best way I could describe light chicken breeds who are heat tolerant! If you have ever compared a fluffy Cochin to light Minorca, you will quickly notice what I mean by ‘light and leggy’!
Light chicken breeds are breeds that don’t mature to a heavy weight. They don’t develop as much muscle weight and often won’t put on fat as quickly as chicken breeds who are bred for heavier weights. Light chicken breeds are often long-legged with tight feathers, making them more heat tolerant than heavy chicken breeds with lots of feathers.
As you can imagine, lighter chicken breeds have less body insulation and less fat. Those are great advantages for staying cool during hot weather! Even having long legs can help expose more skin to the air for cooling off.
Here are some light chicken breeds that have a slim and leggy appearance:
- Phoenix
- Modern Game Bantam
- Sicilian Buttercup
- Polish
- Yokohama
How to Care for Light & Leggy Chicken Breeds
As with the tightly feathered feature, chickens who are light and leggy will experience cold stress quicker during winter weather. Since they don’t have a smuch body insulation for staying warm, cold temperatures can cause cold stress faster than in cold hardy chicken breeds who are larger. Check out these tips for recognizing cold stress in chickens!
Long-legged chicken breeds may be slightly more prone to getting frostbitten toes as well. Since their legs are exposing skin to the cold tempertures, a chicken may start restricting blood flow to its toes and legs to conserve body heat. This can increase the chance for the toes getting frostbite. Check out these tips for preventing frostbite in your flock this winter!
You will also want to consider your chicken coop design when planning to get light chicken breeds. Light chicken breeds are often active and good flyers. They will like high roosts in the coop with plenty of space for them to move around freely. Light chicken breds love to have a variety of perching and roosting options in their coop and enclosure!
Breed Origin
A chicken breed’s origin will also play a role in how heat tolerant (or cold hardy) the chicken is during hot weather. Chicken breeds developed in tropical, mediterranean climates will have more features that make the naturally heat tolerant. Chicken breeds have been developed from places all across the globe. When looking for heat tolerant chicken breeds, choose breeds that originate from regions like the Middle East, the Malaysian Islands, or other temperate to tropical climates.
The American Poultry Association organizes recognized chicken breeds into certain classes. Many times, those classes are based on breed origin. The Mediterranean breed class and the Continental breed class are two breed classes known for heat tolerant chicken breeds. Here are a few breed recognized in each class:
Mediterranean Chicken Breeds
- Ancona
- White-faced Spanish
- Penedesenca
Continental Chicken Breeds
- Campine
- Lakenvelder
- Crevecoeur
Should I Get Heat Tolerant Chicken Breeds?
So, now that you know some features that make a chicken breed heat tolerant, you may be wondering is heat tolerant chicken breeds are right for your homestead. There are two main advantages to having heat tolerant chicken breeds in your homestead flock:
#1. Can Handle Hot Weather
The first, and most obvious, advantage is that heat tolerant chicken breeds will be able to handle hot weather better than other chicken breeds. They will be less prone to heat stress or getting heat stroke when the temperatures soar. Chickens who are able to handle hot weather well will be more productive during the hot summer months and less precautions will need to be taken to help them stay cool.
#2. Good Egg Producers
The second advantage to getting heat tolerant chicken breeds is that those breeds are often high egg production breeds. Since heat tolerant breeds are often developed in regions with temperate weather and mild winters, they are genetically better egg layers. However, heat tolerant chicken breeds won’t lay the best in winter weather when they experience cold stress or lack of light.
When considering heat tolerant chicken breeds for your homestead flock, here are three factors to evaluate:
- Regional Climate: If you live in a region that experiences mild weather all year round or extremely hot summer weather, then heat tolerant chicken breeds will be a good choice for your flock!
- Winter Weather: Consider how severe the winter weather is for your region and how long winter weather lasts. Severe winter weather will take a toll on heat tolerant chicken breeds. They will need more care during the cold temperatues to prevent cold stress and frostbite.
- Cold Stress: Heat tolerant breeds will be able to handle mild cold stress. However, extended periods of cold stress or severe cold stress can be fatal for chicken breeds who are more accustomed to warmer temperatures.
If you live in a region that experiences hot summers and mild winters, then you should look into adding heat tolerant chicken breeds to your homestead flock! If your region has more harsh winter weather, you may consider sticking to cold hardy chicken breeds for your flock.
Care Tips for Non-Heat Tolerant Chicken Breeds
Having a mixed flock of both cold hardy and heat tolerant chicken breeds is totally acceptable as long as you take into consideration each breed’s care needs. Heat tolerant chicken breeds will need more attention during cold weather. Cold hardy chicken breeds will benefit from some additional care during hot weather.
Here are some characteristics of chicken breeds who will not be heat tolerant:
- lots of feathers
- small combs and wattles
- heavy weight
- extra feathers on feet, legs, or around the face
Chicken breeds who are not heat tolerant will be more prone to heat stress when the temperatures start to rise. They will have a harder time staying cool even when the temperatues are not extremely hot. Here are some ways you can help non-heat tolerant chicken breeds stay cool during hot weather. The following tips will also help heat tolerant chicken breeds during extremely hot weather.
Temperate Coop
Try to keep the coop as temperate as possible. If there is hot air in the coop, it will be harder for a chicken to get rid of excess body heat through convection. Locate the coop in a shady spot and make sure it has plenty of ventilation and air flow. It may even help to place fans in the windows of the coop to blow hot air out.
Check out this article for more ways to help chickens stay cool during hot weather.
Cool Water
Ensuring that your flock always has access to plenty of fresh, cool drinking water is essential during hot weather. The cold water will help absorb body heat and then be expelled from the body when a chicken poops. The water doesn’t have to be ice cold, but it does need to be cool to the touch and refreshing.
Cooling Treats
In the same way that cool water helps absorb body heat, cooling treats can also help a chicken stay cool. One thing to keep in mind when giving your flock summer treats is that a lot of foods actually generate internal heat when they are digested. Regardless, foods that move through the digestive system quickly and that are hydrating will be the most beneficial for chickens to eat during the summer.
Here are some summer treats that can help non-heat tolerant chicken breeds (and any chickens really!):
- melons (watermelon, cantalope, etc…)
- berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc…)
- cucumber & zucchini
- leafy greens
Shade & Cool Dirt
For chickens who are not as heat tolerant, having a place that is shaded and away from direct sunlight is essential. While the coop can provide a shaded retreat, ideally they should also have some open-air shaded spots as well. Any slight breeze can help a chicken stay cool, as can laying in cool dirt. Shaded dust bath spots are often welcome retreats for chickens who need to cool off. Their body heat can dissipate in the cool dirt and they can simply lay in the dirt instead of actually ‘dust bathing’.
Hopefully this guide to heat tolerant chicken breeds will help you pick out the right chicken breeds for your homestead flock! If you live in a region that routinely experiences hot weather, having heat tolerant chickens in your flock essential. Heat tolerant chickens will be able to stay healthier and more productive during hot weather. They will need less hot weather maintainance and will be less prone to heat stress. Choosing the right chicken breeds based on where you are homesteading is essential for raising a healthy and happy homestead flock!
Don’t miss any other tips for raising a homestead flock like a pioneer, join our modern pioneer newsletter community!
by Alexa
Leave a Reply