9 Best Chicken Breeds For Hot Climates

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If you reside in very hot climates, like Florida or Texas, finding a breed of chicken can be challenging as not all chickens are suited for these hot weather conditions. There are many aspects of the chicken that you need to look at before picking the one best suited to your needs.

So, which chicken breeds thrive in hot climates?

There are multiple breeds of chickens that can survive in hot climates. Here are the top 9:

White Leghorn
Dominique
Easter Egger
Minorca
Andalusian
Fayoumi
Appenzeller
Welsummer
Campine

There are many chicken breeds that will thrive in a hot climate, but what makes them capable of surviving in these harsh temperatures? And which of them are best suited for Florida and Texas?

Table of Contents

The Chickens Best Suited For Hot Climates

There are multiple breeds of chickens that thrive in hot climates; although raising chickens in any climate has its challenges, choosing a breed of chicken that can handle the climate of the area you reside in does make it a bit easier. The following are a few chickens that can handle hot climates with ease.

1. White Leghorn Chickens

This breed of chicken is one of the most common breeds that are raised by egg farmers. It was originally from Italy and arrived In America during the 1800s.

This chicken is usually white with large red wattles and combs, which helps them to regulate their body temperature efficiently.

This chicken breed is small and elegant. This makes it one of the top chickens on the list for heat-tolerant chicken breeds and allows them to live in hot temperatures quite well.

The white leghorn is usually kept for egg production; however, it can be raised for meat too. Making this chicken a dual-purpose chicken.

This chicken breed starts laying eggs at quite a young age. They produce about 250 eggs per year. These chickens are highly intelligent, but they are not tame, so they are not ideal for keeping as pets.

2. Dominique Chickens

A close up of a free range Barred Rock or Dominique chicken

The Dominique chicken breed is one of America’s oldest chicken breeds. They were brought by settlers and helped them to survive the first few years in America.

These chickens are usually black and white in color and have a large rose comb that helps them stay cool.

Dominique chickens are perfect for hot weather as they are on the smaller side but not too small, and their feathers are small and less dense compared to other chickens.

This chicken is a dual-purpose chicken, so you can keep it for egg production or meat.

The Dominique hens lay around 180 eggs per year. These chickens are friendly and gentle and perfect for children.

3. Easter Egger Chickens

Easter Egger chickens are called this as they lay eggs that have a wide variety of colors, and the chickens themselves have colorful feathers.

These chickens were created when people started cross-breeding Araucana or Ameraucanas chickens with other breeds of chickens. This resulted in multi-colored eggs and colorful feathers.

Easter egger chickens comes with a wide variety of comb and wattle sizes. They are usually only used to produce eggs. They tend to lay about 200+ colorful eggs per year.

These chickens are very popular as they are friendly, flighty, and outgoing. They are perfect for children and will often approach humans freely.

4. Minorca Chickens

This chicken is a large, Mediterranean chicken that evolved in high temperatures, making them great for hot climates. These chickens have tight feathers and large combs and earlobes, which helps to keep them cool.

This chicken breed is very active and needs a lot of space to roam. They are usually black or white in color, although the most popular color is black. Minorca hens lay very large eggs; they lay around 120 eggs per year.

Minorca chickens are mainly kept for eggs and for show as they are very pretty chickens. Minorca chickens can be friendly, but they can be flighty too, so there may be a need to clip their wings feathers to keep them safe.

5. Andalusian Chickens

This breed of chicken was originally from Spain, so it was raised in a hot climate, making it perfect for chicken owners who reside in locations with high temperatures.

This chicken is small and light, but it’s very active. These chickens have a medium-sized red comb, and the feathers are usually a slate blue with delicate black lacing.

Andalusian chickens are quite rare; however, they are highly sought after among chicken owners for their durability in hot climates. This breed is mainly used for egg production and lay around 150 eggs per year.

Andalusian chickens are friendly and curious but are not docile. This breed may not make the best pets for children.

6. Fayoumi Chickens

Close up Egyptian Fayoumis rooster cock head portrait

The Fayoumi chicken is from Egypt, so it is extremely acclimatized to hot weather. This chicken breed is quite small and has a speckled appearance with a medium red comb and tight feathers.

These chickens are kept for show as they are beautiful, but they do lay eggs, too, averaging around 104 eggs per year.

These chickens can get quite flighty and will need lots of space with high fences, or their wings will need to be clipped to keep them contained.

Fayoumi Chickens will not be tamed and will therefore not make a good pet.

7. Appenzeller Chickens

These chickens are Switzerland’s national bird and have a bizarre appearance with a V-shaped comb and a forward-pointing crest and come in a variety of colors.

Appenzeller chickens are incredibly heat-tolerant and are good climbers; they love relaxing in the treetops.

These chickens are good egg layers; they lay around 156 eggs per year. These chickens are not usually used for meat as they are quite small birds.

Appenzeller chickens are very alert and active; they are never docile; therefore, they need plenty of space to run.

8. Welsummer Chickens

chicken of the breed welsumer in the garden

This breed of chicken performs incredibly well in hot climates. They have a calm and sweet demeanor, making them perfect for keeping as pets.

They are golden-brown in color with medium combs and wattles, and they are bred as dual-purpose chickens.

Welsummer hens can lay an average of 160 eggs per year and provide a good amount of meat as they are medium-sized chickens. These chickens are good foragers and are quite friendly to other breeds of chicken too.

9. Campine Chickens

These chickens originated in the northern part of Belgium and were bred for egg production. Campine chickens come in a silver or gold color. They are rare chickens, but they are sort after as they can survive high temperatures very well.

Campine chickens have close-fitting feathers and large combs that are red and tend to flop to one side. These chickens are active and alert with an inquisitive nature. They can make for good pets.

These chickens will lay around 156 eggs per year, and they can be used for meat, too, although this was not what they were bred for.

Best Chickens For Texas

Now we know what chicken breeds thrive in hot climates and how they do so; which of these chicken breeds are the best to keep in Texas?

Welsummer Chickens
Appenzeller Chickens
Easter Egger Chickens
Dominique Chickens
White Leghorn Chickens

These chickens are great to keep in Texas, as they can survive both the heat of summer and the harsh cold snow of winter that occurs in Texas with ease.

Best Chickens For Florida

The chickens that are on the list for Texas can also survive well in Florida; however, the best chickens for Florida’s climate from the above list are as follows:

Campine Chickens
Fayoumi Chickens
Andalusian Chickens
Minorca Chickens

These chicken breeds are perfect for Florida’s climate as they can handle a very high temperature, but they do not do as well in the cold, and Florida does not usually have snow or freezing temperatures in the winter.

Conclusion

There are many chicken breeds that can thrive in hot climates. They came in multiple sizes and shapes and can be dual-purpose or non-dual purpose; there are plenty to choose from.

You should, however, pick a chicken breed that can thrive in all the seasons that occur in your region, no matter how severe, to ensure that your chickens can be with you for a long time.