simka2 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 If I want to get a few+ for eggs here in this blazing inferno known as Texas, what kinds should I get? Should I wait till spring to get chicks, order from a hatchery so the kids can do the whole egg hatching thing, or buy adults? Any great links? Okay, I might be interested in other members of the fowl family as well :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 Seriously!!! Did all the farmers go to bed?! ;) Maybe I need a rooster. Then I would go from night owl to early bird. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 We bought some chickens that were about a month or so old. When they are just babies, you need to have a light to keep them warm so they are a bit more trouble. We are in AZ so I know about the blazing heat! My dh hooked up a misting system in the coop. :) We usually keep water running somewhere on a tree or plant so the chickens can get into it. They love standing in it. Ours don't give us many eggs during the worst of the heat. I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to lay either! I'd get chickens now so they will be bigger by summer. I figure they do better with the heat if they are older. We have a Belgian D'Uccle, two Welsummers, an Americauna and a grey one that we haven't figured out yet except that she is a bantam and very broody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 www.backyardchickens.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymomma Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Order baby chicks from a hatchery. They will deliver day old baby chicks to you. Don't get a rooster. They are just trouble. And illegal in many places. The eggs are iffy, you have to buy an incubator which is pricey. Easier just to get chicks. No need to wait until spring in Texas. You will have eggs by then if you get them now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 www.backyardchickens.com :iagree: Great place. If you order chicks ANYWHERE and don't get a rooster, share the name of the hatchery. I've always had issues with too many roosters. Currently, I have 4 but I only have 6 hens so that's a BIG PROBLEM.:glare: Did you see that I killed a rooster a couple of months back? :svengo: ME?!?!?!?! :scared: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armymomma Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 McMurray Hatchery .... I ordered 25 and paid a little extra and got all hens. Worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 backyard chickens, awesome site and get Delawares. They are *awesome*. We had chicken love bonding going on. They loved being held and talked to, carried around and would come in the house. They were so awesome I'm heading to Jumping In Puddle's house tomorrow to play with her chickens. If I can get away with it, I'll tuck one under my sweater and make a run for it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I don't know off-hand which breeds are good in heat, but I would think light-colored would be better. I definitely recommend getting chicks. We bought 12 (from a feed store that is supplied by a hatchery), and all were female. If you want to be sure, get a sex-linked breed. Just don't get bantams. They can't sex bantams so you're stuck with "straight run." Don't get adults UNLESS they are already being raised together and you can rule out mites, lice, and other health issues. Integrating chickens is a really nasty chore. :( I miss our chickens. My daughter is planning on doing a sustainability project on chickens and hopefully we can raise some here. It depends if we can get materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Even here in Michigan I have to make sure the chickens stay cool, especially this summer when we had a couple of months of hot, dry winds. I thought I had moved back to Texas there for awhile... I like the misting system mentioned. I ended up running a sprinkler in our chicken run several days this year, with the hopes that the wind blowing across the tall, wet grass would work similar to a swamp cooler. We are redoing our pen now so that I don't have to be quite so vigilant next year. Provide lots of deep shade if you can. Ours are partially under the shade of an apple tree, with a couple of cinderblock shelters for the chickens to go into (stacked cinderblocks to form three walls, open on the fourth side, plywood roof). The chickens spend time in there during the hottest part of the day. They will also dig themselves some shallow bowls in the dirt and spread out there when it's hot. We also keep their roost area well-ventilated with an old computer fan drawing the hot air out. Doesn't take much. Deep, multi-layered shade. Large, insulated watering can (they like cold water). Make sure they can catch a breeze. Some breeds are more heat-tolerant. Hatched chicks are easiest for us. Pay a little more for sexed chickens, so that you cut down on the number of roosters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I purchased our chickens from the local feed store to get breeds that would do well in this area. Most feed store would have sexed females so you would not have to worry about getting a rooster. I have Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. I don't have any special misting set up but they have acess to plenty of shade and they like to go under the front porch(house is about 4 feet above grade). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylou Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 We've had good success with Cackle Hatchery in MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I'd order chicks now. Here's my theory after about 10 years of chick raising. You get chicks in early spring when it's cool, and you have to keep them under heat lamps for weeks before the weather is warm enough and they have enough feathers to not need heat. If you get chicks now while it's warm, they won't be nearly as dependent on heat lamps, and, about the time it starts to get cool/cold, they will be almost fully feathered. Sure you might need a bulb or two anyway when it is freezing, but it just makes more sense to me to do chicks in late summer. I'm in Louisiana, so I know where you're coming from... BTW, lighter weight layers do better in the south than the heavy breeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I purchased our chickens from the local feed store to get breeds that would do well in this area. Most feed store would have sexed females so you would not have to worry about getting a rooster. I have Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. I don't have any special misting set up but they have acess to plenty of shade and they like to go under the front porch(house is about 4 feet above grade). :iagree: We've gone the feed store route as well. We have 11 hens, 5 are two years old and 6 are spring chicks that will be laying any day now. We have Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, ISA Browns, Buff Orpingtons, and a lone Ameraucana. Ours have done well, despite oppressive heat this summer, with lots of fresh water available and plenty of shade. We specifically chose breeds that were cold weather hearty, but they've done well with the heat, too. I've turned to backyardchickens.com searching for an answer many a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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