Hello all:
I want to start keeping chickens for eggs and have been trying to pick which breed(s), I have just read about this breed online and I am wondering how suitable it is for our area? Any thoughts!
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Hi Zaher, I have not had experience with them but in looking at information on the web about them, I would suggest caution unless you plan on keeping them for a single laying year and then using them for meat.
As a hybrid created for heavy (factory farming) egg production their bodies were not bred for long-term stamina, judging by some references to egg-binding and also other issues in the 2nd and 3rd year.
The stamina issue would directly relate to keeping chickens because of our hot summer. Proper set up (natural shade - as opposed to just roofing) large water foot bath, fresh water always and good feed - are integral to keeping healthy chickens, but a breed with stamina issues would be more of a challenge.
Some additional information is on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISA_Brown
Some of the other permies with a lot more breed type experience may have some best suggestions for breeds to look at.
Thank you Catherine for your thoughtful input. As I am new to keeping chickens it is probably wiser to start with a less challenging breed. Problem is finding one that is suitable for our area in general and my own circumstances in particular! Which layer breed is most heat tolerant ?
Zaher, personally I loved my Americana/Araucana's (Easter Egg chickens), but a lot of folks have favorite breeds.
Here is a link to this kind of discussion last year with some recommendations. This give you some info to make some choices on. I want to re-stress that the girls need natural shade (tree/vine/shrub) to help them keep cool in the summer AND a wading pool large enough to keep the water cool - the little blue kiddie pools are great for this and the water can be recycled into your garden.
http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/group/keepingchickens/forum/topi...
Yes Catherine I have read this discussion and many others like it on the web. The problem is that there is no consistency in the experiences of different people! If breed A survives the summer in your backyard it doesn't in another's! And this is in spite of all the measures that people are taking to help their birds. And honestly, I can't help feeling that these measures are too excessive and it bothers the permaculture-ist in me. I understand, of course, the need for shade and food and water, but it bothers me to have to use misters, fans, frozen water bottles, cool wading pools,...etc. There has to be a breed of chickens that is really and NATURALLY heat tolerant that doesn't need all this help! There has to be a breed that is indigenous to the desert environment. Have you heard of the Aloha breed on the Backyard Chickens site? It says there that the original stock of this breed was a tough heat tolerant breed that was "discovered" in the south part of Phoenix! It sounds like a breed that is at least acclimatized, if not indigenous, to our area. Do you know anything about this original breed from south Phoenix?
Hi Zaher, no I have not heard of the Aloha breed. From a sustainability aspect any chickens breed for several generations in Arizona will be more heat tolerant than newbies, just as plants successive regional generations perform better. As for the mister, fan, frozen water bottle - I never used those, just water in the shade and a wading pool. If you had a dog which liked to be outside (I don't mean those people who KEEP their dogs outside), wouldn't you give it a wading pool? In other words heat-tolerant does not mean left to fend for themselves, and I'm not saying this is your direction. Just best husbandry practices are also part of sustainability and permaculture.
Hi Catherine:
Yes I agree with all that you said. All I am trying to do is to apply the essential permaculture principle of minimizing inputs and maximizing outputs. Heat tolerant breed to me means a breed that has better chance of survival if my refrigerator broke and I didn't have ice to cool their 110 degrees drinking water. Wouldn't you feel better if you have chickens that can survive without a cool wading pool? That doesn't mean you are not going to give them the wading pool and pamper them even. But what if you couldn't for some reason? Such chicken keeping is just more sustainable. The good news is that such a breed seems to be readily available: The Transylvanian Naked Neck or Turken. Apparently this breed has about half the number of feathers of other regular breeds and thus can more easily shed body heat. This chicken is just better fitted for our environment. Anybody has 5 of those female chicks for sale?
Zaher
T
Zaher, you might post a note on this older thread on Turkens.
http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/group/keepingchickens/forum/topi...
Or I would start a new post with the Turken/Naked Neck Chicken in the title to get more attention.
Good luck.