The Best Chickens for Florida Heat

The Florida Heat is HOT!

To say that Florida is warm is a HUGE understatement. Finding the best chickens for Florida heat is critical. In the summer, our temperatures here in Tampa are always above 90, and the highs are usually above 95. Even our summer lows are in the 80’s. This means that the best chickens to keep in Florida have to be very heat tolerant. Our “winter” happens in spurts, dotting 80’s with 40’s for a few days (or hours) at a time. Having the AC on during the days and the heat on at night is typical.

My Cozi app tells me that the livestock auction is on Saturday at 1, and I plan to be there to buy my flock of chickens. But before I do that, I need to research what breeds are best to get for my ridiculously hot climate. Another aspect we need to take into consideration is that our area tends to be humid. We sure get an awful lot of rain for a place called The Sunshine State!

That said, our chickens have to have a few different qualities to be well suited to the Florida heat. They need to be heat-hardy and be ok with humidity and rain. That still leaves a WHOLE bunch of breeds that we can choose from! But the big question is which are the BEST for the Florida heat?

The Best Chickens for Florida Heat

Americana, Easter, & Olive Eggers

These girls lay the most interesting eggs! Ranging from pink, purple, blue, green… it seems like no two of these colorful layers lay the same egg. The feather coloring of these chickens is so varied, and usually splashy. Usually, you’ll get about 4 rainbow eggs a week from these hard working ladies! Also, their cheek muffs and beards crack me up. Our Americanas tended to be really sweet and would follow us around the yard! They are heat tolerant, which is great for the hot Florida climate.

Plymouth Barred Rocks

I always had issues with our Barred Rocks, they tended to be pushy and aloof. Apparently, that was just our particular birds, as the breed tends to be great with families and kids. Kooky. Well, these ladies have beautiful black and white feathers, which are sometimes mistaken with Dominiques. They tend to lay about 200 brown eggs a year, so while not in the top producers, these girls are still good layers.

Polish Chickens

I have never had a Polish, but I love the look of them. You can’t go wrong with a chicken with an afro! These girls come in a variety of colors and patterns, but the tell-tale poof of feathers on top makes them so adorable, whatever color they are! You can expect to get about 200 white eggs a year. These ladies can be really docile, and sometimes get picked on by the more pushy breeds who aim for those beautiful head feathers. These chickens do well with heat, but if their head feathers get soaked, you’ll want to dry them off, so really rainy weather is not ideal.

Rhode Island Reds

I’ve had RIR in the past, and we loved them. Their dark red feathers are beautiful, and they are very personable and ours loved cuddles. They are great summer birds, perfect for the Florida weather. They were always the best layers of our flock, 5-6 large brown eggs a week. These ladies definitely keep your egg basket full!

Welsummers

These sweet birds have a wonderful, docile temperament, and are great for families with little “helpers.” They usually have lovely feathers in shades of brown, and lay up to 250 dark brown eggs a year. These are wonderful ladies to add to any flock, and they are perfectly fine in the heat.

White Leghorns

The Leghorns come in a variety of colors, most famously white, but also red, brown, buff, and barred. When you think of grocery store eggs, these are the go-to ladies to produce them. Large, white, & delicious, plus very prolific layers with about 335 eggs a year… that’s more than 5 per week! If you’re after a bunch of eggs for your breakfast, these girls are your best bet. They are also very heat hardy, handling those hot days with ease.

My final thoughts…

Since I am just starting out (again) to build a flock, and last time I just went with what I thought was pretty, I am actually doing my research this time. We all know that Pinterest has a plethora of information, but The Happy Chicken Coop has quickly become one of my favorite research tools! I also love looking at the hatcheries that are able to ship chicks right to your Post Office! These online hatcheries, like Cackle Hatchery, Murray McMurray and Hoovers, aside from offering chicks, eggs, started pullets, and many other things for sale, are a great source of information.

What do you have in your flock? Which is your favorite breed? What is your climate like? Do you need the best chickens for the Florida heat? Tell me, tell me!