Top 5 Super Chicken Breeds for SouthWest Washington Climate

Top 5 Super Chicken Breeds for SW Washington State climate

What are the Top 5 Super Chicken Breeds you want to consider for raising chickens in SW Washington State?

super chicken breeds Southwest WA state

In the original article that follows, we try our best to answer that question based on our own experience raising organic and free range chickens. For your further reference, our farm about 18 miles Southwest of the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, WA. Our hardiness zone ranges from 8A to 8B and we see frosts more frequently which have dropped to as low as 13 degrees Fahrenheit while we have in our experience.

choosing hardy chicken breeds for Washington State climate

“Top 5 Super Chicken Breeds for Southwest WA Climate”

Before we can get into the experience we have had and can share that information with you the would be chicken rancher, you need to think about your goals in raising chickens.

Do you want to raise meat birds, egg layers or both?

Do you want to sell rare heritage chicken and fowl breeds as chicks or mated pairs?

Are you a small homestead that wants a few birds for your own needs and if so how much meat or eggs will you need?

Do you want fun and friendly pet chicken type breed that follows you around and wants your attention and love all the time?

Do you want the best mousing chicken and super bug eaters?

Will you be free ranging them and are you in a predator rich environment?

choosing super chicks breeds for SW Washington State climate
choosing super chicks breeds for SW Washington State climate

We can tell you we found no articles online we read really answered that question for area based on real world trial and error in the Southwest WA area. So we did what any adventurous organic based homesteader might do and tried about a dozen breeds out in pairs in our own coop. Did we learn some things? We really did and we have some regrets about the mistakes we made and we have seen some “Super Chicken Breeds” stand out in that learning process.

“Super Chicken Breeds” are what we think that we have found that have several of the best chicken traits while being hardy for the frost and snow of winter in the Pacific Northwest. If you are not the diligent type or researcher right now your about to think “So just tell me what they are already and why.” I promise Im getting there but because these little guys lives might depend on you understanding the behaviors of different chicken breeds if you read on you will not only get our “Super Chicken Breeds” secrets but also you will learn what it takes to make sure they thrive!

Some chickens love to be out of the coop. Other chicken breeds won’t leave the coop most of the time and remain in the nest box acting broody wanting chicks to raise. Specific chicken breeds behavior make them vulnerable to predators, dehydration, and even attack from other chickens breeds or what we call “flock shunning.” Knowing about these behaviors and relating that to your needs in raising chickens will make you a successful and humane chicken rancher.

Honeycrisp Apple Juice “best I’ve ever tasted!”

honeycrisp apple juice

WA State Honeycrisp Apple Juice “is the best I’ve ever tasted!”

Honeycrisp Apple juice we recently pressed changed my mind about whether you need juicing apples that were not top quality table apples! We recently went to a community get together near Rochester, WA and Centralia, WA where residents of the Lincoln Creek and Independence Creek areas met to press apples together. The get together attracted fresh apple juice loving locals and the apple press was provided by the wonderful Jack Russell Family. We brought about 45 lbs of Honeycrisp Apples to press into juice from our farm from a heirloom all organic apple tree we have growing there.

huge honeycrisp apple juice is delicious

In the picture above you can see the size difference from the Honeycrisp Apples from our farm on the right, and the typical apples on the left. Our apples were so large that we had to take special care not to jam the apple shredder as we put them into the hopper.

honeycrisp apple trees

The apple press juicing event was organized for families to bring their own apples to juice if they did not have access to their own apple press. Donations were accepted but not required in order to maintain the excellent apple press the Russells had provided. An assembly line was set up in order to wash the apples, put them into the grinder, then to put them under the apple press, and then filter the juice into plastic containers we had brung for our own juice.