Guinea are the best choice for heat tolerance and the worst choice for HOA Nazis.
If you don't care about egg production, what's the point? Want to raise a few clutches of chicks? Bad idea. That'll require a rooster. HOA + Rooster =Trouble.
Want meat type chickens? Another bad idea, because there are roosters in a flock of meat type chickens. Heavy chickens will be most bothered by the heat.

Ever consider Box Turtles? They lay eggs and won't bother the neighbors.

 

Surfing the hatchery sites might give you some answers. Bantams are small and that should help. Maybe a breed who's name isn't a location in England or New England. Ameraucana comes from a Chilean breed and you'd get purty blue eggs. Buckeye is from Ohio and it can get hot there. I've had chickens in Missouri and it gets hot and is humid here in the Ozarks. 95, 96, 98 degrees happens regularly. We came from FL and I stepped off the RV in July and thought I was still in FL. 98 degrees, humidity 90%. We had Rhode Island Reds here.

Had two years of heat wave here with temps over 100 and high humidity. We didn't have chickens at the time but our neighbor did as did many people and I never heard about chickens dying.

See my sig btw

 

Chickens evolved in hot, humid jungle climates.
Give them some shady areas and plenty of clean fresh water and they won't mind the heat.

 

X2

 

quiet and docile will be more important than heat tolerance in your HOA territory. If you just want pets, not eggs, try Speckled Sussex, Belgian D'uccle. Eggs and Purty, Buff Orpington, Ameraucana, Way too many to list. Go to one of the hatchery sites and loo at their pictures, then read the descriptions on the web to see what the egg laying expectations are. Opinion: If you are going to go to the trouble of keeping the chickens you may as well get a few eggs.

 

any northern chicken is actually good for hot humid weather, as us northerners have the ability to intelligently adapt to our surroundings and find solutions as needed. Here's a northern chicken adapting to hot weather adequately for instance. This particular one doesn't currently have a ice cold beer in the photo, because one of the roosters are currently fetching one for her.

 

Any hatchery site that says a bird is heat tolerant, is probably going to be a good choice. I haven't seen one of my chickens play in a kiddie swimming pool like I have my turkeys, but they do lay around it -probably bc the water is cool. Provide some shade (think trees, not a coop w no air circulation) and they'll be happy. For winters: as long as you have a few birds that can huddle together and some shelter, I think you'll be surprised how well they do.

 

Chicken breeds with large combs and wattles are generally better suited for warm climates. The combs and wattles allow heat to escape from their bodies a bit more easily. Birds with smaller combs and wattles tend to be better suited for cold weather as the birds are less likely to become frostbitten in those areas. A frostbitten rooster can actually become sterile. Similarly, lighter-weight breeds of chickens tend to be better suited to hot weather as their lighter body mass allows them to tolerate the heat. Cornish X's are particularly susceptible to keeling over from the heat but they can do well in hot climates, especially if they are raised in late winter/early spring and slaughtered before it gets too hot.

You can also do a bit of research to find out which breeds were developed in your particular area. The breeds that we have today were generally developed by crossing different types to come up with ones that worked well in different climates and for different uses (meat versus eggs). For example, people who raise chickens for slaughter are generally looking for larger bird breeds, while people looking for eggs usually want lightweight birds to cut down on the amount of feed that is needed.

Here is a PDF of Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart which can provide a bit of assistance with selecting the proper breed for your area and uses:

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/hendersonschickenchart.pdf

 

A frostbitten rooster can actually become sterile.

Really!?...haven't seen that happen here.
Cockbird here is in his second year of FB....still hopping on the girls and making bullseyes.

 

Had a woman visiting tell us once that our Buff Orpingtons weren't a good hot weather bird. Eh, we have quite a few pure black Australorps, that I think would suffer more greatly under the direct sun, and as of yet we have not had a single bird drop due to heat.
Unless you are living in death valley in a tent with no coop for the birds, I wouldn't be concerned.

 

Thanks for the information. Apparently, hot and humid weather is not a major issue, given adequate shade and water.

I have continued my research and am thinking about Dominiques, a heritage breed. Also considering Barred Rocks and Australorps. Quiet, friendly birds is a priority.

 

I am going back to Red Stars. Switched to Australorps and that was a mistake. They eat more and lay less. The Red Stars layed all winter long, an egg a day and bigger eggs , hot or cold weather. At 3 yrs old they were laying about 60% so switched. Should have bought new Red Star chicks. The Australorps lay about 50%.

Anyone want to help me pluck 25 big hens?

 

My most favorite is Rhode Island Red. When Its going to be above 100 some days I already have the extra shades made and I spray the dirt below the shades early so it soaks in---they get under the shades and dust bath a lot during the hottest parts of the days, never lost one to the heat. Shade--I pick up lots of flat sheets at yard sales cheap---I tie a knot in the 4 corners as close as I can--I have 4 T post driven already from last year. I just use 4 bungie cords hooked 1 on each corner and hooked to the T post/ Makes a quick shade, last for a whole season and the rain goes right through them to keep the dirt below them with moisture in it.