help in the Phoenix area

[AZoverEZ]

Is there anyone in the Phoenix, AZ area that I could contact? We have lost all of our original hens who would have turned 3 in May. I know the heat is hard on chickens, but I really would like to talk to someone. Our last hen of the group died Sunday, after it got hot last week. We only had two from our original group because 5 of them ended up being roosters, but we purchased two others a few months later and all 4 have died. I have 3 others and hope to try and keep them around longer. They all stop laying at 2 years of age. A month or so before the hens die, always when it is hot, they have diarrhea. I have done testing for parasites/worms. Maybe they just have runny poop due to drinking more water because of the heat. I'm just curious if there is something I could be doing differently. The other chickens never get sick, so it doesn't seem to be contagious. They have a large open coop with a run and an area where they can free range.I couldn't bring myself to do a necropsy,

 

[eggbert420]

Provide lots of shade. I live in Central Texas, on really hot days I run a sprinkler on top of the coop and run to cool the hot metal roof. Itlowers the internal temperature by about 10º.

 

[AZoverEZ]

Thank you. Yes, the run is shaded and a shade cloth is placed along the south facing portion of the run. We installed a misting system 2 summers ago and also put frozen milk jugs in their water.

 

[aart]

Is there anyone in the Phoenix, AZ area that I could contact? We have lost all of our original hens who would have turned 3 in May. I know the heat is hard on chickens, but I really would like to talk to someone. Our last hen of the group died Sunday, after it got hot last week. We only had two from our original group because 5 of them ended up being roosters, but we purchased two others a few months later and all 4 have died. I have 3 others and hope to try and keep them around longer. They all stop laying at 2 years of age. A month or so before the hens die, always when it is hot, they have diarrhea. I have done testing for parasites/worms. Maybe they just have runny poop due to drinking more water because of the heat. I'm just curious if there is something I could be doing differently. The other chickens never get sick, so it doesn't seem to be contagious. They have a large open coop with a run and an area where they can free range.I couldn't bring myself to do a necropsy,

They definitely will drink more when it's hot and have loose stools because of it.
Deep shade is essential.
I use chik saver electrolytes when it's hot here.

Try your state chat thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/31227/arizona-chickens

 

[AZoverEZ]

Thank you! I have tried that thread in the past, when we first joined 3 years ago, and never received a response to any questions. I should try again.

 

[N F C]

When I had my flock in Florida, heat was an almost year-round factor. Some of the things that helped my birds stay comfortable were: large shallow dish filled with water they could stand in; hosing down the floor of the run several times a day; replacing the solid doors with screen doors; replacing the glass windows with screen windows; running a box fan in the coop (pointed up so it didn't blow directly on them); natural and manmade shade.

Hope some of those ideas work for you.