Mister System for my Coop? Live in hot Phoenix, AZ

Hello there, I'm just a couple hours south of you.  I have a mister that I put in my run during the summer time.  It's a 20' length of hose with emitters every two feet strung up about 2' above the ground along part of the run.  It hooks up to a hose and I can put it on a timer to go on for short periods of time during the worst part of day.  I don't have any pics and they'd be hard to see anyway, but you get the idea.  I would also look at the single emitter types on stands like this one, it would be a good size for your set up, allowing the birds to get away from the mist if they choose.   My birds aren't crazy about the misters but I think they do better with them on the worst days of summer.   We have other BYCers in Phoenix with birds that love their misters.  I guess it's all in getting used to them.

im so glad you posted im worried about my babys too I live in Las Vegas Nevada today my back poarch is 101 already for there coop im putting the roof a little higher then my bedroom window so the swamp cooler can blow cool air into the coop during the summer but still worried about our 120+ heat during july & aug there coop is in the shade from about 11am on but i think i will hook a mister up too for them

Don't forget to provide plenty of shade and lots of water.

I installed a misting system that I bought at Home Depot.  It is just plastic tubing attached to 6 mister heads and I run it almost every day in the heat of the summer.  I usually turn it on at about 11AM and turn it off at around 6PM.  It is just a simple set up that hook to a hose bib and can be run through a timer.  It is not necessary to turn the faucet on full, in fact just a bit is all it takes to begin misting.  My run is large enough where I can only have it misting in about 1/3 of the run area.  That way they can stay out of the mist when they want and walk in it if they get hot.  At first they may be a bit frightened of the mist but they will not only get used to it, but they will like it.  Without that system I think they would be very uncomfortable.

I'm so glad I did a search of this topic and found all this great info :) I am north of Phoenix in Chino Valley but it gets pretty hot here too. I'm brand new to chickens and while their outdoor run (attached to our tack shed) is partially shaded during the late day I wanted to add additional cooling via misters. I'm out there 3 times a day waterering their little garden I planted them and they seem to enjoy the gentle mist and I must admit, it's nice to keep the dust down too!!!

I'll be buying a mister for them this weekend. Thanks for all the info!

Hi!

I'm also in Phoenix AZ and just got chicks for the first time. They're only 4 weeks old but growing fast, so we need to start thinking about a coop. Even though we're getting past the hot temps until next summer, I'm still concerned about it and want to plan ahead. Did you end up putting a mister system in your run? If so, how did it work? Is there anything else you did for the heat? I've heard of people putting liter bottles of frozen water in the coop, fans or even blocks of ice. We don't have any trees in our yard for natural shade, but we plan to put the coop on the side of the house where they'll get morning sun but shade as of late morning and the rest of the day. If it's not shady enough we'll add shade screens. As far as the coop goes, I want it to be fairly open and airy for ventilation, but then I'm concerned about protection from monsoon storms. Your coop looks like it accomplishes both...good ventilation, plus protection. Did you build your coop and run yourself? If so did you get plans from somewhere or make your own plans? Would you be willing to share your plans or tell me where you got them? I plan to go on the Tour de Coop in November to hopefully get more ideas and advice.

You could try and barter with the professionals that install the misters you see at restaurants outside? Maybe barter for farm fresh eggs for a certain period of time, or a meat bird here and there, or some amazing egg dish you made?  Do you garden at all? Could try bartering with those as well..for their services to mist your coop.