thanks everyone! ive been considering fans for the coop but that wouldn't work all too well because its right behind the shop, not allowing us a safe electricity flow to the coop. I have been freezing Gatorade bottles and plopping them into the waterers and it seems to help a lot. we do that about twice a day. I refill the waterers daily, and leave pans of water out as well. between the two coops I guess the ventilation is okay. the big coop has the door open where th4 birds walk in, and the nest box flaps have about and inch of space underneath, but that's about it. in the other coop we built windows on either side of the coop, and it has doors we shut the windows with at night. that coop is a barn design.
the chickens ALWAYS stay either under the coop, under the steps the walk up their coop with, and under the wooden fort we built them. they are takin dust baths 24/7 but I cant stress enough wondering if they are hot. all of the birds are rather laxidazious in this heat, holding their wings out and such, and my silkies seem to be taking the bunt of it. poor girls.
egg production dropped from 7 a day to 2-3. I don't blame them; it is HOT!
im rather worried about my broody. she is on 7 eggs in the barn coop. the top of the coop is hot and stuffy, but we keep the vent doors open so a breeze can go through all day. whenever I see her, she is hovering over her eggs panting. I feel rell bad. HOW THE HECK DOES A BROODY REGULATE HER EGGS HEAT IN 100 DEGREE WEATHER?!?!?! do they just have to let the eggs in the nest to bake themselves?
@Michael OShay I have 2 americuana crosses, 3 silkies, 3 Japanese bantams, 4 Japanese bantam americuana crosses, a silkie Japanese cross, and 2 YOUNG polish. 2 Japanese and 5 more jap X silkies are under my broody.
Japanese bantams are not cold resistant, and I have no idea how they are with heat. 4 of my 15 birds I started last may and they are now 1. they went through all this heat at a young age, but I have now idea how their young/offspring will hold up
Thanks so much for so many of you responding!
~Bantambury
here is the barn design coop. as you can see, the birds can take shade underneath, and this pic also shows the coop windows and the interior. (this pic was taken before the best boxes were installed)
here is a pic of the big coop. we built it to allow the birds to take shelter underneath of the actual coop.
here is the big coop.
All of your breeds should handle the heat pretty well.
