Arizona Chickens

[CaroleW]

Hey everyone! I need some input on my coop for the summer. I am not new to chickens but I am new to having chickens in Arizona. We moved to Yuma, AZ 4 years ago and I've been really good at not getting chickens because I was worried about the heat. For my birthday, my husband and son got me chicks... They were good and only got 3 thankfully because I have been stressing about the heat... My husband built me this coop which I guess someone at the store told him they have the same coop and perfect for adding fans/mister up high.

You guys are probably like, geeeez get to the point lady! SO! Will this work? It is an open air hoop coop. Front and back are open and before it started getting warmer it is completely open with a shade cloth over the top. I just added the tarp because it did get over 100 a few days ago and they needed real shade. However adding real shade to this coop seems difficult. I would of been happy with a normal coop but my husband LOVED this design the guy at the feed store showed him... I will be adding a fan to move air around, not sure about misters as I do have a sprinker that sort of comes in side (its not aggressive sprinkler, its more the a mister since its next to our tiny fruit tree). I did go inside and hung out for awhile the other day and it said it was 100 and seemed cooler to me inside but thoughts?

I hope this is the right place to post this. Someone told me to ask in the Arizona State post so I hope this is it. Don't mind the mess, we were still building the nest boxes in the back.

View attachment 3061103

Consider my poor man's evap cooling -- Cotton tablecloth to catch overspray from simple sprinkler or mister setup, it reduces puddles and can be shade if oriented correctly. The cotton holds on to some of the water and catches any breeze (not as much as a tarp to turn the coop into a sail). I pick up old sheets/towels/cotton tablecloths at estate sales very cheap to use for this purpose and just replace them as they wear out.

 

[CaroleW]

Consider my poor man's evap cooling -- Cotton tablecloth to catch overspray from simple sprinkler or mister setup, it reduces puddles and can be shade if oriented correctly. The cotton holds on to some of the water and catches any breeze (not as much as a tarp to turn the coop into a sail). I pick up old sheets/towels/cotton tablecloths at estate sales very cheap to use for this purpose and just replace them as they wear out.

NOTE: before AC in Phoenix the old-timers would use water-soaked burlap curtains on a porch at nite to sleep more comfortably. The cotton tablecloth method is just my interpretation of that old-timer know-how.

 

[springvalley123]

NOTE: before AC in Phoenix the old-timers would use water-soaked burlap curtains on a porch at nite to sleep more comfortably. The cotton tablecloth method is just my interpretation of that old-timer know-how.

What do you use to attach the sheets to the coop wall? Or how do you position them?

 

[BlueBaby]

@9d84runner When it get's really hot, they will also be drinking a lot more water, so make sure that they never run out of it. They need to stay hydrated, so that water will be very important. I have 2 of those 3 gallon pans' that sit on the ground for water that they do stand in, plus I have attached one of those baby goat trough's to the side of my horse panel run, with a couple of those cement block's under it so they can't knock it over. Ice can be added to all of those during the hot part's of the day. That's what my cleaned out empty cottage cheese container's are good for, but you can use other types of container's to freeze the water in. During the summer when it's hot, I give my flock some wet feed with the vitamin's and electrolytes mixed into it twice a week (on Sun. and Wed.) so that I can remember what day to do it. That helps to get more water into them that way, help's them to stay healthy, and they love it. Some treat's are ok, but they need to be eating their feed too. The shade cloth work's well, as the other's have mentioned, as it help's to give shade but also allows air to still flow through it.

 

[CaroleW]

What do you use to attach the sheets to the coop wall? Or how do you position them?

Cotton sheet/tablecloth is over the top of the chicken tractor or hoop coop.
I have something similar to a cafe curtain clip from IKEA that I found in my junk drawer. I hook them onto the hardware cloth that my chicken tractor is covered in.

www.ikea.com/us/en/p/riktig-curtain-hook-with-clip-80212201/

You could also just slip them under a criss cross of parachute cord - I have parachute cord crossing in a V pattern looped thru concrete blocks to hold the chicken tractor down already.

 

[BlueBaby]

I have a question for any of you that have garden's. Have you ever seen a hammerhead worm out there in it? I just found out that they exist. I'm glad that I haven't seen any, but if I do I will know what they are and how to deal with them.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/hammerhead-worm/

 

[springvalley123]

I have a question for any of you that have garden's. Have you ever seen a hammerhead worm out there in it? I just found out that they exist. I'm glad that I haven't seen any, but if I do I will know what they are and how to deal with them.

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/hammerhead-worm/

Yuk! anyone who eats food should destroy these if they find them.

 

[cavemanrich]

I am not likely to encounter these in my climate area,,,,,,but good to know. If I encounter a post with a new person wondering if they should feed these wacky worms to their chickens,,, I will have the correct advice on how to handle them.

 

[BlueBaby]

Yuk! anyone who eats food should destroy these if they find them.

I agree, but don't cut them as each piece will grow into another one of those. The article say's how to go about properly killing them.

 

[BlueBaby]

I am not likely to encounter these in my climate area,,,,,,but good to know. If I encounter a post with a new person wondering if they should feed these wacky worms to their chickens,,, I will have the correct advice on how to handle them.

There was another thread here on BYC that mentioned them being up in Ohio, so they are moving north too.

Edited to add that link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/beware-hammerhead-worm.1520079/#post-25593346