chickens in the hot weather! help!

[anneschickens]

okay so i have 10 chickens(+ one turkey) outside in the coop currently and yesterday it was above 90 degrees, i didnt know what to do for them. they were panting and i was worried so i brought them ice water and later on decided to mist them with cool water because they were still panting! i saw someone say misting them was not good for them!? now im even more worried!! what should i do to keep them cool this summer??

 

[Acre4Me]

Where, in general are you located?

are they in shade? Is their coop able to be moved into shade or not?

what breeds of chicken/turkey? Some tolerate heat better than others.

Can they always access shade?

how is their coop ventilated?

any pics?

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Panting is just their normal way of cooling down, like a dog. I can't see how misting would be bad for them, my chickens stand out in the rain all the time! It got above 90 here for the first time yesterday, and the hens were fine. Sometimes, if it's really hot, you can soak their feet in ice water, but they don't like it. Breeds with single combs tolerate heat better than ones with smaller combs, and smaller hens in general do better. Please send an update on your chickens!!

 

[anneschickens]

Where, in general are you located?

are they in shade? Is their coop able to be moved into shade or not?

what breeds of chicken/turkey? Some tolerate heat better than others.

Can they always access shade?

how is their coop ventilated?

any pics?

hii! im in oregon and they are in the shade almost all the time until the sun hits (isny really often and they still have shade in the run) i dont know the breeds of all the chickens rn. how do you suggest i ventilate their coop?

 

[Acre4Me]

hii! im in oregon and they are in the shade almost all the time until the sun hits (isny really often and they still have shade in the run) i dont know the breeds of all the chickens rn. how do you suggest i ventilate their coop?

Wet or dry side? Wet side might get hot, but usually not for long (I used to live in Corvallis). One the dry side can get very hot- and its harder to find shade, which is why I asked!

Breeds - are they heavily feathered? think Cochin as a heavily feathered bird. Conversely, a Leghorn is a less heavily feathered bird, and has much less under-fluff than other birds. A Leghorn is a Mediterranean breed and often those Mediterranean birds are recommended for really hot places.

Shade - glad they can always access shade, that is important. Keep providing them water that is cool to cold. They don't like to drink warm/hot water, so keep it in the shade. If you are using nipple waterers, you may want to provide them with an open waterer in the shade during hottest days so they really can drink to their hearts content. In addition, so chickens that are hot will stand in a pan of cold water to help cool off.


Mister: OK, but usually people use them in one area/corner, with the ample space to get away from the mister. And putting it in the shade is also better.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Shaded places where they can dig into the ground and spread out (assuming the ground is dry) are best, plus of course plenty of ventilation. The ground, even just an inch down, is much cooler than the air temp, and of course the earth is the world's biggest heat sink! I know how impossible it is to keep green growing things alive in a run, but in the shade of a nice bush or shrub is a great place for a chicken to hide out the heat of the day.

Breed choices help too - large prominent combs, clean legs are good. Lightly feathered birds are good (Brahma, Cochin, Orps, not so much). Smaller birds are marginally better - the CornishX is not particularly heat tolerant (honestly, the CornishX is rather brittle, health wise) though they can manage with good care.

I'm of two minds regarding misters/water. Chickens can't sweat. If its 90+ degrees outside and 90%+ humidity (i.e. Florida), adding moisture to the air isn't going to help make things better. If, OTOH, its 105 degrees and 30% humidity (central TX, where I last lived), the combination of cool water plus evaporation will definitely drop the effective temp some.

People do put ice blocks in the drinking water, offer frozen treats - both good ways of dropping core temperature quickly. Electrolyte support, to help offset assumed extra water consumption also a good plan.

If you are lucky enough to have a huge water storage system (I have a 275 gallon tote,. fed by rainwater), it tends to stay close to the average daily temp because its such a huge heat sink - so when my nights are 70, and my days are 90, that's 80 degree water +/-, not the 100+ degrees of the 5 gallon blue bucket with nipples in the run. Likewise if you use a hose fed pressurized water system for your birds - it will be close to ground temp, even better than my rainwater tote.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here is some excellent advice about chickens in extreme weather conditions: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

Your chickens will get used to your weather conditions. Here in central NC my normal summer weather is 95F with 95% humidity and the only things I do about it is to provide electrolytes once a week, plenty of fresh water, plenty of shade, and access to the ground where they can dig down into cooler layers.

 

[3KillerBs]

PS -- IMO, ice blocks, etc. are more necessary in sudden heat waves and/or during extreme heat in an area that doesn't normally get that hot.

My chickens would think of 90F in July as a cool day because we've already had 90's in May. But chickens acclimated to Maine would be more likely to need special interventions.

 

[aart]

Panting and wings held out is OK,
When they stop moving around and going for treats is when you need to worry.
EL given once a week during heat waves works here.
Misting doesn't do much if the ambient humidity is high.

how do you suggest i ventilate their coop?

Post pics of coop inside and out.

im in oregon

Welcome to BYC! @anneschickens
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[Mark Whatley]

This lady has taught me a lot about keeping chickens. Especially when it’s hot in Texas.