My Chicken Misting Project - Is it ok for them to be wet?

[dbounds10]

Ok - I have been reading all about using misters on the boards and some people say that in Texas with humidity they wont work. Well my girls were HOT and panting and i was starting to worry. I have a fan in the window of the coop and another one under the coop where they like to hang out. I also put frozen jugs of water under the coop in the front of the fan.....still panting. So Even though the coop and run are under trees, there was still a sprinkling of sun coming through. DH and I decided to cover the top of the run with shade cloth, the difference was pretty amazing, at least 1o degrees cooler.

Well we had to go to the Lowes (almost as dangerous as the feed store), and I saw the misting systems. We talked about it and decided why not, so we bought it. It is the plastic tubing kind and we zip tied it to the top of the run (6 ft dog kennel panels). After they got over thinking the sky was dropping killer mist on them they love it. NO PANTING TODAY and it was 99 with heat index of 103.


But my question to all you veterans out there.....
When I went out this afternoon after the misters had been on for 4 hours, they were all wet. Not soaking wet but you could see beads of water on their feathers. Is this a problem? Since it is so hot and only going to get hotter, I would think they would like to be wet but I worry they might get sick from being wet every day.

This is the one we got:
http://www.orbitonline.com/products/Kits/04/04/10/114/

 

[dbounds10]

Does anyone have an opinion on them being slightly wet most of the day in 100 degree heat with a fan blowing on them?

 

[LilChickCoop]

I would like to know the answer to that one too!

 

[Katydid2011]

It sounds like you take wonderful care of your chickens.

If they can get away from the mist and be dry if they chose to, I think you're fine.

 

[carrlr]

Can't see where it's any different than when mine go out in the rain. Seems like when they've had enough they come in out of it. As long as they can get away from the mist, it should be fine.

 

[dbounds10]

I went out and got some pics this evening right before I turned off the misters for the day. I normally turn them on around noon and off between 6-7pm. All you Texas chicken keepers out there, dont be afraid to try them. So far the girls love it and I have had no panters for 2 days. If they want to get out of it they can go inside (where there is a fan in the window) or under the coop (also a fan).

Hope this helps out someone else. We shall see what it is like when the humidity picks up but I still bet it helps.

 

[dbounds10]

oh my run is already sand, so thats good. There have been no puddles from the mister, only damp sand that they like to scratch and lay in when its hot. I rake under the poo's and also run the roto tiller through it every couple weeks to keep it all turned up.

 

[BoltonChicken]

In the deep south the professional chicken producers only use fans. The air is already humid enough, no need to add more moisture to it. Moisture holds heat. Fans
evaporate moisture, which cools.
Chickens under shade with dirt floors and and good air circulation will need nothing else to survive down here. If you feel you must absolutely do something more then
put a fan on them.
The problem with misters is that they get the flooring, bedding and such wet, which is a disease producer in the heat.

Remember, they have been raising chickens for hundreds of years with good results in places much hotter than Mississippi and Texas without fans, ice water, and misters.

 

[cmom]

The birds have shade but I also have sprinklers which I turn on during the hottest part of the day in my chicken yards and my birds love to go and run around under the sprinklers and scratch in the damp soil. We have been in the upper 90's here too. The water that comes out is cool. I sometime join them.

 

[la-pro]

I'll take a picture of what I'm doing tomorrow, it's too dark right now. I have an open-air coop, I hung a light, airy cotton blanket on the side that gets the most sun and point the mister at that, also go and soak the blanket down thoroughly a couple times a day when it's the hottest. The mist keeps the blanket wet and as the air blows through it, it cools the coop down significantly while the inside stays dry. Maybe you could hang a blanket on the sunny side of your run and point the mister at it?