Tips to keep hens cool in extreme heat

[Anastatia_S]

Where I live in England it is currently 36°c, soon to be 38°c and quite humid. I have three hens that have been managing quite well but today one of my silkies is really struggling with the heat. She is sat in the coop panting and I’m worried about her. They are in complete shade in their run and inside the coop is a few degrees cooler than the run itself. I have been giving them small amounts of cold watermelon and cucumber during the heatwave which seems to have helped keep them cooler. But chickpea is still struggling. Does anyone have any tips to help keep them cool?

 

[KyCoop]

You can put ice in their water and dampen the ground in their run. You can also give them frozen peas which helps too.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here's my article on hot climate chicken care: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

But,

They are in complete shade in their run and inside the coop is a few degrees cooler than the run itself.

So you're probably doing things right.

Some breeds and some individual birds are more or less heat-tolerant. Hopefully she'll ride it out OK.

 

[Mrs. K]

A break might help. Just a chance to get cooled off, depending on your comfort level, it might be worth it to bring the one stressed chicken in. My DH would complain loudly, but a couple of hours might help. Not forever, not for days, just a bit of a break.

We hit 114 F degrees, but so far, mine are holding their own. I let mine out, so that they can decide where is the coolest place.

Mrs K

 

[Anastatia_S]

Here's my article on hot climate chicken care: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

But,



So you're probably doing things right.

Some breeds and some individual birds are more or less heat-tolerant. Hopefully she'll ride it out OK.

Thank you. She seems to be doing much better now.

 

[Anastatia_S]

A break might help. Just a chance to get cooled off, depending on your comfort level, it might be worth it to bring the one stressed chicken in. My DH would complain loudly, but a couple of hours might help. Not forever, not for days, just a bit of a break.

Mrs K

I was considering that but she seems to be doing okay now. She’s stopped panting and is seeming more like herself.

 

[Mrs. K]

Good, I am glad that she made it through.

It is always a toss up, because a strange place stresses chickens too. But heat stroke is real. Generally speaking, shade through out the day and water are enough to get them through it...but sometimes it can be too much. It is a judgement call.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

I highly recommend a dose of electrolytes once a week during heat waves.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Mr Spot]

Where I live in England it is currently 36°c, soon to be 38°c and quite humid. I have three hens that have been managing quite well but today one of my silkies is really struggling with the heat. She is sat in the coop panting and I’m worried about her. They are in complete shade in their run and inside the coop is a few degrees cooler than the run itself. I have been giving them small amounts of cold watermelon and cucumber during the heatwave which seems to have helped keep them cooler. But chickpea is still struggling. Does anyone have any tips to help keep them cool?

I wet the ground down twice a day here, it's shady one side of the coop in the mornings and shady on the other side in the evening so I spray the shady sides morning and afternoon, I also put ice in the waterers. Doing these two things have seemed to help a lot.

 

[Hensintexas]

You might try freezing a bottle of water and dropping the whole thing in the chicken’s water. It seems to help mine if the temp goes over 100. This has been an unusually hard summer! We had one Red hen that nearly died of heat stroke, even with all our “anti-heat” procedures. It has been six weeks since that happened, and we still watch all of them closely! Good luck with your babies!