Summertime is a wonderful time, but with the sunshine and long days comes a potential hazard for our flocks: extreme heat. Chickens naturally wear a warm coat of feathers and can overheat easily, therefore it is essential that we provide means for them to cool down, if needed, and regulate their body temperatures.
First, here are some signs that your chickens are getting hot:
1. Panting. Chickens can pant, just like dogs do. It might seem weird, but that is one thing they do to try and keep cool.
2. Wings drooping. Chickens will hang their wings down instead of holding them against their sides as they usually do, this will help let heat out.
3. Standing tall and flapping. Chickens do this to get a bit of air circulating around their bodies. It probably feels like when your friend (or somebody other than you) flaps a book or a piece of cardboard at you. The nice wind feeling on a hot day.
4. Taking dust/dirt bathes. Chickens will take a dirt bath (or dust bath) on a hot day to get the cool feeling of dirt up against their bodies.
Provide Plenty of Fresh Cool Water
Now is the time to provide your chickens with additional amounts of water. Chickens drink double the amount of water during high heat conditions. Make sure your flock has access to extra water both inside and outside the coop. It also prevents chickens from fighting over who gets to drink first when there are more than one sources of water. Ensure the chickens can find their water pans by placing them around the yard. By doing so, they will drink more frequently.
Clean and fresh water is crucial! In order to keep the water cool and fresh, you need to replace it daily. Cool water will be more appealing to chickens than warm water. It is important to clean the water bowls more often during hot weather as algae is more likely to grow.
Make Sure Their Coop is Well Ventilated
Ventilation, an incredibly important aspect of keeping chickens cool because chickens can easily die in a stuffy, overheated coop. A large amount of passive ventilation is essential if you live in a hot climate. This can be created through windows, vents, and roof gables. While this may seem like a predator concern, if you securely cover all openings with 1/2-1/4 inch hardware cloth, they should be completely secure and less prone to dying from heatstroke. This ventilation will be good for your birds, not only because it keeps them cool, but also because more ventilation allows harmful gases such as ammonia to be dissipated. This is beneficial for maintaining a healthy respiratory tract.
Shade, shade & more shade!
Shade is the most important way to keep your chickens cool in the summer. Placing the coop next to a building or a tree will help to provide shade. A deciduous tree is a good option because the foliage will provide shade in the summer and the absence of foliage in the winter will let sunlight through for warmth. The difference between shade and direct sunlight can be up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it one of the most significant ways you can keep your chickens cool. This can be provided in many ways:
Who doesn't like a frozen treat on a hot day? Providing chilled fruits and veggies will help in cooling off your chickens. Here are some commonly frozen treats you can feed your flock:
Put out Shallow Pans with Cold Water/Ice for them to Stand or Sit In
You can also use an old snow sled and fill it with water and big chunks of ice. This will help because they can walk in it and drink ice-cold water. Another water idea is to fill up a baby pool with shallow water. Some chickens would love to go wading in a pool on a hot summer's day like us humans.
Put a Fan in their Coop
Fans are also a very useful tool to create airflow manually. For smaller coops, box fans can be securely attached to a window. For larger, taller coops, overhead fans can be an incredibly effective and useful addition. However, when running electricity into the coop, keep in mind that practically everything in a coop has the potential to become kindling, so make sure that you buy appliances that are designed for outdoor use, and be sure to check the wiring often to ensure its safety, as rats, mice, and other small animals do have a habit of chewing through electrical cords.
Get Heat Tolerant Chicken Breeds
Just as some breeds handle the cold better than others, some breeds handle heat better than others. This is an important consideration for those keeping a flock in hot climates. Chickens that aren't well-equipped for the heat may suffer from heatstroke in prolonged high temperatures. Some breeds are barely phased by the heat, and thus are a better choice for places with very hot climates.
Lightly Wet the Sand in Their Run
Using Sand as a floor covering your coop has its many advantages. But regarding its use for summer temperatures, one major advantage stands out: It's Cool! Yes, temperature-wise, sand is a cool substance and makes for a great way to help beat the summer heatwaves. It's also been proven to stay cooler in the warmer seasons and have a higher thermal density in colder weather. In extreme summer temperatures, you can also lightly wet the sand in their run to keep the temperature down. Just don't overwater it that it becomes muddy.
Install a Misting System
One of the best ways is by using a mister. Misters are used by commercial poultry farms to regulate the temperature inside buildings, and studies have shown that these reduce the temperature and improve the health of the birds. Luckily enough, this proven way to keep cool can easily be adapted for backyard flocks. You can find a misting line that attaches to a hose or spigot at many home improvement stores that are a fairly reasonable price. You will want to keep their food in an area where it won't get directly misted on so that it doesn't get soggy or moldy.
All of these are great ideas to prevent your chickens from heatstroke.
The above list is made up of results from our poll, How Do You Keep Your Chickens Cool In Summer? which was conducted by our members. Which ones do you implement to keep your flock cool in the hot summer months? Let us know in the comments!
If you liked this list, check out some of the other great lists we have here: BYC Top Lists!
Further Reading:
First, here are some signs that your chickens are getting hot:
1. Panting. Chickens can pant, just like dogs do. It might seem weird, but that is one thing they do to try and keep cool.
2. Wings drooping. Chickens will hang their wings down instead of holding them against their sides as they usually do, this will help let heat out.
3. Standing tall and flapping. Chickens do this to get a bit of air circulating around their bodies. It probably feels like when your friend (or somebody other than you) flaps a book or a piece of cardboard at you. The nice wind feeling on a hot day.
4. Taking dust/dirt bathes. Chickens will take a dirt bath (or dust bath) on a hot day to get the cool feeling of dirt up against their bodies.
Provide Plenty of Fresh Cool Water
Now is the time to provide your chickens with additional amounts of water. Chickens drink double the amount of water during high heat conditions. Make sure your flock has access to extra water both inside and outside the coop. It also prevents chickens from fighting over who gets to drink first when there are more than one sources of water. Ensure the chickens can find their water pans by placing them around the yard. By doing so, they will drink more frequently.
Clean and fresh water is crucial! In order to keep the water cool and fresh, you need to replace it daily. Cool water will be more appealing to chickens than warm water. It is important to clean the water bowls more often during hot weather as algae is more likely to grow.
Make Sure Their Coop is Well Ventilated
Ventilation, an incredibly important aspect of keeping chickens cool because chickens can easily die in a stuffy, overheated coop. A large amount of passive ventilation is essential if you live in a hot climate. This can be created through windows, vents, and roof gables. While this may seem like a predator concern, if you securely cover all openings with 1/2-1/4 inch hardware cloth, they should be completely secure and less prone to dying from heatstroke. This ventilation will be good for your birds, not only because it keeps them cool, but also because more ventilation allows harmful gases such as ammonia to be dissipated. This is beneficial for maintaining a healthy respiratory tract.
Shade, shade & more shade!
Shade is the most important way to keep your chickens cool in the summer. Placing the coop next to a building or a tree will help to provide shade. A deciduous tree is a good option because the foliage will provide shade in the summer and the absence of foliage in the winter will let sunlight through for warmth. The difference between shade and direct sunlight can be up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it one of the most significant ways you can keep your chickens cool. This can be provided in many ways:
- Place their run in a shaded area
- Have a roof over their run
- Have lots of trees and bushes for them to sit under
- Put a shade cloth/heat resistant tarp over their run
Who doesn't like a frozen treat on a hot day? Providing chilled fruits and veggies will help in cooling off your chickens. Here are some commonly frozen treats you can feed your flock:
- Watermelon
- Tomatoes
- Berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Melon (Cantaloupe, Honeydew, etc.)
Put out Shallow Pans with Cold Water/Ice for them to Stand or Sit In
You can also use an old snow sled and fill it with water and big chunks of ice. This will help because they can walk in it and drink ice-cold water. Another water idea is to fill up a baby pool with shallow water. Some chickens would love to go wading in a pool on a hot summer's day like us humans.
Put a Fan in their Coop
Fans are also a very useful tool to create airflow manually. For smaller coops, box fans can be securely attached to a window. For larger, taller coops, overhead fans can be an incredibly effective and useful addition. However, when running electricity into the coop, keep in mind that practically everything in a coop has the potential to become kindling, so make sure that you buy appliances that are designed for outdoor use, and be sure to check the wiring often to ensure its safety, as rats, mice, and other small animals do have a habit of chewing through electrical cords.
Get Heat Tolerant Chicken Breeds
Just as some breeds handle the cold better than others, some breeds handle heat better than others. This is an important consideration for those keeping a flock in hot climates. Chickens that aren't well-equipped for the heat may suffer from heatstroke in prolonged high temperatures. Some breeds are barely phased by the heat, and thus are a better choice for places with very hot climates.
Lightly Wet the Sand in Their Run
Using Sand as a floor covering your coop has its many advantages. But regarding its use for summer temperatures, one major advantage stands out: It's Cool! Yes, temperature-wise, sand is a cool substance and makes for a great way to help beat the summer heatwaves. It's also been proven to stay cooler in the warmer seasons and have a higher thermal density in colder weather. In extreme summer temperatures, you can also lightly wet the sand in their run to keep the temperature down. Just don't overwater it that it becomes muddy.
Install a Misting System
One of the best ways is by using a mister. Misters are used by commercial poultry farms to regulate the temperature inside buildings, and studies have shown that these reduce the temperature and improve the health of the birds. Luckily enough, this proven way to keep cool can easily be adapted for backyard flocks. You can find a misting line that attaches to a hose or spigot at many home improvement stores that are a fairly reasonable price. You will want to keep their food in an area where it won't get directly misted on so that it doesn't get soggy or moldy.
All of these are great ideas to prevent your chickens from heatstroke.
The above list is made up of results from our poll, How Do You Keep Your Chickens Cool In Summer? which was conducted by our members. Which ones do you implement to keep your flock cool in the hot summer months? Let us know in the comments!
If you liked this list, check out some of the other great lists we have here: BYC Top Lists!
Further Reading:
