10 week olds are panting hard in the coop

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

It got to 95 in Seattle and I worked hard to keep them cool today - even in the shade it was toasty. I put a fan to their coop window (there are three windows) before sunset to help it cool down. It’s now 78 inside with two fans to the coop and they’re still panting. I brought some fresh water and offered, a couple of them took a sip but didn’t want more. Is this fairly normal or should I be taking more steps to cool them down?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They'll probably be ok by morning. What is the forecast for tomorrow?

 

[Shezadandy]

It got to 95 in Seattle and I worked hard to keep them cool today - even in the shade it was toasty. I put a fan to their coop window (there are three windows) before sunset to help it cool down. It’s now 78 inside with two fans to the coop and they’re still panting. I brought some fresh water and offered, a couple of them took a sip but didn’t want more. Is this fairly normal or should I be taking more steps to cool them down?

Create a cross breeze if you can. i.e. have one of the fans pointing OUT - i.e. blowing hot air out of the coop, and one (or two!!!) if you can blowing straight onto your chickens.

Getting the hot air pumped out is just as important as getting air circulating under the feathers.

You can also run cold hose water over the top of the coop to cool the roof.

Watermelon (I do this about 1.5hrs before bedtime outside) can help too - I leave mine by an A/C vent in the house so they stay nice and cool, then cut up into chunks to help them cool off.

Also, of course cold water.

 

[Shezadandy]

They'll probably be ok by morning. What is the forecast for tomorrow?

"AWFUL with a side of TERRIBLE"
We're in the middle of a heat wave up here in the NW. BLECK! Most of the year is spent keeping the rain and wind out ... then comes the heat wave.

 

[Shezadandy]

It got to 95 in Seattle and I worked hard to keep them cool today - even in the shade it was toasty. I put a fan to their coop window (there are three windows) before sunset to help it cool down. It’s now 78 inside with two fans to the coop and they’re still panting. I brought some fresh water and offered, a couple of them took a sip but didn’t want more. Is this fairly normal or should I be taking more steps to cool them down?

In the end I added a ventilation fan (linked below) meant specifically to take the abuse of chicken conditions. It is pretty easy to install and is efficient. As long as you have an outlet to plug it in, it's just cutting the hole and 4 screws.

We installed a screen door (like the metal security screen kind you put at the front door) as the "people door" and the ventilation fan goes directly across from that metal screen door to let the air go through.

https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=D74B298D-3C6F-4287-9F9F-4EA09B8D0A73

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

They'll probably be ok by morning. What is the forecast for tomorrow?

High of 82 thank goodness.