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Day old chicks like it at 95 degs anyways. Older birds have more trouble. When the the temps get above 85 or 90 chickens start feeling the heat and you'll see them spreading their wings and panting. Their body temperature is around 105 and when the temps get much above 100 it can be life threatening if they are not accustomed to it. High humidity levels also hinders their their ability to cool themselves.
As a previous poster said, fans, fans, and fans... We've had days this summer of 100 degree weather with the heat index around 115. We have 2500 organic laying hens. In addition to the exhaust fans that normally operate in our barn, I put two large 42" fans blowing in the back door creating a strong breeze that carried through the barn out the other side. They looked miserable, but we didn't lose any. Without the fans I'm positive that we would have lost some.
It's only 87 here right now, but the humidity is at 70% for a heat index close to 100. I spent an hour working in the garage and came in drenched from head to toe in sweat.
I lived in southern New Mexico for a number of years. 100 degree heat there was nothing because the air was so dry. I could go and jog for a couple of miles in those temperatures without even breaking a sweat, it just evaporated right off... When the humidity was above 30% the locals would be complaining about how humid it was.
Day old chicks like it at 95 degs anyways. Older birds have more trouble. When the the temps get above 85 or 90 chickens start feeling the heat and you'll see them spreading their wings and panting. Their body temperature is around 105 and when the temps get much above 100 it can be life threatening if they are not accustomed to it. High humidity levels also hinders their their ability to cool themselves.
As a previous poster said, fans, fans, and fans... We've had days this summer of 100 degree weather with the heat index around 115. We have 2500 organic laying hens. In addition to the exhaust fans that normally operate in our barn, I put two large 42" fans blowing in the back door creating a strong breeze that carried through the barn out the other side. They looked miserable, but we didn't lose any. Without the fans I'm positive that we would have lost some.
It's only 87 here right now, but the humidity is at 70% for a heat index close to 100. I spent an hour working in the garage and came in drenched from head to toe in sweat.
I lived in southern New Mexico for a number of years. 100 degree heat there was nothing because the air was so dry. I could go and jog for a couple of miles in those temperatures without even breaking a sweat, it just evaporated right off... When the humidity was above 30% the locals would be complaining about how humid it was.
