115 degrees in California. Worried about my girls.

[Kimberly K]

Today is more than hot, it's miserable. So here is what I have done for my girls. Please feel free to offer advice. My 5 chickens are 11 weeks old and 8 weeks old. They have there red coop with plenty of veneration plus there 20x 20 run fenced in.
I put a frozen water bottle in there water to keep water cold, watered down a few patches of dirt and put a fan outside. Am I being overly concerned?
There beaks are open like there over heating. Maybe that's part of there cooling process but is a new behavior for me to see.
I don't have sand in coop but there is some loose dirt. I took them some watermelon and they loved it.
I'm ipen to suggestions if I'm missing anything.

 

[Gray Farms]

You've done everything I would suggest already. I think you've got some well looked after girls.

 

[BruceAZ]

115 is not bad.. it was 118 here.. 122 was the record.

maybe provide additional shade for them.. and pans of water

my chickens like to stand in the water

so put in some pans in the run and fill it with water.. not too high though.. maybe 1 - 1.5 in

or you can put something with a large enough brim so they can grab on and just hanging to the edge of the bowl/pan, etc..

as water evaporates it will help them stay cool

 

[Kimberly K]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

 

[aart]

The beaks open is panting...how they cool down, like a dog does.
They also will hold their wings out away from their bodies.

I dump piles of ice cubes in a large shallow pan and just on the ground.
I'll grab some greens and toss in the run to gauge activity levels, if they're still moving OK I rule heat stroke out.
Cool(not cold) bucket of water to immerse bird in if heat stroke happens.

If it's dry(not humid) where you, are misters can really help.

 

[Fletch83]

I found these awesome suggestions for cold treats in hot weather!

http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/06/frozen-ice-pops-mint-helps-beat-heat.html

I'm going to try some today.

 

[Kimberly K]

Thanks guys. Great idea on ice cubes

 

[LadySin]

I just lost my entire flock this past weekend from the heat. I had a BPR, RSL, three EES, and what I think was a Wyandotte. I'm devastated that they didn't make it through their first summer here. I think I need to spend more time on these boards so I can prevent overheating for my next flock...

 

[ejcrist]

I just lost my entire flock this past weekend from the heat.

I had a BPR, RSL, three EES, and what I think was a Wyandotte. I'm devastated that they didn't make it through their first summer here. I think I need to spend more time on these boards so I can prevent overheating for my next flock...

Gosh I'm sorry to hear that. That's a shame. Yeah I learned a lot on here about keeping my gals relatively cool. So far so good (knock-knock). Pans of water for them to stand in is a really big help. And like Art said, a mister goes a long way too. I built a covered run because I knew the sun here is way too much for any living creature during the summer. Don't know if you had enough shade for them or not but it's a must during June-July-August. I hope you have better luck going forward.

 

[LadySin]

Thank you. Yeah, the run is covered, and we're discussing a mister system.