7 Week old chicks in the heat

[Spruceroost]

Hello all. I tried looking for the answer to my question, but no luck. I have some assorted 7 week old bantams I tried putting outside, but they started breathing heavy with their mouths open, so I brought them back inside. The temperature here is on average 95 degrees, they have a 14 x 8 x 6 coop with a metal roof and plenty of ventilation, but I worry it is just too hot for them. However, everyone I talk to says they just throw their chickens outside with food and water and all is well. I could really use some help with this one!

 

[Kiki]

If they have been inside in the air conditioned cool house it will be hot for them.

You could freeze some gallon size jugs (old milk containers) and place them in the coop so they can lean up against them or get close to them to help cool off.

 

[Kiki]

Make sure they have clean (cool if possible) water too.

 

[Spruceroost]

I can try that, I just don't want to walk outside to a bunch of dead chicks. Does anyone have luck with solar powered fans or anything like that?

 

[Kiki]

I am being very serious with this next question so don't be offended.
Did you not think of your weather before you got chickens?
or
Do you think that a full grown chicken does better in heat?


i love in Houston Tx..Its HOT here all the time...
My chickens do just fine.

 

[Spruceroost]

I've spoken to several chicken owners in the past here in town who said they just have theirs running around in the same weather, so I felt confident they would do just fine. However, I took them outside and saw them panting and gasping, which was surprising. Are the chickens you refer to fully grown or still in the adolescent stage? They might have similar heat issues, but these baby chicks are still developing, and these bantams die easily.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Provide shade, ventilation and water, they'll be fine. There's really not much you can do about it anyway.

 

[Blooie]

I think your biggest issue is taking them from the cool to the heat and back to the cool again again. They can't acclimate with those constant changes, plus the stress of totally new surroundings. It's hard on us to go in and out of air conditioning, and remember too that the air conditioner cools by removing humidity and outside the humidity is higher. They aren't used to that kind of change. At this age they still tend to huddle too, which is more for security in a new enviroment than for warmth, and their combined body heat doesn't help them cool off. So put them where you intend to keep them and let them learn it and acclimate to it. They are hot, no doubt about it. But they'll find ways to cool off if they get a chance to learn what they are.

I think if you relax, do as others have said and provide cold, fresh water, shade and some frosty treats they'll adapt very well. Toss them some cold watermelon - just cut it in half and give it to them. It contains lots of hydration for them, besides being a favorite for every chicken I've ever seen or heard of. Fans can indeed help if you have a safe way to set them up. Make them a mud puddle. They'll be scared to death of it at first, and may never use it. But cool mud is a great way to cool off, and they preen their feathers to get rid of the residual. Besides, that will help prevent mites somewhat. If you're fussier than I am about their appearance, then just find a good shady spot and put a pile of dirt in there. It can be cool too. You've got this - I have total confidence!

 

[chickens really]

You can try wetting the ground in the run...Provide shade..All chickens pant if too hot....Add a screen door to the Coop to allow the breeze to blow in....give them a frozen container with some watermelon in it to make a Chicken Popsicle for hot days....

 

[azygous]

What does the temperature reach inside the coop with the metal roof? Have you taken a reading? I know how hot it can get under metal roofs because I have one on my house as well as a few metal roof panels on my run. Where do you live? Florida maybe? You could scrounge up some palm fronds to help insulate the metal roof against absorbing so much heat.

Heat is much more difficult for chickens to cope with than intense cold, but they can adapt, just as humans do. (I used to live and work outdoors in the desert where the average nine-month long summer temps were nearly 120F(in the shade).

I have pretty mild summer temps where I now live, but they can still get pretty toasty at times. My chickens enjoy having their sand run dampened down with water so the evaporation effect lowers the temp by a good ten degrees. They also adore burrowing into the damp sand and letting the cool sand suck the excess heat from their bodies.

Their favorite treat in summer is canned corn frozen into an ice block which they spend hours chipping away at with their beaks, drinking the ice melt which further cools their body temperature.