Air conditioning the coop?

[RubelliteRose]

Is bringing them inside the house the only thing we can do?

That is not something I would recommend. We had our first chicks inside the house WAY too long (about 10 weeks) due to problems finishing the coop. It is a very good thing we were planning to gut the room and redo it anyway, there was SO much dust everywhere. I can't even imagine how dusty a house would be with adult chickens, not to mention the smell.
In any case, we spend much of the summer with temperatures in the 90s and heat indexes will over 100. 110-115 heat index is normal here. My chickens just spend more time in the deep shade under the back porch and drinking cool water. We also set up large beach umbrellas on the southwest side of the coop to shade it from the sun.
I know I find it easier to just stay outside on hot days if I need to do things outside rather than try to go in and out of the AC all day. I'm sure the chickens would feel the same

 

[SarahLadd]

Im shocked. I lived there for a couple years as a kid and I remember the cold and the summers weren't warm like that..

Tomorrow the 14th of June, 97 degrees. The end of the week looks very similar. I suspect by late July we're all going to be having problems

 

[samanthaoverton]

Tomorrow the 14th of June, 97 degrees. The end of the week looks very similar. I suspect by late July we're all going to be having problems

It was in the 90s here today too. My black chickens looked hotter than the rest (Easter egger and mutt). I had to top everyones water off mid-day. My lazy littler ones laid in the grass..

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have air conditioning in my coop. It's awesome. My birds do fine with it. I only turn it on when the temps are way above normal and my birds are feeling the effects (basically, I turn it on when my Welsummer is making the noise she makes when she's too hot).

 

[SarahLadd]

I have air conditioning in my coop. It's awesome. My birds do fine with it. I only turn it on when the temps are way above normal and my birds are feeling the effects (basically, I turn it on when my Welsummer is making the noise she makes when she's too hot).

Yes!! This is what I wanted to do. I have heaters in my coop that I turn on when it gets to -15 or lower. If temps come back up over -15 I turn them off. I wanted to apply the same system to the air conditioning. Do they know it's on and seek refuge near it?

 

[rayrose]

I lost one of my hens yesterday because it was brutally hot
102 and all of the measures I had used before did not work.
It's going to be 103 today with heat index of 110. The only thing
that really works in this kind of weather are fans and AC. My birds
stay in their covered totally shaded run. I can't AC the run, but
I'll have 3 box fans, centrally located, that will be running ALL day long.Then when they go inside the coop to roost, I'm moving one of the fans inside the coop, even though I have a window on all 4 walls plus eave ventilation. I learned my lesson yesterday.
You can have all of the cold water, watermelon and whatever else, but the ONLY thing that works, when the heat becomes excessive are fans and AC. RIP my little Chloe.

 

[igorsMistress]

Last 4 years we have had several days in a row of over 100 degree weather with no rain and water restrictions in Minneapolis

I've lived in Central Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and now Minnesota so I'm just kinda doing the Midwest tour. It's not Phoenix hot here for sure but to say it doesn't reach 90-95 for several weeks in a row is probably verifiable in records. I stayed inside last year an awful lot because of how hot it was

I think the heat is relative to what you’re used to. We adapt with time to our climate. I promise you I couldn’t take the 90-95 with the humidity you guys have. Here that’s a decent day when we can things done well into the early afternoon before we hide inside lol.

 

[SarahLadd]

I think the heat is relative to what you’re used to. We adapt with time to our climate. I promise you I couldn’t take the 90-95 with the humidity you guys have. Here that’s a decent day when we can things done well into the early afternoon before we hide inside lol.

I've lived in the north central area of the United states 36 years and good God is it just getting hotter and hotter. Summer is my favorite season, I have seasonal affective disorder for winter, but the heat is keeping me inside more than I've ever been. I had a discussion this morning with my husband, when the watermelon and frozen peas and cold water and "shade" don't work anymore because the heat is unusually, absurdly, not in the least bit normal levels of hot and everyone's birds start to die, what then?

 

[igorsMistress]

I've lived in the north central area of the United states 36 years and good God is it just getting hotter and hotter. Summer is my favorite season, I have seasonal affective disorder for winter, but the heat is keeping me inside more than I've ever been. I had a discussion this morning with my husband, when the watermelon and frozen peas and cold water and "shade" don't work anymore because the heat is unusually, absurdly, not in the least bit normal levels of hot and everyone's birds start to die, what then?

Your birds can handle more than you think! Honestly, once its 110 here it’s just plain HOT and our lack of humidity doesn’t mean much. We become our own personal swamps at that point lol. My birds don’t like it, but they manage. Try giving them wet mash at night, electrolytes are a HUGE help for my crew, and with plenty of shade and ventilation in their coop they’ll be ok.

If you gradually increase your exposure to the heat you may be able to adjust. My doc told me to drink a Gatorade before bed Friday night to prep for the heat, and at the end of the day when I’m done outside, and it really helps.

 

[3KillerBs]

Acclimation is critical.

For my birds in July 90F is a cool day. But for flocks that aren't used to heat or when it comes on suddenly it's a lot more of a problem.