Am I being over protective?

[beejentl]

It is 101 right now in Vacaville CA and is supposed to get up to 107. I was watching my girls in the back yard. They have shade and were laying under the coop panting away in the heat. I felt so sorry for them that I put them in the dog crate and brought them in the house so they could be in the air conditioning. They have a towel to lay on and their food and water inside the kennel.
My husband loves the chickens but says I am being ridiculous. He says they are farm animals and should be used to being outside in a variety of temperatures. Am I being too soft? Should I put them back outside or keep them in until it cools down? Any thoughts on this are appreciated!
Thanks!!

 

[Uzuri]

Bringing them in and out is going to be worse for them than leaving them outside -- the shock isn't good.

But there's no reason not to make them more comfortable out there! Give them milkjugs full of ice to sit against, put up a barn fan (where they can't touch it!), give them plenty of fresh water. They're uncomfortable because it's hard to shed heat in those temperatures, so do what you can to make it easier.

 

[WingingIt]

I've never brought ours in (21 of them. lol) but I do freeze water in old butter containers and go out and put them in their waterers on hot days. I've also watered down a patch and even misted the few that came over investigating what I was going. They seemed to enjoy it. A fan would be good if there's no breeze, too.

 

[tabbitha1000]

I spray mine down with the hose every few hours. They dig a nice cool patch in the wet dirt to lay in for awhile too.

 

[beejentl]

Thanks so much for all your advice and ideas!! I am going to implement all of them!!!

Appreciate it!
Brooke

 

[elmo]

It's certainly best to let your chickens try to acclimate to the heat and do the things mentioned to help them cope. But chickens can and do die from overheating, so keep an eye out for real heat distress so you can act quickly. I thought there were some good tips in this article:

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/4/4-3/caring_for_your_poultry_in_hot_weather.html

 

[beejentl]

Great article Elmo!
Thanks!

 

[boogiedog]

I've been buying the big bags of frozen peas and carrots and opening one or two of those a day and tossing them out to the ladies (while still frozen).

 

[beejentl]

Oooooh boogiedog, that is a neat idea!!

 

[redhen]

I keep a sprinkler on for them in the real hot weather... (they don tlike it..but it really cools down the run area..)
I also lay out pans of ice cubes.. they sometimes stand in them and drnk the cold water..
I also feed them frozen fruit.. I but a watermelon or cantelope and slice it up and freeze it..
Also..frozen corn on the cobb... freeze some yogurt..they like that too..
I also use a fan in the coop sometimes..
But the MOST important things are.. GOOD SHADE and plenty of cool water for them.