??? Any ideas for helping the birds beat the heat???

[SpringtownEggLady]

How is everyone dealing with the extreme heat we are having? My birds seem to be absolutely miserable. Some of them don't seem to have an appetite. I have been giving them plenty of water, shade and ventillation. Any clever ideas out there as to how we can make them more comfortable. We will take all the help we can get.

My guineas seem to be doing better than the chickens, but they are without a doubt hot as well.

I have a "baby area" and I make sure these little guys and girls have electrolites in their water. They are a little more confined than the older/larger birds so I have a fan running on them.

 

[Judy]

We run a fan all summer. If a bird seems to be in trouble with the heat, I dunk her in a pail of air temp water and let her air dry. I've tried getting them wading in water without success, and they avoid a water sprinkler. I wet down any bare, hot areas of soil, and even hose down the coop.

 

[Darklingstorm]

Fans especially in the coop but not where they can get to them or the cords

Mister unit outside for some cooling off

I keep a gallon of water in the frig and give it to them during the hottest part of the day.

I also give them partially frozen veggies like squash or pumpkins

I will also take cut up pieces of veggies or leftover veggies and put them in a bowl with water to make a large frozen veggie pop cycle.

Last year when it hit 120 degrees I would add ice to their water too.

To date I've not lost a single chicken to heat exhaustion.

 

[bj taylor]

for the outside i'm using two misters (just those little free standing things you get at home depot/lowes that you screw onto a hose) in one area under a tree. the birds use it extensively. during the worst of the day, this is where i find them.

inside the coop is the worst place. i've got a fan pulling air in & one pulling air out & still it's so hot in there. they're miserable & i worry about them. i'm very reluctant to run a mister in there because i feel it will create an environment to grow pathogens & my birds will get sick.
i've opened the back of their nest boxes (where i reach in to get the eggs) during the day. i've hung "curtains" of burlap sack cut into strips to hang on this back side to help give the illusion of "privacy". this helps the coop during the day get more cross ventilation. the girls don't like the change so they're laying their eggs on the floor. i'm hoping they quickly go back. i close the lid at night because of predators.

i'm pretty worried one of my girls is going to go broody during this heat & try to stay in the coop during the day. i'm hoping i'm wrong about that.

we're leaving on a week long trip soon. i'm very anxious about that.

 

[Roxannemc]

They have a tarp over their run top to shade it
get cool veggies,
ice in their water,
have a hose dripping on a plastic paint throw on top of a shower curtain on top of the lower run attached to the big one . The sides of the curtain come down over the 2 ft wide run so the cool air closed in by the curtain sort of makes air conditioning in there

They arent even breathing hard and eat like champs~!!

Also their summer tractor coop is small but 1/2 screen.
The wood roof i run a cold hose on it near bed time and put a big plastic tray on top which i fill with cold water and ice so the coolness seeps down onto their head thru the wood all night .(Or thats the hope)
Sometimes water the grass underneath with the cool hose water as the floor of the coop is wire(I have a well so no huge water bill or i couldnt do all this i guess).

 

[NobscotFarmer]

I feed my birds cold watermelon along frozen peas and corn. I just recently discovered that the girls enjoy orange sherbet. I don't like to give them a lot of it because I don't want them consuming all that sugar, but its so cute to see them eating the sherbet. They get it ALL over their faces.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

When it gets too hot I freeze big bottles of water and lay them around. I also give them plenty of COLD water

 

[real_redhead]

Frozen fruits and veggies, frozen water bottles, change water often and put ice in it, dunk their feet in water. I pick them up and hold their feet in the water for a min or so (they might not like it at first but they get used to it). I spray the trees and bushes where they like to lay I do not spray down the run as I am also afraid of the girls getting sick if things stay wet or mold grows.