any ideas on keeping your coops cool in the hot summer months.

[bucky52]

the daytime temps.are hitting 90 degress.we haven't any hit summer.my coops are so hot.i have cross venalation and fans.and when my girls they are on the roost.they are panting and have their wings raised.I used to love summer.since i became a poultry keeper.i totally hate it.any input would be greatly appreiciated.
thank you.

 

[bucky52]

the daytime temps.are hitting 90 degress.we haven't any hit summer.my coops are so hot.i have cross venalation and fans.and when my girls they are on the roost.they are panting and have their wings raised.I used to love summer.since i became a poultry keeper.i totally hate it.any input would be greatly appreiciated.
thank you.

excuse the spelling.forgot to hit spell check.

 

[aart]

Read this - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

 

[bucky52]

thank you,the only other place to cut ventilation holes.is behind the roosting area.DH said the inside of the coop will always be the same temperatures as the outside.no matter how many holes you cut in.it was 89 yesterday.and the temps in their coop was 89.

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

We have a three panel screened window on one side, one panel screened on the opposite side. Then in the floor we have on the opposing sides two large screened holes in the floor that pull lots of fresh air into the coop. The geese love it. They park a squat and snooze with the breeze. We live on a ridge top so we have a breeze almost all the time, except in the evenings when it tends to lay. Now these holes in the floors have covers that go over them in the winter to prevent it from getting too cold and the upper windows have shutters that can open or close as needed. Seems to keep the critters happy. We use hardware cloth for our screening.

 

[aart]

Do they have a run?
Is part of it under cover of deep shade with dirt for them to dig into, that can help cool them off.
Shallow pools of cool water in the shade an help to.


Where are you located and what breed chickens do you have?

 

[captcayanan]

I am totally new to raising chickens this year, so I don't know if this will help or not. It's a trick I used when I raised pet rats and mice. I peeled the labels off of cans of refried beans and froze them. Everyday during a heat wave, I would put a cold can in their cage, so they would have a cooler to hang out at. 2 liter bottles half-filled with water worked too, but I don't know if the birds will peck through the plastic, so I suggest the cans. yYu can use them over and over, i just put them in a ziploc bag before returning them to the freezer.

 

[Life is Good!]

Yes, your husband is right - whatever temps outside = temp of interior of coop (for the most part).

Each hen's body heat is about 100 degrees. So, actually, the girls themselves heat up the space around them. Useful in the winter, not so much in the summer. Hens do regulate heat by panting, holding their feathers away from their skin and holding their wings out. Those are cooling mechanisms like sweating is to us.

Putting a fan to blow on them is useful - putting a frozen plastic jug of water in front of the fan is also useful. One of our hens found she enjoyed laying on top of plastic jug (she'd tip it on it's side)....silly, smart girl! A wading pool of cold water is something many hens like - mine never understood it. A place to dust-bathe is just as wonderful as water - some playsand or freshly dug up dirt in a pan is good too. (Why the dirt in the pan is 'special' as opposed to their ENTIRE run? I'll never know....but they liked it!).

If there's not much shade, setting up a shade canopy or even an umbrella does help tremendously. I got ours end of last summer super cheap. Try garage sales too - seems a lot of folks have an old patio umbrella they'll happily unload for a few $'s.

If all else, some folks have set up misters over their hens. I've not tried it.

 

[Life is Good!]

Thought of something else we do.....
Offer cold watermelon, cantaloupe (seeds and all), yogurt, semi-frozen fresh fruit or other 'cool' treat. I usually did this just after the heat of the day had passed, so the worst was over. Then, once the girls got a cool treat they could cool off a bit.

 

[settingdusk]

Go with a heat resistant bird, naked necks are very good in extreme heats and droughts. I use water melon and sometimes a mist maker under the run.