I am intrigued and will be starting this soon. I live in the very hot/dry southwest desert and have
been curious how to assist our girls through the upcoming summer months. This is one of the
things I will be doing for them to keep them well fed and hydrated. I'll figure out some other stuff
to help them stay safe when it's 115.
Hot and dry isn't as bad as hot and humid. When it is dryer, they are better able to dissipate body heat by panting and spreading their wings for wind to blow through. You want them to get acclimated so that they can tolerate the high heat without too much stress. I found that by the middle to late summer when it is the worst here in TX, that they can tolerate a higher temperature without looking as stressed - compared to the beginning of the hottest time when they are trying to adjust from the cooler temps.
We hang 5 gal buckets with nipples in the bottom for waterers. I wrap silver bubble-wrap insulation around the buckest to help keep cooler water in summer and warmer water in winter. During summer, I put frozen water soda pop bottles into the buckets and this helps to keep the water cool for them to drink.
I also put kitty litter pans of water in the runs for the chickens to wade in. On the really hot days, I change the wading pool water at least once a day and throw the used water in the run. The chickens love to lay in the cool mud on hot days.
On the hottlest days I throw frozen water bottles into the runs and the coops. The chickens lay on them to help keep cool.
And then there is of course frozen watermelon and fruit to help cool them off.
In a dry climate like yours, mister fans would probably help with cooling them off. My chickens don't mind at all when I am changing water in their drinking buckets and I throw the old water on top of them.
Except for cooling the drinking water and putting out wading pans, I try not to put out frozen water bottles for them to lay on unless it is over about 105* and/or they look too stressed. This is only because I want them to acclimate so that they can tolerate heat well over 100* without keeling over on me if something were to happen that they couldn't have the frozen water bottles to lay on. Of course I work from home so I can easily watch them and can see when they are getting too stressed and intervene before something happens. But I have learned to see how our chickens react and know when they are ok with just panting to cool off and when they need something more.
It's a bit of trial and error to find what works for you and how to acclimate your chickens to the high temps, but it'll come with some practice.
