Anyone living in Arizona with Chickens??

[DawnMarie64]

If so, how do you keep your chickens cool when the weather gets unbearable for humans?

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

One person I know in Phoenix has an air conditioned coop for his birds. Even if you just set the temps for 85 or 90, it should still feel cooler than outdoors.

Others use shade, shade and more shade, natural or whatever they can dream up. Some use water misters.

You can freeze gallon bottles of water and set them out, the chickens may like laying near them. Refill their water often and add ice. Position a fan in the coop protected from the chickens - moving air feels cooler. They love watermelon, etc

 

[DawnMarie64]

I didn't mean to post this in the "newbie" forum. That shows you just how new I am. Thanks for the information; my husband has a different idea and keeps saying "they are fine, chickens have been around for 100's if not 1000's of years... this is not the first time one has lived through heat".

He says I'm being over protective but its the first time I have had chickens DANG IT and I don't want anything to happen to them.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, DawnMarie64, and

! Pleased you joined us! All of the suggestions drumstick diva gave you are great. Additionally, some hook their garden hoses to those misters you can buy at nurseries or Home Depot type stores - they certainly cool the air that is in the mist - problem is getting the birds to get in front of it. Some of mine do - others panic. One thing I do is wet down some of the dirt in their run - an area in deep shade - they scratch down into the cool dirt. Your husband is correct about chickens being around since forever but that doesn't mean that sometimes chickens don't succumb to weather. I had a Buff Orp and a Black Australorp collapse with what I think was heat stroke last year - they were laying on their sides in the coop, eyes closed, breathing heavily. I took them inside and revived them with cool water and they snapped out of it. Don't think they would have had I not found them. Good luck to you!

 

[DawnMarie64]

I hate it when he is right!!! I did/or actually he had turned on the mister right before I got home (although I know he didn't want to) and you are right, they ran away from it but as soon as I turned it off they went straight for the wet dirt. My other chicks (3 little ones, younger than the ones in the coop) are doing pretty well even in the garage, although I wanted him to take them out and put them in the shade. They aren't even panting. I have been putting ice in their water.

So this Momma Hen isn't so worried about them worried about them now.

 

[DawnMarie64]

Oops, I repeated myself.

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!