Arizona Chickens

[Almita72]

They are SO cute. I am so happy that you have them near you so you can at the least enjoy having chickens around you

Hi, I’m in Yuma and I have some two week old chicks. Will they survive the summer or do need to have them inside? Would appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks!

 

[BlueBaby]

Hi, I’m in Yuma and I have some two week old chicks. Will they survive the summer or do need to have them inside? Would appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks!

What is the breed and what is the setup on your coop and run? They will need ventilation and shade, lot's of water to drink so that they don't get dehydrated as they will need lot's of it. You can also add some ice to the water to keep it cooler for them. You can also put up a small misting system at the end of the run away from the coop to help. Don't put the mister inside of the coop though, because you don't want it to get wet in there.

 

[NuggetMama]

Hi, I’m in Yuma and I have some two week old chicks. Will they survive the summer or do need to have them inside? Would appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks!

What type of little ones do you have and can we see the set up that you’re working with? How hot is it getting for you already? Because there are certain breeds of chickens that are heat hardy but they will still need constant water and shade.

 

[Almita72]

What is the breed and what is the setup on your coop and run? They will need ventilation and shade, lot's of water to drink so that they don't get dehydrated as they will need lot's of it. You can also add some ice to the water to keep it cooler for them. You can also put up a small misting system at the end of the run away from the coop to help. Don't put the mister inside of the coop though, because you don't want it to get wet in there.

Thanks! They are leghorns. Those are all great ideas! I will incorporate all of them!

 

[Almita72]

What type of little ones do you have and can we see the set up that you’re working with? How hot is it getting for you already? Because there are certain breeds of chickens that are heat hardy but they will still need constant water and shade.

Hi, they are leghorns, I m just getting ready to build but for now I have them in a plywood box with heat lamp at night. I’ve been looking at other peoples set ups to get ideas. My main concern is that it’s starting to get hot and they are two weeks old. Will they survive the heat at that age? It won’t get real hot until June and onward

 

[NuggetMama]

Hi, they are leghorns, I m just getting ready to build but for now I have them in a plywood box with heat lamp at night. I’ve been looking at other peoples set ups to get ideas. My main concern is that it’s starting to get hot and they are two weeks old. Will they survive the heat at that age? It won’t get real hot until June and onward

They are heat tolerant but still gotta be careful with your little sweeties. Are they actually outside outside or are they in a garage/shed/out building ? Either way, make sure nothing can hit their heat lamp at night so as to not cause an accidental fire.

They will survive the heat, you just have to make sure they have ways to get away from the sun and lots of water available. Also give them frozen fruit as a treat as well as ice cubes in their water to keep it cool for them. Them drinking and eating cool items will help keep them cool. If you worry too much you can also place an ice pack that is wrapped in a towel on one end of their box where they can go step on it at their leisure when they feel they are too hot.

 

[CaroleW]

Hi, they are leghorns, I m just getting ready to build but for now I have them in a plywood box with heat lamp at night. I’ve been looking at other peoples set ups to get ideas. My main concern is that it’s starting to get hot and they are two weeks old. Will they survive the heat at that age? It won’t get real hot until June and onward

The younger they are the more stressed they can get by heat. Just like children and elderly or frail humans don't have same heat tolerance as a strong teen or adult human.

Here is one of my strategies -- I have gradually introduced chicks outside at night when temps are staying at over 80 or 85 (even a little lower if I set up a heat plate outside). Then each day I bring them inside during the hottest part of the day and gradually they get older and more used to the outdoors over a period of weeks & they can stay longer each day - as long as they have DEEP shade (not just shade cloth, a tree is much better) and LOTS of cool water and even a mister system and a cotton sheet/towel/tablecloth/burlap hung up to catch some of the mist & extend the evaporative cooling effect. Big chunks of ice (cool whip tub sized ice cubes or bigger) in their water are a must at hottest parts of summer.

Pay attention to the direction of the sun - shade shifts throughout the day and in the hottest part of the summer the sun can be coming from the NORTH (not the south) in many areas of Arizona.

 

[Almita72]

The younger they are the more stressed they can get by heat. Just like children and elderly or frail humans don't have same heat tolerance as a strong teen or adult human.

Here is one of my strategies -- I have gradually introduced chicks outside at night when temps are staying at over 80 or 85 (even a little lower if I set up a heat plate outside). Then each day I bring them inside during the hottest part of the day and gradually they get older and more used to the outdoors over a period of weeks & they can stay longer each day - as long as they have DEEP shade (not just shade cloth, a tree is much better) and LOTS of cool water and even a mister system and a cotton sheet/towel/tablecloth/burlap hung up to catch some of the mist & extend the evaporative cooling effect. Big chunks of ice (cool whip tub sized ice cubes or bigger) in their water are a must at hottest parts of summer.

Pay attention to the direction of the sun - shade shifts throughout the day and in the hottest part of the summer the sun can be coming from the NORTH (not the south) in many areas of Arizona.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to respond. That makes sense to me. Where I’m planning to build gets lots of shade, probably 80 percent of the day. The other 20 percent that gets sun is between 9am - 11am which I plan on using shade cloth. Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it!

 

[Happy Novogens]

Thinking about when I let my chicks integrate with the others. The others have been eyeing their starter crumbles. (My big girls eat pellet feed.) Not sure how to keep the big ones from eating the crumbles. I have a 5 lb bag and was hoping that would last until they're old enough to eat the all-flock pellets.

 

[BlueBaby]

Thinking about when I let my chicks integrate with the others. The others have been eyeing their starter crumbles. (My big girls eat pellet feed.) Not sure how to keep the big ones from eating the crumbles. I have a 5 lb bag and was hoping that would last until they're old enough to eat the all-flock pellets.

No way to stop the big's from eating those crumbles once they are together. You may have to set up a few feed stations of the crumbles so that the chick's will still be able to eat without the big's chasing them away from food and water.