I am a believer in nature taking it's course and forcing them to acclimate. I admit, this will be my first summer with chickens, but many old-timers talked me out of many things I had contemplated and here's why:
No fans, AC or heat in the coop, no misters for them and no pampering inside the house. These prevent them from acclimating and can cause more health problems. By going in and out of an artificially cooled coop, they are rapidly changing temperatures often and this can lead to cold like symptoms in humans, cats and dogs. I'm not sure what the chicken equivalent is, but it makes sense.
Also, the misters provide a moisture rich environment that parasites thrive in, like mice and lice. Think about where the parasites thrive. In the most protected areas of the wings and around the vent. Moist locations. You are also likely to end up with moist, muddy ground, which makes an excellent host for wet poop, which harbors flies.
Now, what I have been told to do: ensure lots of shade with ample air flow. Low lying bushes work well, as do short tress. Mine love sitting in the shade beneath my oleanders.
Ensure there is ample fresh water at all times. Putting frozen water bottles in it to cool the water supposedly works great, as does a protected water line to nipples running directly from your water main. Exposed lines like a garden hose will bake in the sun and get very hot, so avoid those.
Get a large, shallow container, like an under-the-bed one, and put a half dozen or so adobe bricks in it. The fire bricks or paving bricks both are said to work. fill the container to slightly cover the bricks. The chickens will stand on the bricks and are cooled through their feet. Make sure you change the water daily, because they will poop in it. You may need more or less bricks depending on the size of your flock.
Ensure their coop is well ventilated. You know how hot a shed gets inside? A coop can be just as bad. You can pick up small solar vent fans from RV dealers to ensure the air stays moving, too. These are slow displacement fans, so don't expect them to do a ton, but they may help in a smaller coop. They are designed to keep the air from going stale in the RV during storage, not as a cooling aid.
Remember, now is the acclimation period. Dogs have shed their winter coat and are still losing lots of fur. My chickens seem to be losing feathers, too. It's all a regular cycle of nature.
Hope this helps. It's my plan for this year. I'm not sure what the temperature was here, but the only one I had panting was my broody that is stuck in a dog kennel. We're trying to break her, though. She was in the shade all day with food and water, so I'm sure she'll be fine.
No fans, AC or heat in the coop, no misters for them and no pampering inside the house. These prevent them from acclimating and can cause more health problems. By going in and out of an artificially cooled coop, they are rapidly changing temperatures often and this can lead to cold like symptoms in humans, cats and dogs. I'm not sure what the chicken equivalent is, but it makes sense.
Also, the misters provide a moisture rich environment that parasites thrive in, like mice and lice. Think about where the parasites thrive. In the most protected areas of the wings and around the vent. Moist locations. You are also likely to end up with moist, muddy ground, which makes an excellent host for wet poop, which harbors flies.
Now, what I have been told to do: ensure lots of shade with ample air flow. Low lying bushes work well, as do short tress. Mine love sitting in the shade beneath my oleanders.
Ensure there is ample fresh water at all times. Putting frozen water bottles in it to cool the water supposedly works great, as does a protected water line to nipples running directly from your water main. Exposed lines like a garden hose will bake in the sun and get very hot, so avoid those.
Get a large, shallow container, like an under-the-bed one, and put a half dozen or so adobe bricks in it. The fire bricks or paving bricks both are said to work. fill the container to slightly cover the bricks. The chickens will stand on the bricks and are cooled through their feet. Make sure you change the water daily, because they will poop in it. You may need more or less bricks depending on the size of your flock.
Ensure their coop is well ventilated. You know how hot a shed gets inside? A coop can be just as bad. You can pick up small solar vent fans from RV dealers to ensure the air stays moving, too. These are slow displacement fans, so don't expect them to do a ton, but they may help in a smaller coop. They are designed to keep the air from going stale in the RV during storage, not as a cooling aid.
Remember, now is the acclimation period. Dogs have shed their winter coat and are still losing lots of fur. My chickens seem to be losing feathers, too. It's all a regular cycle of nature.
Hope this helps. It's my plan for this year. I'm not sure what the temperature was here, but the only one I had panting was my broody that is stuck in a dog kennel. We're trying to break her, though. She was in the shade all day with food and water, so I'm sure she'll be fine.
