Arizona Chickens

[K9Dave]

Oh that's just awful.

I did a ton of research on cooling methods before I decided on chickens. I also chose to not use any means of cooling. The way I figure it is my chicks could have ended up in Minnesota or Vermont just as easily as they ended up in Arizona. They don't know any different. They live here so they have to adapt to it. My coop/run is well ventilated and they have access to shade all day long. My run has a trussed roof so they only have morning sun, but during that time the coop portion is in shade. In the afternoon they would have about an hour of sun that they couldn't get away from so I hung heavy shadecloth on the west side of the run. After 4:00 or so they then get shade from the adjacent garden wall. I run my lawn sprinklers for about 20 minutes before they get let out to free range in the late afternoon. They spend 2-3 hours cruising around on the wet lawn until they put themselves to bed.

I have a water tray they could stand in if they wanted to but it freaks them out. Every now and then I will dip their feet and lower body in the pool if they act like they are really hot, but they aren't too thrilled about that either. Twice a week I thoroughly water down their run and fill all their holes with water so they have cool ground to rest in. My run is just native dirt, sand and some straw.

eta: We have had consistent temps of 105-110 for the past couple of weeks. Yesterday was 112 and they were panting laying in the shade midday but by the time I let them out they didn't appear to be stressed at all.

We're doing about the same thing. I spray down the run a little and let it puddle every few days. Then every morning I gently spray everything down and find them laying on the compost pile during the hottest part of the day. I wish I didn't have to deal with block wall as I'm sure it holds a fair amount if heat but at least it's under the trees now. Can I feed the pine trees to help them green up? They've been neglected for a long time. Put out a lot of shade still but it could be a lot better if the tree was healthier.

 

[kpgoldstar]

So, she's eating fine? That seemed to be the worrisome part in your first post. You might be right that some of your birds could be starting to molt, have you seen any flight feathers on the ground? Some of my older girls 4.5+ years old have been brutal to the lowest ranking young birds (1.5 years) and it seemed to get worse as the season got hotter. One of my lowest ranking birds, a FBCM is almost completely bald on the back of her head right now because of the other birds (mostly one) mounting her and pulling out the feathers. I feel sorry for her, but I'm not sure there is much I can do.

She's eating much better. She still sort of picks at food and treats but she is consuming something whereas for a couple days I wasn't sure she was eating at all. There have been just a few flight feathers, mostly fluffy ones. I am trying not to intervene in the scuffles. I did have to grab Snoop by the beak and scold her once. I hope it doesn't get as bad as your poor girl. Like you say there is not much you can do.

 

[Macboat]

I am so sorry for your loss. I am with MagicChicken. I only use wading pans. I do not use ice or misters or anything just a lot of shade, ventilation and water. I am so very sorry. I have some chicks that are EE (they might be AM but since I have both in the coop they will all be EE). DesertMarcy has pullets for sale too. lots of breeds. Hope you find what you are looking for. Sry again for your loss.

Thanks little chiken, both you and Marcy are in Tucson and I live in phoenix. Maybe the misters aren't good for them in the long run, but I don't think I can just shut it off now. Maybe add some wading pans.

 

[a little chiken]

Thanks little chiken, both you and Marcy are in Tucson and I live in phoenix. Maybe the misters aren't good for them in the long run, but I don't think I can just shut it off now. Maybe add some wading pans.

I love and swear by my wading pans. I also added potting soil to the dust bath area so it retains the moisture for them to cool down in. they love it

 

[Macboat]

Oh crud! That is sad, I'm so sorry to hear this.

Maybe there are other things you can do to help prevent overheating? Unless you have a large number of birds, the loss of three in such a short period makes me wonder if your set-up needs a bit of tweaking. If you post pictures, we might be able to offer some constructive suggestions for improvement.

I will post up some pictures see if there is something can be done. One of my biggest issue is to keep drinking water cool. I use a 1 gallon jar with poultry nipples even in the shade it gets warm.

 

[K9Dave]

I will post up some pictures see if there is something can be done.   One of my biggest issue is to keep drinking water cool.  I use a 1 gallon jar with poultry nipples even in the shade it gets warm.

The 5 gallon bucket can get exposure to some direct sun and still stay cool because it's so much water. I was surprised wen I stuck my hand in it one day. Very cool to the touch. I think that you could wean them off of the misters. Cut back, cut back and then stop should let them acclimate I would think.

My birds are barely breathing hard. I have them in the run instead of FR today because I'm boarding 2 dogs. FR seems to be the best to me because the seek out the coolest place they can find but if you can't do that I like the damp spots in the dirt. Especially like that idea of Potting Soil to retain moisture. It's gotta make it a good 15 degrees cooler right?

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

I am so excited, I have internet for 24 hours. First pics: I can not get them to down load.

It has been so much fun so far. I am frustrated by lack of internet. In fact I really do not have cellphone, I get 1 bar if lucky. I will be spending to night reading 2 weeks of posts. I will also be putting more on YouTube. I will keep trying to download pics.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I will post up some pictures see if there is something can be done. One of my biggest issue is to keep drinking water cool. I use a 1 gallon jar with poultry nipples even in the shade it gets warm.

As Dave noted, a larger water reservoir would definitely help. Of course water here is critical since chickens cool off during heat stress by evaporating moisture from their lungs during panting. The problem we have during the hottest part of the year is that while water consumption increases dramatically with ambient temperature, chickens don't like to drink water that is near or greater than their body temperature. Depending on the waterer and where it's located, it's quite easy for the water to approach (or exceed) the ambient air temperature and thus it can be above the body temperatures of the birds. I think that keeping the water temperature lower than their body temperature is critical.

Neat page with graphs on water consumption in poultry as a function of age and ambient temperature.

Quote:

Another good page that summarizes the importance of water quality for poultry:

Quote:

I have two waterers, neither of which get direct sunlight during the hot part of the year, one is made from a cooler and the other is a five gallon bucket with Reflectix insulation around it. When temperatures reach 110+ I have frozen gallon jugs of water that I put in the waterers and rotate out on a daily basis. It takes only a couple minutes a day and the birds really like the cool water. Even during the times I don't put ice inside, the water remains much cooler than the ambient temperature during the hottest part of the day.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I am so excited, I have internet for 24 hours. First pics: I can not get them to down load.

It has been so much fun so far. I am frustrated by lack of internet. In fact I really do not have cellphone, I get 1 bar if lucky. I will be spending to night reading 2 weeks of posts. I will also be putting more on YouTube. I will keep trying to download pics.

Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

After posting that about ambient air temperature and cooling the water, I checked and it's 111 out there. I didn't think it was going to get that hot today.

ETA: just checked the water temps, the five gallon waterer outside with insulation is 101, the water in the cooler in the coop is 97 degrees. Cooler than the normal variability in chicken body temperatures of 104-107(+).