Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

I went and did a little window shopping today, and I'm going with a DIG drip irrigation system, just because of the size of my run (30' x 40'). 100 feet of drip irrigation 1/2" hose = $9.87.   20 mister nozzles = approx $25. (I may go with 30, then it would be $36) Various fittings and tools add another $10. So, pretty thorough coverage and cooling for approx $50. The long axis of my run is 40 feet, with two interior walls running the length. I will put a hose fitting at one corner, run 40 feet down the length, then 20' across the back, then back 40' feet along one of the interior walls (these are chain link panel walls). The hose runs will be along the windward walls, so the mist will be blown through the pen. With the mister nozzles spaced every 3 feet or so along the long walls, and a few along the back wall, I should get sufficient cooling without making it into a muddy mess.  

Sounds awesome..

 

[Sill]

I have seeds, but didn't plant it yet. Do you think it's too late?

No! These plants love heat and we'll have plenty of that for a while yet. I just set some seeds to germinate, I'm hoping to get some more of these. Everyone loves these, humans and critters!

No, she was a younger hen. I am thinking that she might have been starting to go broody, and stayed on the nesting box too long, because that is where I found her at.

Sorry about your hen! Nest boxes can be stifling in the heat! Even if the coop is well vented the boxes are the least vented of all so heat builds up. I lost my favorite Welsummer hen last May when we had a sudden spike in temps, she was dead in a nest box.

So far so good this year. The broodies are out in the run raising a few chicks for replacement hens so they are not hanging out in the boxes and the other hens tend to lay and get out.

I'm getting a bit concerned about next week's heat myself. My birds did okay during that hot spell a week ago. This time they're predicting an even hotter 116 degrees in my location, and my yard usually runs 4-5 degrees hotter than they predict. Gulp.

I have one hen who is relentlessly broody. She goes broody every year around this time. I've never been able to break her bloodiness. The quickest way to get her off the nest is to give her eggs and let her do her thing. She's a great mama. I had started to collect eggs to put under her but at 116-120 the eggs will cook even if she's sitting on them the whole time. Think I'll hold off giving her the eggs. Hope she survives next week.

Maybe find a couple of chicks for her? That way you don't have to worry about cooked eggs.

If you'd still rather break her broodiness than give her eggs, have you tried giving her a baby aspirin mashed up and dissolved in her water? The technique was suggested to me by a long-time, sagacious poultry keeper who explained that broodiness was accompanied by a rise in body temperature akin to having a fever, and the aspirin breaks the fever. I managed to successfully break my most persistent broodiest broody after more than two weeks of trying other techniques without success. I isolated her in a cage at night with aspirin treated water, and then gave her a second dose the following night. After that, she resumed laying for about 6 weeks before becoming broody again, which happens to be her cycle.

I need to try this! So did you put her back outside during the day?

 

[Sill]

I've been building a shade for my chickens. My babies HATE the heat.... they were born inMarch, so that would make them.... about 3 1/2 months old.. I have them half covered with a pool towel in their section of the coop. Will they be okay?

I may start doing the frozen water bottles just placed in their coop, and in their waterer.

Remember that it will always be cooler under a tree than a human-made structure. Tree transpire water from their leaves and actively cool the air. Try planting trees or vines to shade them in the future.

If you can wet the towel in will help more than a dry one, but of course it will dry quickly! Ice in their waterer will be refreshing. Is there a way you can dampen some of the earth in their enclosure? Even if it's just in one corner, preferably the shadiest area. They will dig into the cool damp earth in the heat of the day and hunker down. I keep a couple of damp areas so everyone can find a spot.

 

[City farm]

 
I've been building a shade for my chickens. My babies HATE the heat.... they were born inMarch, so that would make them.... about 3 1/2 months old.. I have them half covered with a pool towel in their section of the coop. Will they be okay?

I may start doing the frozen water bottles just placed in their coop, and in their waterer.

Remember that it will always be cooler under a tree than a human-made structure.  Tree transpire water from their leaves and actively cool the air.  Try planting trees or vines to shade them in the future.

If you can wet the towel in will help more than a dry one, but of course it will dry quickly!  Ice in their waterer will be refreshing.  Is there a way you can dampen some of the earth in their enclosure?  Even if it's just in one corner, preferably the shadiest area.  They will dig into the cool damp earth in the heat of the day and hunker down. I keep a couple of damp areas so everyone can find a spot.

Great advice..

 

[chickluvinfreak]

Does anyone know how to keep chicks who haven't feathered out cool? I have been shutting their heat lamp off during the day and they still pant. Are frozen water bottles or frozen treats OK? It's hard since I can't have a fan or misters on them like the older chickens. Thanks for any help

 

[ejcrist]

I've never had that problem with regular chicks but I did toward the middle of April with my broilers when it was up to 95-100. After I lost a couple from the heat I started putting a lot of ice in their water fount and at the peak temps I'd dunk 'em in water. It seemed to help and I think I might've saved a few by doing that but I'd only recommend that as a last resort. I learned from Featherpugs to set pans of water out for my layers and it has helped a lot. I'm thinking maybe if you set shallow pans or saucers out for the chicks to wade in it might help but I don't know for sure if that's a good idea since, as they say on Channel 10 News, "....watch your kids around water."

 

[deserteggs22]

Does anyone know how to keep chicks who haven't feathered out cool? I have been shutting their heat lamp off during the day and they still pant. Are frozen water bottles or frozen treats OK? It's hard since I can't have a fan or misters on them like the older chickens. Thanks for any help

What I do to keep my baby chicks cool is put ice in their water.

 

[chickluvinfreak]

I've never had that problem with regular chicks but I did toward the middle of April with my broilers when it was up to 95-100. After I lost a couple from the heat I started putting a lot of ice in their water fount and at the peak temps I'd dunk 'em in water. It seemed to help and I think I might've saved a few by doing that but I'd only recommend that as a last resort. I learned from Featherpugs to set pans of water out for my layers and it has helped a lot. I'm thinking maybe if you set shallow pans or saucers out for the chicks to wade in it might help but I don't know for sure if that's a good idea since, as they say on Channel 10 News, "....watch your kids around water."

What I do to keep my baby chicks cool is put ice in their water.

Thanks

 

[DesertChic]

I need to try this! So did you put her back outside during the day?

I had her in a broody cage as long as she would puff up and growl, which lasted about three hours after the first aspirin treatment. Then I'd let her out and keep an eye on her. If she returned to a nest I would remove her to the broody box again. It was a bit tedious to keep checking on her, but I'm a glutton for punishment.

 

[DesertChic]

Does anyone know how to keep chicks who haven't feathered out cool? I have been shutting their heat lamp off during the day and they still pant. Are frozen water bottles or frozen treats OK? It's hard since I can't have a fan or misters on them like the older chickens. Thanks for any help

Along with giving them ice water to drink, you can try sliding some ice packs or frozen bottles of water under their bedding. The frozen bottles have worked best for me because as the chicks uncover the bottles they become curious, stand on top of them and begin to pick off the pine shavings to see what's underneath. Eventually they learn that the bottles = relief from the heat and pile on top of them to rest.