Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

Man, it is so hot out there today. It's already 5:05 pm and my thermometer for outside reads 113 F.

 

[SonoranChick]

The heat sneaks up on me every year. I know it's coming but I feel like I'm just never ready for it. We didn't get quite as hot as you today but it was still quite uncomfortable. I pour the melted ice water from the frozen jugs into their little pools at about 5pm so they get to cool off big time before bed. I wish the monsoons would come sooner!

 

[BlueBaby]

Yes, we do need the monsoon to move in and help things to cool off.

Meanwhile on another note, my next door neighbors that had their house burn up a year ago finally tore it down today. I don't know why they waited so long, and ended up having to do it in this heat!

 

[meetthebubus]

Today it wasn't as hot here as the past 2 days, we have wind as well which is bringing down the temps quickly as the sun goes down. I didnt have to turn on the ac today and the chickens have adjusted to the hotter temps so they were out in the shade instead of in the mansions

Tips that's working for me this year,..


I notice my eggers bathe a lot and the buffs will bathe in areas that had been cooled down by the misters so a tip may be to lightly wet where your chickens bathe so they can put the cooler moist dirt on them if you dont already seems to be a fave for mine

Also I wet down the coop roof before bedtime and there is shade over the buildings so they are a LOT less hot at roosting time than other years bc they don't receive direct sun any longer

 

[BlueBaby]

Well, my misters timer is set to shut off at 7 PM, so I will go out there again after that to see what they are doing.

 

[SonoranChick]

I'm going to get my misters set up on a timer when I go back to work in August. Luckily I will be home by 3pm so I will be there during the high heat of the day. We got a used swamp cooler from a neighbor but it needs some parts & work before it's up and running, so for now it's all about the misters, ice jugs, and shallow pools! Do you have a swamp cooler system @BlueBaby? Or just the misters?

 

[BlueBaby]

I'm going to get my misters set up on a timer when I go back to work in August. Luckily I will be home by 3pm so I will be there during the high heat of the day. We got a used swamp cooler from a neighbor but it needs some parts & work before it's up and running, so for now it's all about the misters, ice jugs, and shallow pools! Do you have a swamp cooler system @BlueBaby? Or just the misters?

No, I just have the misters, and will never put a swamp cooler out there. A swamp cooler was what caused my next door neighbors house to burn up last year. It caught fire in the middle of the night.

 

[SonoranChick]

The longer I look at this broken down swamp cooler the less interested in it I become. If it breaks or the power goes out and the chickens are used to that cool air I'm concerned it could really be hard on them or even kill them. Not to mention if it catches fire! Yikes! The misters seem to be doing a decent job of keeping it cool enough. They become acclimated to the heat fairly quickly, although I never like to see them panting. Last year they didn't live outside until mid July because they were too young, so we bypassed the worst part of the summer. June seems to be the most brutal.

 

[BlueBaby]

Yes, June does seem to be the worst. I think that this year we are feeling it more because of the fact that so many day's last month had temps lower than we normally have in May.

I want some ice cream!

 

[Suzyqschickens]

UPDATE!!! Had two eggs today with shells!!! Shells feel chalkie is that normal? I did give them calcium citrate with vit d last night and put up misters. Stopped on my way home from work and got some oyster shells. Which they want nothing to do with lol. Just glad to have shelled eggs again! Thanks for everyone’s help!!