Arizona Cool

[YumaJohnny]

Just added a 20 foot misting system to the backyard for our hot Arizona summers - of course today it was in the low 70's and super windy! I figured this would cool a big portion of the chickens part of the yard - I also have it on a timer so it will go of about 4 times a day to keep it cool and get the ground a big wet as well - I also use the frozen soda/water bottles for them!

 

[kannm]

We lived in Tucson and had chickens. While I was worried about them in the heat, they seemed to do very well. We had two very big trees in the yard, though, and no misters. I think it helped to have places where the ground was moist that they could lay down and cool themselves.

 

[Delphinium]

I grew up in the Phx area, and I remember my mom putting water in soda bottles and freezing them for my pet rabbit.... it worked very well, from what I remember.

I think your misting system is a GREAT idea! Your chickens will love it.

 

[flgardengirl]

I have shade cloth and misters in my runs. I don't run my misters too long here because stuff stays wet longer here in FL and I don't want it to get moldy. I do notice it makes a difference even with our humidity during the summer. Our spring and falls are generally dry and fall can be hot. I grew up in Phx and also lived in Lake Havasu City, AZ so I know what hot is there lol. I had my shade cloth and misters left over from when I lived in Lake Havasu that I had to use for my tropical plants there and thought they might work good for the chickens. The chickens really like when I turn the misters on, they run out and get under them and have fun playing. The shade cloth helps to keep the hawks out of the pens. We have a lot of huge hawks, eagles, owls, vultures etc here.

 

[RedfogsFlock]

We installed our misting system last week! Great minds think alike!

We are also going to put a box fan in the upper corner of the coop to help cool them! We are lucky though because our coops are under a huge mesquite tree so they are shaded from noon on.

 

[fiberart57]

Last year prompted some people to freeze gallon water jugs, put them in a box laid on its side so the chickens could get in there and it would be like an icebox.

Do a search for heat problems because last year's temperatures in certain areas caused a great deal of innovation. One member installed an AC unit in his hen house.

I was born and raised in Tucson and lived there through the 1960s to the 1990s and the temperatures then are nothing compared to what's there today. There's so much built up area that Tucson has a heat island effect and gets really hot; like over 110 degrees. As a kid, it never went over 105. The temperature's much more dangerous to chickens now. There were stories of people's chickens dying from the heat.

Mary