Beat the Heat: Build a chicken igloo!

[DazeGoneBy]

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Yep, a plastic cooler would be harder to cut than a styrofoam cooler, but with a hacksaw, you could do most anything. Be sure to cut your hole (or arch doorway, if you want igloo authenticity) on the side, up from the bottom, since that needs to hold the sand and is where the cooler air will hover...

 

[RobLII]

Thats an awesome idea, I just froze a few gallon jugs and put it in the shdy part of the coop, they huddled around it, but your idea is so easy, I am going to make one this weekend and put some jugs to freeze for the next hot days!!

 

[DazeGoneBy]

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Yeah, when I saw what my hubby had built, I wanted to share it, but the whole idea of burying the ice/melting water under the sand so the chickens could dig down to it just seemed perfectly suited to what the chicken wants to naturally do to stay cool ...

So happy everyone is finding it useful, and I can't wait to see pics of what others come up with.

 

[Fldeb]

I have the large dogloo, I bet that would work great for this. My dog was always afraid if it so it has never been used. This way I could get some use out of it. Thanks for the idea! Deb

 

[DazeGoneBy]

If you have a lot of chickens, it is a different story...what about this?

Add extra insulation to an area.

Put down something underneath to prevent the water from draining away.

Install pipe (or something) to let water drip in the sand or moisten sand somehow.

Cover all that up with sand for easy burrowing by the birds.

 

[perchie.girl]

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Wow...

I would be floored to see something modified for 60 birds...an igloo on a grand scale! Please, please report back on what you make and how it works!

LOL

Easy to do if you have the space. With Guineas they dont stay put very long .... LOL.

so I am figuring about eight feet long by about two feet wide and about a foot deep. I re thought pond liner because of the size of the container I wont be able to dump it out.

Better yet I will use Feed sacks in a couple of layers. The woven plastic mesh kind. They will allow moisture to move through them eventually. Then its a simple matter of dampening the sand and keeping it out of the sun. And building a no roost cover for it that. My plan for the coop is to use poop Hammocks rather than poop boards and a perfect spot for those would be over the top of the "Chill Box". I am heading up to the house tomorrow to button up the bigger half of the coop so my birds will have more space for the little reprobates.

Now is a good time for this because they are still youngsters and exploring everything.

If it works I will expand its use to my breed pens as well. Those haven't been built yet. If they dont work for me I can convert them to Tunnel nest boxes. ooh I have a bunch of cinder blocks without a job..... Those are excellent when dampened down for holding moisture and allowing it to evaporate slowly....

Eventually I will have about 100 birds give or take. Many Hot weather survival specialists for sure.... Its very dry here even the big heavy birds do well with shade.

 

[perchie.girl]

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It will need to drain away slowly in order for bacteria not to take residence and start stinking things up.

3) Then install pvc pipe with holes drilled in connected to some water source (plastic bucket you could fill with ice/water in the mornings) that would slowly drain down the pvc and exit the drilled holes... similar to what we put under our coop run shown on my BYC coop page - though ours was to drain *unwanted* water in the outdoor run.

It would be just as easy to put a single line on the edge of the chill box then provide it its own drain system. My coop is on the ground with our Granite soil it takes a stick of dynamite to make a hole....

(bit of an exaggeration here) But it lets water go through just like a coffee filter...

This shows the holes drilled:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/101301_drain_bolt.jpg
This shows the pvc pipe outlining the edge of the area, connected to a drain at one end...this could simply be extended up to a water source:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/101301_balcony_no_roof.jpg

4) Cover all that up with sand for easy burrowing for the birds.

So, it is shaded, insulated, and has moist sand for the chicks to dig down in. That would take the temperature down at least 20 degrees, I'd guess. But, I'm no scientist. I *did* stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, though.

I must have been born in a Holiday Inn.... Have to go slap mom up.....

The key to chilling air down with moisture is evaporation. The process of evaporation causes the air to chill down about 15 degrees. Therefore the sand must eventually dry out in order for the process to work. I have about three Swamp coolers on my property that eventually will get cannibalized to make one working one. That will be designated for the poultry house eventually.​