Beat the Heat tips and tricks.

[cluckcluckluke]

O.K so I've had a couple of days of real scorchers and high humidity like you cant really breathe when outside and the wind is hot so theirs no escape except for the cool conditioned house, the only problem- My poor chickens dont have this luxury, so what can i do to help them get through this I've given them some veggie ice cubes and that's all i can come up with?

 

[Capvin]

I dont know where you are, but here in Central Florida we are beginning to get some nice, cool weather and it is a relief to leave the humid summer behind. As for what we do in the summer we put ice in the water, feed them frozen watermelons, have a ceiling fan going in their covered run, put on fine water misters.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

all great ideas, but im not a fan of wasting water so maby not the misters but will defiantly go the watermelons and ice cubes in water- i'm in Australia in a tropical- subtropical climate.

 

[mickey328]

What we do for our rabbits in the heat is freeze water in 2 litre soda bottles and then set them in their pen. When they thaw, we put them back in the freezer to use another day. If you make sure they have a shaded area and try this, it might help provide them with a cooler spot. It would also help to have breeds that are more heat tolerant.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

What we do for our rabbits in the heat is freeze water in 2 litre soda bottles and then set them in their pen. When they thaw, we put them back in the freezer to use another day. If you make sure they have a shaded area and try this, it might help provide them with a cooler spot. It would also help to have breeds that are more heat tolerant.

great idea, and what breeds are more heat tolerant? (RIRs, leghorns, wyndottes? are these a few?)

 

[jak2002003]

I am in Thailand and we get really hot weather a lot!

I found the best thing my chickens like is a damp patch of sand in the shady corner of their coop. I empty a bucket of water in the corner and they will scratch and paddle about in the puddle. Then when it drains away a few minutes later they like to sit on the damp ground.

Also I feed them some cucumber or juicy lettuce that has been in the fridge overnight so Its really chilled.

I make sure their water is always in the shade too.

 

[Capvin]

You are right about the mister being a bit of a waste of water, but I do not run them all day. I usually wait for the hottest part of the day and then turn them on for a few hours. The mist is really fine and I don't think that it is really a lot of water that is being used. My worst offense is that I also have a portable spot air conditioner that I have blowing into their run on hot days. I am usually embarrassed to tell people that part.

 

[OldGuy43]

Are you losing chickens to the heat or just worried about it? Last year was the hottest on record here in Central Texas and we only lost one to the heat. (Dark colored, all our hens are Red Sex Links) The only thing we did was make sure they had shade and water. I did occasionally put the lawn sprinkler in with them. I found that they only got under it for <15 minutes and than they avoided it.

A chicken's normal body temperature is ~107° F. or ~42° C. Anything under that is still cool to them. They are, after all outdoor creatures who were first domesticated in Thailand, India and Burma and other places. All hot countries.

 

[dewey]

When the heat settles in, our summer temps are routinely 110+. Deep shade, airflow, and wetting down an area for them usually does the trick. They'll scratch out some places in the dampened ground, and then the next time the ground is wet down they'll stand in their little water puddles and cool off their feet and legs, and then lay on the cool ground once it absorbs the water.

When using a coop, the open-air type coops are a must for very hot climates. Enclosed hen houses, even with lots of screened windows, are nothing but coffins in hot climates.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

When the heat settles in, our summer temps are routinely 110+. Deep shade, airflow, and wetting down an area for them usually does the trick. They'll scratch out some places in the dampened ground, and then the next time the ground is wet down they'll stand in their little water puddles and cool off their feet and legs, and then lay on the cool ground once it absorbs the water.

When using a coop, the open-air type coops are a must for very hot climates. Enclosed hen houses, even with lots of screened windows, are nothing but coffins in hot climates.

Are you losing chickens to the heat or just worried about it? Last year was the hottest on record here in Central Texas and we only lost one to the heat. (Dark colored, all our hens are Red Sex Links) The only thing we did was make sure they had shade and water. I did occasionally put the lawn sprinkler in with them. I found that they only got under it for <15 minutes and than they avoided it.

A chicken's normal body temperature is ~107° F. or ~42° C. Anything under that is still cool to them. They are, after all outdoor creatures who were first domesticated in Thailand, India and Burma and other places. All hot countries.

I am in Thailand and we get really hot weather a lot!

I found the best thing my chickens like is a damp patch of sand in the shady corner of their coop. I empty a bucket of water in the corner and they will scratch and paddle about in the puddle. Then when it drains away a few minutes later they like to sit on the damp ground.

Also I feed them some cucumber or juicy lettuce that has been in the fridge overnight so Its really chilled.

I make sure their water is always in the shade too.

You are right about the mister being a bit of a waste of water, but I do not run them all day. I usually wait for the hottest part of the day and then turn them on for a few hours. The mist is really fine and I don't think that it is really a lot of water that is being used. My worst offense is that I also have a portable spot air conditioner that I have blowing into their run on hot days. I am usually embarrassed to tell people that part.

well dont be embarrassed Capvin, id love to be able to have a air conditioner for my hens.
Old guy43 im not loosing any hens to the heat yet i was just worried and because we haven't even reached the height of summer and its already getting this hot, but i shall do all the ideas you've ALL suggested very helpful. And now that i know a chickens body temp is 43degrees Celsius i think i maybe over reacting just a little.
Dewy my coop it completely ideal for hot weather one side of the coop is just hard wire mesh so the breeze can get to them and they have a lovely view over the countryside

!!!