Can my chickens stand the heat

[Aunt Angus]

I live in South Australia and the temperature reached 46.6C (115F) last Summer. I added a misting system to the coop and found the chickens (Barnevelder and Australorp) were very comfortable, not even panting. It has high pressure sprayers that use very little water, about a litre an hour.

I'd love to see how you have that set up.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Most dollar stores sell those plastic shoe boxes with lids, they make excellent block ice to add to chicken waterers. I like the shoe boxes because with the lids, I can stack several in my chest freezer. My weather isn't quite as hot at yours, but I put out one of those 10 gallon rubbermaid totes, half full of water with a block of ice in it on the worst days. They also have the shade of a mango tree (heavy foliage for deep shade). Refrigerated fruit as snacks; favorites are mangoes, watermelons, apples and almost forgot, frozen over-ripe bananas (skin and all).

 

[MaryJanet]

Hi @Aunt Angus

Sure, I'm delighted to describe it.

I'm not very handy, so I bought a kit and followed the instructions.

Here's the kit: https://www.holmanindustries.com.au/products/misting-system/ I bought the 7m version and I've used three of the sprayers, but now I've been using it, I realise the coop only needs two.

The coop is one of these https://www.royalrooster.com.au/chicken-coops/walk-in-chicken-houses/chicken-palace.html and I attached the misting hose under the eave around the front half of the coop, with a sprayer on each side and at the front.

Here are some photos. The first one shows the filter, which is important because those sprayers are so fine. If any dirt gets in the line, the sprayers will become blocked. You can see the filter is attached to a normal garden hose and you can see I used cable ties to attach the misting system to the coop. From there the misting hose rises up to a corner.

The second photo shows the corner in the line.

The line then runs along under the eave to the first sprayer (third photo). I have this sprayer angled away from the coop.

Then the hose runs to the front of the coop and curves around the corner (the kit didn't come with sufficient corner elbow joins - however it's not a problem as the hose is very flexible). That's the fourth photo.

The hose runs across the top of the coop door to the second sprayer (fifth photo). This sprayer is angled to spray into the coop.

Then the hose curves around to the third side and ends with a sprayer (sixth photo).

And that's it. I found the instructions that came with the kit very easy to follow and it took about an hour to set up. So far, it's worked perfectly.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hi @Aunt Angus

Sure, I'm delighted to describe it.

I'm not very handy, so I bought a kit and followed the instructions.

Here's the kit: https://www.holmanindustries.com.au/products/misting-system/ I bought the 7m version and I've used three of the sprayers, but now I've been using it, I realise the coop only needs two.

The coop is one of these https://www.royalrooster.com.au/chicken-coops/walk-in-chicken-houses/chicken-palace.html and I attached the misting hose under the eave around the front half of the coop, with a sprayer on each side and at the front.

Here are some photos. The first one shows the filter, which is important because those sprayers are so fine. If any dirt gets in the line, the sprayers will become blocked. You can see the filter is attached to a normal garden hose and you can see I used cable ties to attach the misting system to the coop. From there the misting hose rises up to a corner.

The second photo shows the corner in the line.

The line then runs along under the eave to the first sprayer (third photo). I have this sprayer angled away from the coop.

Then the hose runs to the front of the coop and curves around the corner (the kit didn't come with sufficient corner elbow joins - however it's not a problem as the hose is very flexible). That's the fourth photo.

The hose runs across the top of the coop door to the second sprayer (fifth photo). This sprayer is angled to spray into the coop.

Then the hose curves around to the third side and ends with a sprayer (sixth photo).

And that's it. I found the instructions that came with the kit very easy to follow and it took about an hour to set up. So far, it's worked perfectly.

View attachment 1747180 View attachment 1747186 View attachment 1747187 View attachment 1747188 View attachment 1747189 View attachment 1747191

This is FABULOUS!!!
A perfect description AND photos AND links! Holy moly! Is this an article? Should be!
Thanks! I can do this!

 

[MaryJanet]

This is FABULOUS!!!
A perfect description AND photos AND links! Holy moly! Is this an article? Should be!
Thanks! I can do this!

No worries! I'm glad you found it useful

It keeps the coop quite cool because it functions like a big evaporative air conditioner.

One day it was going to be very hot, so I started the misting before I went to work. Later, I came rushing home from work, expecting to find dead chooks. They just looked up at me and said, "Hi! Got any treats?"

 

[The Angry Hen]

Haha! My hen, Lilly, is the cover photo for this thread.
Pardon me for my interruption! Happy Easter everyone.

 

[igorsMistress]

Welcome to BYC.

I can tell you Australirps often do not perform well in the heat here. I lost 2 of them to heat last year. Many breeds can tolerate the heat but the fully feathered birds suffer more from what I've seen.

I'm also partial to naked necks.

Sav a Chick every couple of days helps my flock.

I give them frozen fruit or even just cold watermelon or cucumbers. A bit of ice in their water to cool it and wading pools.

Deep/solid shade is crucial. My flock likes damp cool soil in the shade too.


Good luck!

 

[Aunt Angus]

I forgot to mention sand. I keep sand in a shady area of the run. I put it there originally for dust bathing, thinking it'd mix in with the dirt. But the girls prefer to lay in it when it's hot. It stays nice and cool in the shade!

 

[springvalley123]

I've had a few of the mentioned breeds. Most, I only kept until they were almost ready to lay. THen the heat got to them, so I sold them to people in cooler climates. I was in Black Canyon at that time, which is several degrees cooler than Phx, although it stays hot well into the night. The wyandote didn't do any worse than the rhode island red or the black australorp. Next I got brown leghorns and andalusians. The andalusians may have been slightly better in the heat than the leghorns. Both were much better than the first batch (RIR, wyandotes etc). Then I added naked necks. Mine were straight from new mexico, but actually didn't any better than the leghorns. I then moved with the naked necks to about 60 miles north of phx, much cooler, and the naked necks still hogged the ice bottles I put under the coop in the shade. My leghorns were out and about during the day in their new home down the street from my new home, but they had nice established, large shade trees. This year I have amberlinks and sapphire gems. The sapphire are slightly better so far, but we've only been in the high 80's so far. If I had to live in the valley I'd try egyptian fayoumis, or maybe the penedesenca. Also, in black canyon, I had double shade cloth in many areas, the run/enclosure was fully shaded with the cloths. That does limit your breeze though, and it's no comparison to a group of established large shade trees! I also had a mister (no good in monsoons though), and a fan. And, I kept putting ice in the water, and 2-liter ice bottles under a giant fast-growing butterfly bush in the enclosure. Hope this helps!

 

[meetthebubus]

You got the best basic advice about ice water and DARK shade.

It will be really hot for ANY breed of chicken.
It will be LOTS of work you have to be willing to put in, to make sure they are most comfortable during the hottest days it's common to have to go out 4 to 5 times.

It takes lots of ice, I have a deep freezer dedicated solely to chickens that I use from April until october

Remember chickens lose heat from their feet/legs which is why puddles are important and mentioned by several here.

Roost time is the worst for them, it's still over 100 degrees but they can no longer drink or wet their feet.

Just remember it's been rewarding for me to have my feather babies, I have 30 a mix of Easter eggers, buff Orpingtons and a speckled Sussex but TONS of work

The chickens get pale, some drink too much and get respiratory problems that you have to deal with. Which is why electrolytes are important and mentioned already. That helps hydrate without them drinking too much.

In the summer you can also fight armys of ants

Not trying to scare you off bc again I love having them and they are happy, but that's bc I've built them a palace over time that covers just about any issue and it can make it easier on you as the owner


It's best you know now and consider if you are willing to go on with chickens in the desert

Good luck