Chicken Porch

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

My plans before it gets too hot is to build my girls their own porch. It will be raised, will be built on cement forms, have a painted wood floor, and will be 8" tall. I want to put their water and food in there, place it in the deep shade, and a couple of roosts so they will have their own spot. I am hoping it will keep them off my porch; that remains to be seen, Living in South MS, it gets oppressively hot and is very humid. Last year, I only had Lucy; she has been jointed by Wendigo, so, I want to keep them cool. I will be adding a kiddie pool for their cooling pleasure. I am stocking up on jello and will treat them when it gets warmer. Wendi joined us in October so she didn't see the hot weather with us.

I love watching their antics. They are just so much fun.

 

[cavemanrich]

Can I suggest a tarp cover overhead to keep out sun and rain. I like your idea of roosts there since chickens do like to take rest breaks elevated.
WISHING YOU BEST......

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

Can I suggest a tarp cover overhead to keep out sun and rain. I like your idea of roosts there since chickens do like to take rest breaks elevated.
WISHING YOU BEST......

I put solar fabric over the whole thing and move my tractor into heavy shade. When I build their porch it will have a metal roof and be situated in the shade by my grape arbor. The arbor is completely covered with thick vines and will provide heavy shade. I was thinking of getting a mister for super hot times. Any advice on that?

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

PS. I am doing this for two chickens.

 

[cavemanrich]

I put solar fabric over the whole thing and move my tractor into heavy shade. When I build their porch it will have a metal roof and be situated in the shade by my grape arbor. The arbor is completely covered with thick vines and will provide heavy shade. I was thinking of getting a mister for super hot times. Any advice on that?

Mister is good. You can also place ice into pots so they drink cool water. You are doing this for 2 chickens because you them.
I subscribe to the Arizona Thread. Many there use misters to keep their chicken alive during their HIGH TEMPS. I THINK THEY USE WHEN TEMPS EXCEED 100* F

 

[aart]

It will be raised, will be built on cement forms, have a painted wood floor, and will be 8" tall.

So a raised wooden platform set on concrete forms(not sure what those are?)?
8" inches over the bare ground> I'll bet they'll go underneath it

Kiddie pools and jello are not great for chickens.
(too much sugar and chickens can't really swim)



This is what I do when we have heat waves(90F & 90%).

My birds are confined with no great deep shade for last half of the day so I have to be vigilant during heat waves. I do have shade cloths up on run, which helps, but still not deep shade.

I put out large shallow pans of ice cubes late afternoon, they walk in and sit on them and sip the water as it slowly melts...used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.

To help cool down the coop I also have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into coop and pushes hot air out.

To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see if everyone is moving well.

Had hen suffer heat exhaustion/stroke one summer, she was standing stock still and let me walk right up to her(not at all normal for this bird). I determined she could not see out of one eye at all and the other was dicey. I started hydrating her with Qtip soaked in Sav-a-Chik solution held against the side of her beak, had to rub under her beak and the front of her neck to get her to swallow at first. Did this until she got too stressed, about 10 minutes, put her in a cage with a fan nearby to rest. Repeated this about every hour for half the day until she would drink out of a cup held in front of her. She recovered and I also gave the rest of the flock a dose of Sav-a-Chik solution in an open waterer(I use horizontal nipples on waterers), it really seemed to reduce the heat stress so now do that regularly when the heat waves are extreme and days long. Just a half gallons worth every couple days.


.

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

So a raised wooden platform set on concrete forms(not sure what those are?)?
8" inches over the bare ground> I'll bet they'll go underneath it

Kiddie pools and jello are not great for chickens.
(too much sugar and chickens can't really swim)



This is what I do when we have heat waves(90F & 90%).

My birds are confined with no great deep shade for last half of the day so I have to be vigilant during heat waves. I do have shade cloths up on run, which helps, but still not deep shade.

I put out large shallow pans of ice cubes late afternoon, they walk in and sit on them and sip the water as it slowly melts...used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.

To help cool down the coop I also have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into coop and pushes hot air out.

To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see if everyone is moving well.

Had hen suffer heat exhaustion/stroke one summer, she was standing stock still and let me walk right up to her(not at all normal for this bird). I determined she could not see out of one eye at all and the other was dicey. I started hydrating her with Qtip soaked in Sav-a-Chik solution held against the side of her beak, had to rub under her beak and the front of her neck to get her to swallow at first. Did this until she got too stressed, about 10 minutes, put her in a cage with a fan nearby to rest. Repeated this about every hour for half the day until she would drink out of a cup held in front of her. She recovered and I also gave the rest of the flock a dose of Sav-a-Chik solution in an open waterer(I use horizontal nipples on waterers), it really seemed to reduce the heat stress so now do that regularly when the heat waves are extreme and days long. Just a half gallons worth every couple days.


.

Thanks so much for the info! I put 8"; I meant the walls will be 8 feet tall. The concrete forms do not leave enough room under them for them to get underneath. They will be in deep shade. Lucy had a heat incident last summer. I cooled her down, held her, and she recovered pretty quickly. My coop is open, except for the laying area. I live in South MS, on the MS Gulf Coast. They free range during the day. They love to scratch around our many trees and bushes. There are many areas for them to get out of the sun. I planned on giving them sugar free jello, or make it myself with gelatin. I read where a kiddie pool is a good idea if you put something for them to stand on in the middle. I will use your idea of blocks of ice.

When it gets cold, I cover the main part of the coop with heavy plastic. I know there are two schools of thought on this. They can get out into their run if they want to. They seem to be very happy girls. When it is unseasonable cold here, they do not go into the run. That only happened a couple of times this winter.

I have moved their food to another area and give them a little scratch each morning so am hoping they will spend less time on my porch.

Do you have any toys for yours?

 

[Barb Root Hinkkanen]

Mister is good. You can also place ice into pots so they drink cool water. You are doing this for 2 chickens because you them.
I subscribe to the Arizona Thread. Many there use misters to keep their chicken alive during their HIGH TEMPS. I THINK THEY USE WHEN TEMPS EXCEED 100* F

I want to get my girls a mister but am wondering how the humidity will affect them? I will try the Arizona Thread; thanks!

 

[aart]

I meant the walls will be 8 feet tall.

So a concrete slab with 8' tall walls on it...4 walls?
Confused....sounds more like a coop!

They love to scratch around our many trees and bushes. There are many areas for them to get out of the sun.

Not sure why they need their own porch then, making them one will not necessarily keep them off of your porch. My birds are confined, second main reason (after hawks) is because I don't want them on my porch, patio, garden, etc.

Do you have any toys for yours?

Not toys per se, but in the run there are roosts, bench, branches, grazing frames....stuff to climb on and under.

 

[cavemanrich]

I want to get my girls a mister but am wondering how the humidity will affect them? I will try the Arizona Thread; thanks!

Misters seem to drop the ambient temp by about 15 degrees. It is all outside, so there are no humidity issues. Just blows away with the breeze.