Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Roxannemc]

They are fine and your common sense is in perfect order!

Panting is normal when it's hot and you can't sweat(like dogs or chickens), the excess humidity in the body is released in this manner. You'll also see them holding their wings a little distance away from their body...these birds know what to do in the heat. Providing hydration and shade are all that is necessary on our part. I put a fan in my coop once because I was hot

one sizzling summer...not a chicken stayed inside to enjoy it. End of that little experiment.

For all you newbies with the same questions~guess what? Natural stress is a normal occurrence in the natural world, for both man or beast. If you raise a flock in such a way that they never have to encounter any stress due to climate or environment, you will have a flock that cannot withstand any stress.....and stress is inevitable. One cannot control all the environment around their animals unless they put them into a climate controlled bubble.

Chickens, dogs, cats, etc.....they're tougher than we all want to believe. We want to believe they NEED us to care for their every little discomfort when they quite simply do not. They either get tough or they die but babying them around won't serve them~ or you~ in the long run. Unless you really, really want the stress of a flock, dog, cat, pet that simply MUST have constant tweaking and attention and this makes you feel fulfilled as a human being.

If you don't, let nature weed out the crybabies and wimpy-doos and you will be left with animals that are worthy of your time and effort. Strong, productive and with some longevity of life. Just my $.05...inflation, you know.

Maybe everyone will disagree....a fan makes me feel good ... cooler ..but a chicken doesnt sweat so does it help them outside since the sweat evaporating is what makes me cooler.. fan in the heat its just stirring the hot air around doesnt cool the air does it unles it brings cooler air in...? So does it help chickens?

 

[Minchi]

You need circulation to get the ammonia and hot air out of the coop. They may not have the added benefit of sweat glands but I know they will notice the difference. Whether they like the heat or is dependent on many other factors like breed, color, age, location, etc. This week it has been 105 where I live, I can tell you they really like the tray of ice water I put out for them to keep there feet cool and they get really loud when I turn off the fan in the garage. I don't point it at them I have one pointed to the wall next to them and one on the floor pulling the hot air out. This keeps the air circulating around them and keeps there area at least 5 to 10 degrees cooler. I don't think they like the air blowing directly on them, from my experience they try to hide from it.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote: I have fans in my barn/coop to move the air for ventilation on still days like today. Doors at both ends and hardware screened windows on the south side give good cross venilation when there is a breeze. Today is isn't one and I have 32 meat birds that need some air!! I don't think it cools the birds, just provides some fresh air movement. All the other chickens are outside, the meat birds will be moving to their tractor on Saturday.

 

[Beekissed]

You need circulation to get the ammonia and hot air out of the coop. They may not have the added benefit of sweat glands but I know they will notice the difference. Whether they like the heat or is dependent on many other factors like breed, color, age, location, etc. This week it has been 105 where I live, I can tell you they really like the tray of ice water I put out for them to keep there feet cool and they get really loud when I turn off the fan in the garage. I don't point it at them I have one pointed to the wall next to them and one on the floor pulling the hot air out. This keeps the air circulating around them and keeps there area at least 5 to 10 degrees cooler. I don't think they like the air blowing directly on them, from my experience they try to hide from it.

Definitely...if your birds are confined to a coop or area that has poor ventilation and cannot get outside, a fan is a great way to move some humidity through. But...I'd be making sure your birds can get outside in the shade, dust and grass if you live where it's hot. Any animal suffers in hot, humid and confined spaces....my advice was for those who have already provided an outdoors arena for their birds and are asking if they should supplement this in some way with fans or misters. You can and it just may be enjoyable for the animal..but it isn't necessary if they have access to good shade outdoors in the open air.

 

[Minchi]

Definitely...if your birds are confined to a coop or area that has poor ventilation and cannot get outside, a fan is a great way to move some humidity through. But...I'd be making sure your birds can get outside in the shade, dust and grass if you live where it's hot. Any animal suffers in hot, humid and confined spaces....my advice was for those who have already provided an outdoors arena for their birds and are asking if they should supplement this in some way with fans or misters. You can and it just may be enjoyable for the animal..but it isn't necessary if they have access to good shade outdoors in the open air.

I am limited on space and even worse I have a hole under my deck that if my birds got stuck in I could not get them out of so I sadly don't have the luxury of letting them free range. It is dry when I live but this has been a bad summer and it has been much hotter then normal. The coop I am building has small ventilation holes because it is insulated for the winter but I will have fans in it to ensure I get the most out of the ventilation. I also have an area in my back yard that only gets partial sun and I plan on designing shade in to the run for that area so that they will always have access to shade.

 

[therapydoglady]

As I posted on another thread, I bought a mister that clips to any old box fan, and is connected to a waterhose. I hung it horizontally under the shaded part of the chicken run. Out here is regularly gets 110 and above, but it's very dry (less than 10% humidity most of the time) so any moisture added to moving air makes a huge difference. My hens are granted free range into the horse/goat areas and the entire arena (all fenced w/ Great Pyr present) but in the hottest part of the day, they are in that run, close to but not under the fan. Well, thye might get under it if they could move the ducks out of the way. If you live in an arid region like we do, a mister is worth it's weight! Sometimes, even I sit under there with the chickens and just watch them. Sooner or later, I always wind up with one or two on my knee or on the arm of the chair.

 

[Beekissed]

It's harder to breathe in high humidity...it was 108 today and we'd take arid heat over humid heat any day!

Sixty-seven percent humidity today....

 

[ldutch123]

Man it was a darn humid 105 today and good grief it was miserable. I feel so bad for the poor chickens panting n such around the yard. But I kept the water full and the overflow from the hose made some nice mud puddles and I couldn't keep the birds outta them lol.

So while I was swimming in the pool in the afternoon they were eating on watermelon rinds hee hee

 

[dquarles74]

Wait..... I have to add that to my recipe book...... add 1 or so glugs of apple cider vinegar to taste..... /img/smilies/lol.png I almost spit pepsi on my screen when I read that!

Is it ok to use plain old vinegar or does it have to be ACV?

 

[Beekissed]

What do you mean by plain ol' vinegar...isn't apple cider vinegar plain ol' vinegar?