Chickens in Hot Weather..need advice!

[texasflood08]

Hey there, I live in Portland, Oregon and it's about 105 outside during the day. I have two chickens and a duck in my backyard and I was wondering if anyone had any information on heat stroke in chickens, if it's common for chickens in hot weather..? anything along those lines.
The other day i came home and found my largest, friendliest hen face down in a tub of water that my duck uses to bathe in, there were no apparent injuries on her. It was bizarre considering that my chickens want nothing to do with water (other than drinking) and she was fine the hour before.
Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[wombat]

If you have a breeze, you can hang strips of canvas or burlap and use a drip to keep these damp. You can get a lot of evaporative cooling from this. It works well in arid climates with steady breezes. In parts of India, wet reed mats are used in doorways and windows, and this alone can cool dwellings by about twenty degrees. Might be worth a try for you.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Wow, are you my twin? I did the EXACT same things you did, had exact same results, exact same issues with nest box/house. I had 2 hoses though, both on super low to save water (even though I'm on a well) 1 did a tiny spray inside the run the other I proped up over the chain link fence on "mist." They were so much better off today than yesterday when they were panting all day... Still to do: I'm going to put big frozen water bottles in the nest box area per the great cool off advice going around. Oh someone please beam me and my peeps back to my homeland - ALASKA!!!
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[SandyRiverChick]

Sorry TF08, didnt see that you had a loss.... So sorry.... I do think it was dehydration. I had a similar experience with a dog a few years ago, had to rush her to the vet (a super furry Newfoundland in 100 degree weather). Hope your other peeps are doing ok... It's sooo crazy hot. Try to get them some relief via all of the info. here.... Seems that misting, running water, fans, shade are crucial, then there are frozen treats, frozen water bottles, etc.... Good luck!
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[sschroeter]

Since this is a current thread on the issue... We are sitting close to 100 degrees here in the lovely South Puget Sound. Crazy record setting heat!

What are the signs of oncoming heat stroke? My girls were all panting like crazy and sitting in the bottom of the triangular type chicken tractor that you often see. I ran the sprinkler on half the yard that their chicken tractor is fenced into for a little bit. Once they came out and started walking around this wet area they seemed to cool off and quite panting. They were not interested in getting in the mist while it was on and I wondered whether I should actually wet the birds beyond just their feet?

When is it time to seriously worry and take more drastic measures? And what would those measures be?

 

[SandyRiverChick]

This is extremely amatuer but I've really been using the panting as a guage. I read another thread (who knows where, sorry) from a guy in AZ that of course deals with this as a way of life and his gauge seemed to be the panting... He took measures that brought his hens down to NOT panting and felt like that was success.... Actually I'm going to look for that thread now! But the point I wanted make is - I really watched for that (panting) today, after seeing several hours of it yesterday. Not so much panting today, despite the temp being even higher, was my indication that I was doing the right things to cool them off... Those things were: Mister; low dose sprinkler; shade; pans of water to drink and walk through (if they so desired, which they do not ever desire).

I'll get back to you should I find that more reliable source!!

 

[wildorchid053]

someone suggested that frozen items were good.. i gave mine frozen mixed veggies with a little water so they ate the veggies and got water at the same time.. i am hoping frozen veggies in the crop kept them cool.. i also watered there shade area and gave them a box of water to get into .. yeah right like they would get into the water .. so hubby dunked each one.. they quit panting and the rest of the day it rained and the heat wave broke.. next time i am putting frozen waterbottles into a box and they can rest on those.. gl with all the heat

 

[kentonsredhen]

Hey ~ I am in Portland too and have ducks and chickens. I was really worried this past week as well because of the heat. The things I did were only feeding them scratch because corn and cracked corn is harder for them to digest in the heat which makes them pant more. I gave them fresh watermelon though which cooled them off and dipped their feet in cold water (something I also learned from this site). At night I had a fan blow in their coop for some cool ventilation. I also put bags of ice in the nesting boxes which they layed next to. The ducks did a bit better because I could put them in cold water. I must admit though, that one little bantam has slept the whole week in my office with the airconditioning! Glad it cooled down now!

 

[2txmedics]

I went to Walmart and bought a nozzle...for 1.98, you turn the knob and it can be a hard jet spray or a light mist.....Im out there watering my babies....feeding....but before I do I turn the hose on and hang the hose on the fence, with a soft mist and let them get wet, drenched...

I do that, about 3-4 times a day....I check on them all day long since its real hot here...103 with a heat index of 108....but Im home all day out on medical. I have been looking for a mister at Home Depot, Lowes, etc...nobody has them!!!!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

2nd the mister totaly! Exactly what I did that I think has the biggest impact in cooling - the mister. Whether its an actual mister or homemade mister (as in mine - same as yours - hose nosel on mist, hanging over high chain link fence into coop area). I had another hose in the coop too, with a sprinkler on a super low. It kept a few puddles going for cool places to walk....