Chickens in Hot Weather..need advice!

[chookchick]

You can make your own misting system. All you need is a hose, filter, pressure reducer, mister and a battery powered timer if you would like one. I am a landscaper and do a lot of business with Dripworks USA--they would have everything that you need, and very helpful people to walk you through it. I really should set up a system for my hens, as I probably have everything I would need (and get a pic of it).

Made it through this last heatwave okay, but we are not at the end of summer yet! I put a large under-the-bed box in their run, with wood chip, sand, water and a frozen water bottle in it. I think this made the biggest difference in keeping them from panting. Hosing the run down several times seemed to help a lot--that's why I bet the mister, set to go off every hour, would be great.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Here in AZ, chickens are going to pant in the summer, that's just all there is to it. If I keep running out there to replace frozen water bottles or ice in the waterer, I'll get heatstroke myself. Panting doesn't mean your chickens are on the verge of death. They MAY die while panting, but I've never had a chicken die due to heat exhaustion even in 130 degrees (ugh). (This is not counting the chickens I accidentally murdered in the chicken tractor when their shade moved.)

1. Shade.

2. Water.

3. Ventilation.

4. Shade.

I just leave the hose trickling under one of their favorite trees, or I leave it trickling in a bucket under the tree. They will stand in the puddles or lie on the moist (not wet) ground, and they will mostly not forage till evening. Just sitting around, some panting, some not.

 

[BarkerChickens]

What we ended up doing is use a 55 gal drum full of water (on a table) and put a spicket in the side near the bottom. We attached a drip hose to it with a driller into the side to regulate the drip. Their "dish" is one of those plastic extra-large cat litter boxes (8" deep, etc). When it is really hot, we put the dripper on higher to let the dish over flow leaving water all over the ground. The chickens love it. They also have access under the 8'x12' coop and hang out under there a lot. I'd like to put a mister up, but it is not easy in this section of the yard.

The frozen water bottle does work for us. They stay away from it.

But, cold veggies...now that they love!!

 

[2txmedics]

HOME DEPOT...MISTER....9.99 I BOUGHT A FEW...FOR MY PARROT OUTSIDE...DOGS....CHICKENS....ON MY MISTER...I MOVE IT AROUND THE CHICKEN RUN...AND ITS REAL HOT, I LAY IT ONTOP OF THE CHICKEN WIRE WHICH IS THE ROOF PART OF THE RUN...SO ITS MISTING DOWN LIKE SOFT RAIN AND COVER MORE AREA....WHEN THE BREEZE COMES IS MOVES THE MIST AROUND THE RUN...

 

[favoritebird]

I have just read the advice on cooling chickens in hot weather. Today, in Kentucky, they are all panting. It is around 87 degrees. It isn't even the hot part of the summer yet. I am worried about them. I am a new chicken mother. I just went out and tried misting them. They do not want anything to do with the mister and ran away from it. I now have a bucket dripping water into the run. I will try the frozen bottles and ice cubes in the water, too. My question is this, is there a way to get them used to the mister so that they are not stressed by it, which will add to the stress they are already experiencing from the heat.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much!

 

[chickadee2]

After similar problems in Texas with our heat, I filled a couple of large plastic plant saucers with water. Within the afternoon one chicken was standing in the water and no longer panting. This was last summer, now they go stand in the saucers when they get hot. I also put folded shade cloth over part of their run so they have deep shade. Good Luck

 

[BarkerChickens]

Since posting this 2 years ago, I have learned quite a bit between brutal, hot summers and lots of chickens (we had ~60 outside last summer).

The basics are essential...fresh water, shade, etc. We have kept the 55 gallon drum and it is wonderful!! With irrigation drippers (and just the plain 'ol hose), we wet the ground on the exceptionally hot days and they love to scratch around in it. We also make sure their coop is well ventilated since it gets hot and stuffy in their without it. Between the shade, moist dirt and lots of water, we have never lost a chicken (and we live in the Mojave Desert of southern California!).

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

We plan to put a roof on our run to shade our chickens and are putting a privacy fence up on the west side which will also provide more shade. I have already begun to put more bottles of water in our freezers...use them for the bunnies and will use them for the chickens.

 

[favoritebird]

Thanks so much for the additional advice.

I like the ease of the plant pot saucers filled with water. I tried the frozen bottle of water and my girls totally ignored it. I already covered the top of the run with a tarp to provide extra shade and the dripping bucket of water into the run really helped. My only concern now, is that I can not always be home all day or in the afternoon to provide extra water, the dripping bucket, etc. I am hoping the plant pot saucers will be a good alternative for when I am not here to watch over my girls!

Thanks again to all of you!

 

[BarkerChickens]

Favoritebird, my DH drilled a hole into the bottom side of a 55-gallon plastic (food-grade) drum. He installed a faucet (like an outdoor spicket), screwed on a 1/2" drip tube (for outdoor faucets), capped the end and popped in an irrigation drip head into the bottom of the larger drip tube. The dripper will drip constantly due to gravity (when the dripper is on) and with 55 gallon drums, it stay full for couple weeks!! It keeps the water full (we dump their water and clean it, but the drum keeps the water level constant the rest of the time). During the summer we turn the dripper up so the waterer over flows to one side and wets the dirt. Works great and if we have to be be gone for a while, we know they have plenty of water! The drum was $15 at the feed store and the rest of the stuff was probably another $10-$15 at home depot.

You can see the drum/dripper in the the pic below. (not the best, but I don't have a better pic of it).