CHickens in Hot weather!

[Namaste Mama]

I live in the desert where 115 degrees are not uncommon. Trying freezing a gallon milk jug or something similar and putting it in their water. It will last a few hours. I would think maybe try doing a dug out where young into the ground a foot or two, lay some lumber across the top and cover the boards with a foot or two of dirt. Make an entrance away from direct sun and I think this would provide a cooler place for them to go in the hottest part of the day. Its cooler underground. ;0) Or just take a large cloth and stake it a few feet off the ground to provide a shady place for them to go.

 

[hippychickenfarmer]

hey chookie
i'm in central texas. we had a whole slew of days over 110˚f not fun.

find the shadiest spot where the chickens like to hang out, run an electrical cord and set up a fan or two. turn them on to high and watch the chickens flock to them. i run the fans day and night. my babies love the movement of the air. they set themselves down in front of the fan, flip up their wings and rest a bit.

i also dig smaller holes and pour old washing water (only if you use biodegradable washing soaps) in the hole to create a bit of a cooling muddy/sandy pit. if you do not use biodegradable soaps, then don't do this as it could hurt the babies.

thick piles of grass clippings or hay in a shady spot can also help cool the babes down.

the fans have proved to be the favored chilling station.

 

[cmom]

I live in Florida. When summer comes and it starts getting hot, it stays hot for several months. I put my coops under some big old live oak trees and their runs too. I also have my birds run covered and my coops are well ventilated. Also, I have the ceilings of the coops insulated to help keep the coops cooler. The coops are painted white too. I make sure they have plenty of water in the coop and out in the run. I change the water every morning. I have Rhode Island Reds and they are quite heat tolerant.

 

[Delta2 23]

thanks everyone.!

 

[Mahonri]

Well since everyone else from Hades has answered, I'll just say DITTO to the above.

Mahonri... "I'm not afraid of going to Hades, I'm from Phoenix"

 

[my birds rock]

I live in Florida and the summers are BRUTAL and the humidity is awful when you step outside you just want to retreat into the ac! i put a fan in my hens coop and in one of the corners i put dirt, so they can take dust baths to keep cool. when they are outside i leave cold water out under a tree so the sun does not warm it. cold veggies or watermelon works great!

 

[newbie32]

I know this is an OLD thread but...... I took the ice cube ideas and gave them frozen lima beans. They didn't eat them as quick as I thought but it did visibly cool them off. I also threw COLD water on the ground. I picked each of them up and placed them in a COLD waterer, just to get there feet cool. THANKS FOR THE IDEAS THAT LED TO MY IDEAS. It gets hot until mid September here. Then finally the days will go down to the 90's