Chickens panting, how do I keep them cool??????

[animal nut]

My coop is insulated and it was still 80 inside. I have a shaded area outside for them by in the 90 degree heat they were panting with their wings lifted from their sides. There was a nice breaze going by you could tell they were to hot. My dd gave them ice yestardy. They seemed to enjoy it . I kept taking out cool water every couple of hour to them. I worry during the week because I work a 8-4 job and will not be able to take water to them every couple of hours. This is only April and I am worrying about the next few months getting to hot for them. How do you keep your flock cool in the heat?

 

[scalaway]

Do you have a pen they can go to outside of your coop? You might want to secure an area for them to get outside in th breeze. As far as keeping them cool while you are gone, if you know it's going to be an especially hot day, try freezing a 2 liter bottle filled with water --and leave a few of those in for them--I'm not sure how big your coop is? Anyways, if you had a few around in the coop--they'll cool the area around them a bit--- Just a thought--hoe it helps

 

[animal nut]

Thanks for responding. My coop is 8x12 and they have a 20x20' run. I do open the coop and allow them into the run which has the shaded area I was talking about. I think I will try the frozen 2liters. It sure could not hurt anything and would certainly cool them if they choose to keep close to them. I appreciate your help!

 

[BellLisamo]

mine are doing the panting thing too. i spray down the run and all around it to try to make the ground cooler.

 

[Cetawin]

Get 2 litre soda bottles, fill them water and freeze them. Get a plastic tote, lay it on it's side and put them frozen bottles in there on some straw or shavings....it will act as a little refrigerator/ac. Just keep re-freezing them and re-using them.

A fan to circulate the air inside the coop is a good idea...it is a must here when it gets hot.

 

[ChooksChick]

Another trick is to get a jelly roll pan, or some other large, flat cookie or baking sheet, and fill it with water. Mine have a few of these scattered through their area in the shade when it's hot out and they love to walk through it to cool their feet. It's a cheap fake sweat.

I'm thinking about giving them a super small wading pool if I can find one this year. At the moment, my yard is 3 inches under water due to the horrible storms here the last couple of days, and it's 50F out right now, so I've got a little time!

Have you seen those misters you can hook up to a hose for patio areas? You could get a hose timer and hook one of those to go for a couple of hours mid-day. I've considered that, too, since we break 100F several times a summer.

I would definitely make sure you have a vent in your coop to let out the topmost layer of hot air, even if you have to close off the vent for winter- I'm going to install a roof vent this year and have a sliding wood door to close it off for the cold season. Some folks install box fans or even solar powered computer cooling fans. The birds love to sit in front of the fans in the heat.

 

[mrsgibber]

Quote:
This is a great idea. My poor little pullets are in shock going from chilly 40/50 one day right into 80/90 the next. They were so hot yesterday and for some reason they kept going into the stuffy hot coop and panting rather than being out in the breeze of the enclosed run! I scooted them outside and then sprayed them and soaked the run with the hose and that helped...as well as watermelon to snack on!

I'm gonna put some of those bottles in there for tomorrow since it's supposed to go back to 90.

 

[WildBurroShirts.com]

I had the same problem: it snowed last Wed and then was 81 degrees on Friday...they freaked. It got ok and then snowed two days ago as well.

I put two big box pallets (so a square slat box, with sides) so they get some shade. But what worked best was I got some of that shadecloth from home depot and attached it to half of the sunny side of the run...they congregate there. They also have a Paltruf smoke-colored overhang the length of the coop...but aren't smart enough to hang there as that's not a fave spot for some reason.

They were doing the same thing as yours: running back into the hot coop. I finally got all of the vents cut out and the window hardware cloth on but it's still nicer outside most days...I need to seperate the 25 'lorps and BSL's into their new coop which will have even more shade.

Ya know...as soon as I get it built.

 

[gritsar]

Along with the ideas of freezing water bottles and a fan, I've found that poultry electrolytes in their water help them to adjust to the increasing heat.

 

[Picky Chicky]

I was having this same exact problem over the weekend. Our temps are like the desert - cold cold in the night time and then 90 degrees during the day.

I first tried giving them all a cool bath (very time consuming). They appreciated that after the bath was done.

Then I added a fan for my older chicks... my hens buried themselves in dirt nests in their run.

After a wonderful user suggested the milk jug with water frozen trick, I did variations of that method and that one seemed most prefered for my chicks. I had an ice pack (plastic) that I put in with them and they all nuzzled up to it - one was even laying on top.

Unfortunately today I didn't get a chance to do the same with the ice... but DH is at home (working on the new coop) making sure everyone is staying cool as possible.