Cold Oatmeal or Canned Pumkin?

[Ericasl]

I know alot of us are battling some high temps, my question is?? Can you give cool foods like cold oatmeal or some cold canned pumpkin to help cool them down?? Would this help or do nothing at all or cold berries? I know You can give them watermelon but they are 7.99 here at wal-mart, and they are very small. I was just wondering if cold treats would help. I have frozen water bottles in there water which keeps then nice and cold. Just wondering if there was more I could do.

 

[Davaroo]

Wont help. Chickens have a body temp of 105* F - that is normal.

Trying to cool them down is going to give you more stress than do them much good. I live in SC and my chickens have never had an issue.

Give them all the cold oatmeal and canned pumpkin you want, it wont hurt them. But it wont "cool" them by any appreciable amount, either.

If they are confined in a house, a misting setup on the roof can help lower temps inside. If they are outside, just make sure they have clean fresh water everyday and protected places to shade and dust bathe.

 

[Ericasl]

Thanks for the info, I guess they are fine they have shade, fresh cold water, and a fan and they are not enclosed. It is just us chicken mommys over thinking..

 

[estpr13]

Having a dust bath in the shade helps as the dirt temperature should be lower than the outside air temp. Especially if the dirt is a bit moist. I've found mine neck deep in a wallow hole with one wing pointed skyward... just a chillin...

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
My chickens said to tell you it will help immensely.


Quote:
My chickens said to tell you they disagree. They said to tell you that cold watermelon will do much to make them more comfortable. The ducks said to tell you that any quackhead knows cold watermelon on a hot day is a refreshing way to cool off.
The geese said to tell you to just hand over the watermelon and no one gets hurt.

 

[Davaroo]

Your birds always were demanding little suckers. Tell them I said hello

 

[talos321]

This is just me but during the hot summer here I put two liter bottles in the freezer and plop one in a new (not chemical used) mop type small bucket in the mornings. This keeps a supply of very cool water for a long while. In the evening when I remove the eggs I pour the water back into the bucket to keep it at the rim so the chickens can reach the water without trying to stand on the rim. I fill the bottle back up and refreeze.

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:
I said Hello from their Uncle Eldie and they said Hello back and where's the watermelon?

 

[xanaxnation]

not sure how it works in chicken digestion, but in most animals (us included) canned punkin helps get things *moving* digestively... ie: the runs or clearing up constipation..... we used to give it to kittens that were plugged up from formula, etc....

 

[MissPrissy]

If you freeze milk jugs/ 2 liter bottles of water and set them out during the hot part of the day they will appreciate the cooling effects and lay around them. Along with ice in their waterers and cool foods you can make the much more comfortable and able to tolerate the heat better.