Cooling chicken coop in HOT weather?

[Lucyincharge]

I have been putting some of those freezer blocks frozen (the kind you put in lunch boxes or ice chests) down on the floor of the coop and they climb on and sit down. They fight over who gets to sit next. I'll have to get some more. I also put a child's wooden picnic table in their run and put an umbrella in the hole of the table to create shade and put more of those frozen lunch box blocks on the table and benches. They sit on them to cool off.

 

[Jasonp7007]

Awesome thread right here. It has been in the high 90's already. Going to try the shade cloth & of course the frozen water bottles. Great advice, i love it here.

 

[bucky52]

My husband built the coops and runs.The old saying Hot Tin Roofs.We used tin for the coops and some of our runs.Boy you can feel the heat When you go into those covered runs.We have since insulated the coop ceilings.and that has help a lot.My hens also have runs with wire across the top.and lots of shade and over the years I have planted grape vines.the vines provide lots of shade.I also have powerful barn fans attached out side of the coops and I turn them on at night.My hens will go to roost way before the sun sets.Because their coops are a lot cooler than being out.The hot weather can be deadly on chickens. I do my best to keep my hens as cool as possible.

 

[Birdydeb]

How did you insulate the roof ceilings? Our coop is wood but the roof is tin and I have been working on how to get it insulated. Our coop was used and we have "remodeled" and made adaptations as needed. The original builder did not frame out a roof but just laid the metal on top of the walls. It does have some 2x4's running across the top that the panels are screwed to though. It hasn't become a huge problem yet but I know it could be better. Thanks!

 

[dana0710]

I recently saw this zero electricity eco-cooler on facebook. I'm thinking about doing it for my coop.

http://www.hellobanjara.com/2016/05...mini-eco-air-cooler-with-household-items.html

They are starting to use them in South Asian nations.

 

[Jasonp7007]

I saw that
also but wasnt sure how it worked. Thanks for the link.

 

[ShanandGem]

When it gets hot here it also gets very dry and I find the single most effective method is damping the run. They don't like the hose running in their space, but the minute I walk away they come on and lie down on the damp earth.
When the humidity is high I don't know what you could do ,though.