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.

 

[RitzvilleHen]

It looks like it's gearing up to be another Texas scorcher of a summer. Temps hover around 97, humidity is almost 80%, and it's only going to get worse. My chickens are starting to really feel it, they pant hard all day long in this heat. I only have 4 chickens right now, and I want to get another 3 or 4 pullets soon, but I worry about heat stroke.

I have a small (I would guess around 8X6) plywood coop covered in tin with windows on 3 sides and a big door. One of the windows has an inward blowing box fan mounted in it, but it doesn't seem to help much in this kind of heat. The chickens have a small run during the day, but there's very little shade until late evening. They are HOT and panting whether they are inside or outside the coop. I close the coop door when they go in at night for safety, and the fan is always on. It stays hot and muggy at night too, but nothing like the heat of day.

I was just now reading all the good ideas here on BYC (freezing water bottles and milk jugs, ice in their water, showering the tin roof, etc) and I plan on doing all those things starting tomorrow. My chickens have nowhere to go to get out of the daytime heat, so what I really want to do is make their coop cooler during the day so they could go in there to cool off a little. Even with the fan, it's not much cooler in there than it is outside.

So...... I came up with an idea that I was wondering if anyone else had tried, or if anyone even thinks it will work. There is a good sized ledge on the outside of that window with the fan in it. If I froze and stacked several of those blue freezer packs (the big ones for coolers) on that ledge directly behind the fan, wouldn't the fan suck in the cooler air from around the freezer packs and blow it into the coop? I probably shouldn't leave the door and the other windows open, though. I guess if it worked well, I could close them and shut the chickens up in there for the hottest part of the day. So does anyone think this might work? I know it won't be anything like A/C, but it would be great if it lowered the temp in there by 10 or 15 degrees. Isn't that how people cooled the air in their homes years ago, by using ice blocks the same way?

I might just try this after I buy some more freezer packs, although I'm not sure it will even work. In the meantime, I would love to hear any of your thoughts about this idea.
Thanks!

I've read frozen water bottles work, too.