Cooling off the Chickens?

[Malamute1]

Hi everyone! I have six pullets who have moved to their coop a few days ago. The temperatures are really getting high and I'm a little out of ideas. They are panting, and laying down a lot. I have a frozen banana I will feed when it thaws out, frozen water bottles, a tiny wading pool, extra shade, and ice cubes in their water. I'm a little worried because they are peeping a lot. They are still eating their feed, which I am probably going to freeze. Are there any other ideas? Also, has anyone tried putting a bowl of ice cubes for them? Would it cool down the air around them?

I was concerned this yr about heat. We live in Fl. My coop is small. I have 6 16mo old Buff Orps and 3 Ameracauna. We thought about a bigger coop, but the girls are only in for sleeping and laying. My husband put wheels on the coop when we put it together. We keep the coop where it gets max shade during summer. My husband got round soffit vents 4" . They have slanted grates and screen on them. We put in 4 using 4" hold saw. 2 up high across from each other just under roof point. 1 near nest boxes and 1 low on large access door. These give more air circulation in the coop. save the wood rounds to put in during winter or storms. We leave coop door open 2 4/7 but lock the run every nite. My girls free range from 7am till dusk every day. I keep a 4 qrt waterer hanging under coop and a 5 gal out in the yard in shade. I only keep 2-3 gal in it. Too heavy to move otherwise. It has a large opening. When the water starts to get warm in the shade, I put a frozen water bottle in to cool it down. At the end of the day rinse the bottle n put back in freezer. You can use muffin tins and put unsalted, rinsed can corn in the cups, add water to fill cups n freeze. Pop them out when froz. Store in zip lock bag in freezer. Put few out each afternoon. Hens will peck ice and eventually eat the cold thawed corn. I buy a small watermelon each week and cut into triangles n store in zip locks. Take a few pieces out in the heat of the day. My peeps love it. Cantaloupe too when on sale. Both usually reasonably priced. Refrigerate leftover rice or pasta. The next day add some plain, non fat yogurt. 2Tbls, they love it! I do cut up long pasta so no crop issues. Not every day though. They get yogurt couple times a wk. You can do the same with oarmeal. You could also use applesauce in the muffin tins. You don't say where your located. Can you run a sprinkler for hour or so near or on part of the coop to help cool it down? Good luck!

 

[IamRainey]

My chickens don't like a fan. They will all run into the coop and stay there away from the fan.

I think it's important not to subject the chickens to the blast of a fan. OTOH, I run 3 of them and I place them so there's a nice airflow but that the chickens can avoid as much of it as they wish. My fans are located outside of the run against the hardware cloth. I use small bungee cords to keep them from blowing or being tipped over.

When we get up to triple digits I also place a 5 pound ice block in front of one of the fans for cheap outdoor "air conditioning". A 5# block won't last all day but If I put it out as temps begin to rise, it will make it through the hottest part of the day. And we're fortunate that our temps drop with the sunlight. And I use an hourly weather forecast to help me plan how to make best use of the ice.

 

[Karen Glatz]

I've been filling a squirt gun (large) with lukewarm water and spraying them down a bit, the rabbits too. If they can't sweat, this seems like an alternative. It's very dry here so, lots of evaperation. I don't use cold water because that would be shocking. Also, blueberry ice blocks and watermelon. They have quite a bit of shade too.

 

[Wickedwit]

I have chickens and guineas. All in the "teen" stage. A box fan in the window of the shed/coop helps move air around. I cut watermelon into large chunks and freeze them. Toss a couple out and they love pecking the frozen melon. It stays frozen/cold for quite some time, if you cut it large enough. A couple of frozen gallon milk jugs work well, also. They will stand next to them to cool off, and peck at the cool water running down the sides.

 

[Stablecoop]

We have a flock of cold hardy pullets, and the recent temperatures have been stressful. We’ve put a 90% shade cloth over the run, tarped the side that gets the most sun. We wet down their run and freeze Gatorade bottles full of water to put inside their waterers to keep the water cooler longer. We make sure on these hot days that they always have access to cold water. We make sure there is good air circulation by turning on fans. I have read that giving frozen treats could act against the chickens ability to regulate temperature, temporarily cooling them, but then being worse off once the temporary cooling effect of the frozen treat is gone. Not sure any of that is helpful, it’s just what we have been doing during this abnormally hot summer here.

 

[anno1]

I freeze blocks of ice to put in their water. Usually take them some in the morning, and again in the afternoon.
Yogurt, chopped cold zucchini or cucumbers. Cold watermelon or cantaloupe. Frozen fruit.
Put shade cloth on the run. Frozen vegetables.

 

[Stablecoop]

We have a flock of cold hardy pullets, and the recent temperatures have been stressful. We’ve put a 90% shade cloth over the run, tarped the side that gets the most sun. We wet down their run and freeze Gatorade bottles full of water to put inside their waterers to keep the water cooler longer. We make sure on these hot days that they always have access to cold water. We make sure there is good air circulation by turning on fans. I have read that giving frozen treats could act against the chickens ability to regulate temperature, temporarily cooling them, but then being worse off once the temporary cooling effect of the frozen treat is gone. Not sure any of that is helpful, it’s just what we have been doing during this abnormally hot summer here. ☺

This is the blog where I read that providing frozen treats can actually be more harmful. I don’t know If this is research based or more anecdotal:

https://thefewellhomestead.com/keeping-chickens-cool-naturally/

 

[Parront]

access to cold water.

This is what I find to be most helpful. I put a big bloc of ice, and also run the sprinkler so that they can get under it, or next to the splash zone. 101 today, the 7 week olds were in the sprinkler zone!

 

[neusje]

Hi everyone! I have six pullets who have moved to their coop a few days ago. The temperatures are really getting high and I'm a little out of ideas. They are panting, and laying down a lot. I have a frozen banana I will feed when it thaws out, frozen water bottles, a tiny wading pool, extra shade, and ice cubes in their water. I'm a little worried because they are peeping a lot. They are still eating their feed, which I am probably going to freeze. Are there any other ideas? Also, has anyone tried putting a bowl of ice cubes for them? Would it cool down the air around them?

Put them In a cage or cat carrier and put them in your air conditioned house until the heat is gone.

 

[Padmewasmurdered]

I take fresh corn & pull a few layers of husk off & throw in a freezer bag. Chuck it in the run frozen solid & they LOVE it. The cob is picked clean! The frozen fruit suggestion is great as well. I would buy a mix tho until u figure out who will eat what. Mine love fresh blueberries but won’t touch frozen ones. I use mason jar waterers so I keep a few jars filled in the garage fridge & switch out the water a few times a day. I also have a tarp I put up on really sunny days to block the one side that just bakes. It helps tremendously!