cooling off your chickens

[Stephen12]

I live in Michigan and we are in the middle of a heat wave. I freeze a gallon of water overnight. Leave it sealed and put it in with my 3 gallon water in the morning. I love it.

 

[Stephen12]

It's very hot in GA today, the only one that seems to mind it is my brown leghorn. They have a tarp cover pvc tractor wit the ends open in the direction of the wind. every hour i add ice to their water, I put a pan of shallow water with in it for her, I even made a berry smoothie. the leghorn just walked through the smoothie and no one is really taking advantage of anything but the water. I do not have shade and I think I need to get a fan. what fan setups do you all have? Is there a fan you really like and works well? I was maybe wanting one with a light too, and a clip for their coop. What set ups and what do you all do to get them to enjoy their treats> So far, I think my chickens are from another planet, they don't even like lettuce!

 

[Stephen12]

Oops, I meant the chickens love it.

 

[lacrandall]

I ended up putting an ez-up over the run to provide shade. I also added a box fan at ground level that blows across the floor of the run and a pole fan that blows into the coop when it's extremely hot outside. I've also set frozen bottles of water in the ground near the box fan and some of the girls go lay next to them to stay cool. Others like to stand on ice cubes to cool their feet, which helps cool their bodies. They also get grapes cut in half and frozen in ice cube trays filled with water. This give them something to do while it also cools them off when they eat the ice and grapes. Watermelon and frozen chopped grapes are always a hit with my girls too.

 

[Fishychix]

I put corn and other things with a bit of water into muffin trays and freeze it. I keep all the frozen ones in a freezer bag so I can make several batches. My 12wk old chicks are starting to learn to like things. They prefer the ones I make with scratch in it. They don’t understand corn yet either. The good thing is, I can just keep the ones they don’t like in the freezer until they’re older. I also freeze watermelon rind. They go WILD over that. I haven’t thought to give them a pool. I’ll have to try that out.

 

[Tammyoeo]

I bought these BIG planter bottoms off Amazon that I use for wading pools. I live in Arizona, it’s supposed to be 111 on Sunday. You have to keep trying the fresh stuff. Try cold strawberries. Cold pasta! Trust me. I heard too much lettuce can get stuck in their crops so I avoid it. I do kale and spinach. My girls were afraid of fresh foods at first (hatch date was May 4th). I have Conures and just kind of went with what I know is safe for them.
I go out three times a day (every day) and check to make sure their water is clean (which means I change it every time), but I also will wet down their run ( it’s dry by the end of the day here). I also use gardeners shade clothe to cover and provide shade over their run. Best of luck to you and your girls! Stay cool!

 

[Tammyoeo]

I ended up putting an ez-up over the run to provide shade. I also added a box fan at ground level that blows across the floor of the run and a pole fan that blows into the coop when it's extremely hot outside. I've also set frozen bottles of water in the ground near the box fan and some of the girls go lay next to them to stay cool. Others like to stand on ice cubes to cool their feet, which helps cool their bodies. They also get grapes cut in half and frozen in ice cube trays filled with water. This give them something to do while it also cools them off when they eat the ice and grapes. Watermelon and frozen chopped grapes are always a hit with my girls too.

 

[Tammyoeo]

I really like your idea with the frozen water bottles! I have a bunch of 2 litter bottles and gallon jugs I could use. Great idea! Thanks

 

[City Farmer Jim]

My 2 cents worth. I am newbie here and to raising chickens BUT the people here are awesome and spot on with their advice. I have basically 2 flocks ...flock 1 is going to be a year old September 13th and doesn't like any or at least most of the treats that most suggest now the second flock was born well 1 was born the end of January the next 2 born February 10th and the last 2 the 6 or 7th of March and they eat EVERYTHING. The mud puddle idea is a great idea. ALL 10 of my girls like "misters" to wander through and around them. I have 2 cooled watering systems but they love a low sided pan(where they wash their feet) they love to drink from. All I can say is provide them clean fresh as you can water and they will drink it. Our go to treats are grapes cut into 1/4s, raisins,yogurt with scratch mixed in, yogurt with fresh diced tomatoes, diced fresh tomatoes, watermelon and corn on the cob. I hope this helps...use any ventilation fan you can afford...any moving air is good. Refine your fan situation as time permits. I live in south Texas and know exactly what you are talking. The only thing I can say is shade is the best defense but if you use a plastic tarp be sure it is tall as possible or it becomes an oven quickly, a camouflage netting is a good choice as it allows air flow and offers shade also.

 

[Bob 1313]

It's very hot in GA today, the only one that seems to mind it is my brown leghorn. They have a tarp cover pvc tractor wit the ends open in the direction of the wind. every hour i add ice to their water, I put a pan of shallow water with in it for her, I even made a berry smoothie. the leghorn just walked through the smoothie and no one is really taking advantage of anything but the water. I do not have shade and I think I need to get a fan. what fan setups do you all have? Is there a fan you really like and works well? I was maybe wanting one with a light too, and a clip for their coop. What set ups and what do you all do to get them to enjoy their treats> So far, I think my chickens are from another planet, they don't even like lettuce!

Don't know how well misters work in your humidity, but here, with it often in the single digits, they work fine. We have five of the "Cobra" by Orbit. Also have 7 of an 8 quart rubberized feed dishes filled with water scattered around which they enjoy, but prefer the spilled water which make the most wonderful mud puddles.
You will find that shade cloth works much better than tarps. It allows the air to circulate. Go for at least the 80% blockage.