CURE: beat the heat!! 2 great ideas!!

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Some of our chicks playing shower time in the misting system that we installed, in their run, in front of their coop. Yes they were frightened the 1st time and ran to the other side. So we took one over by hand, cooled her down and talked to her. She then proceeded to teach the rest of them, the 2nd time we turned it on, that this was a great thing! Now they ALL love it and run over to beat the heat with a nice cool misty shower. They are so relaxed, that they are preening themselves while they shower. LOL

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

This is our DIY styrofoam ice air conditioner we made for the coop. Now, I'm not going to ever lie to anyone, I did not have enough ice today to make this function at its potential max capacity. BUT, with just 4 empty gatorade bottles, filled with water and frozen solid, it did drop the temp in our coop from 99 to 89, in 2 hours - from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. If it can do that, I can only imagine what it will do tomorrow, fully loaded with actual ice. The way it was designed to be used. NOTE: #1 use ice, not frozen containers, actual ice. #2 turn this on at least 2 hours before you need the coop cooled down, to put your chickens away at night. #3 when all the ice has melted, the temp coming out of the pipes will be the same as the current air temperature. (At least that was our experience tonight. So, the chicks are back inside for the night. I am crossing my fingers tomorrow ends this ordeal, and they begin living comfortably and safely outside 24/7.)

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

One more thing we did today, for cleaning convenience - actually lowered the temp in our coop from 105 degrees down to 99 degrees. It was shocking in fact, that laying down a remnant piece / sheet of linoleum on the coop floor, actually provided I guess what I would now consider insulation against the heat. That was a 6 degree temp drop, not a lot, but still when your chickens are suffering from the heat.... I will do whatever it takes to make sure they survive and live a happy & healthy life. (NOTE: do not use glue or adhesives, those are toxic. We used screws and large washers, and put those around the outer edges, about every 6 inches or so.)

 

[sealer39]

Keep an eye on your cooler. Chickens love to eat styrofoam. If they start to eat it you could build a little hardware cloth box for it.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Keep an eye on your cooler. Chickens love to eat styrofoam. If they start to eat it you could build a little hardware cloth box for it.

Oh my gosh, thank you! I didn't know that. Arrgghh... okay, for tonight, think we will set it inside a tote. Making sure that the elbow pipes clear the top of the tote. Ty Ty Tyvm.

 

[Unswydd]

I too, have a problem keeping the girls cool in this heat wave. I wet down the run and brought out a fan for them. I also keep the water changed and add a frozen water bottle to it. Doesn't last long enough tho. Wish I had room in my freezer to make those big chunks.

 

[Unswydd]

Actually, from all my research that I have done in the last 24 hours, it will work in any climate. Of course it will work better in drier climates, but it will still cool things down even in humidity. Trust me, it was very humid here yesterday. Even I was having issues breathing the air was so thick, no wonder our chickies are panting. The mister system stopped that in its tracks.

I use these types of coolers when I'm camping in the heat, which I try not to do.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I too, have a problem keeping the girls cool in this heat wave. I wet down the run and brought out a fan for them. I also keep the water changed and add a frozen water bottle to it. Doesn't last long enough tho. Wish I had room in my freezer to make those big chunks.

Yeah it's been really bad here the past week with heat index in the 100s daily. They have had to take turns coming inside for a bit to cool down, my coop my gosh was 102 degrees at nightfall and had to keep them in the attached run. Fireworks compounded the stress problem, so we threw together a 2nd big brooder and they all spent the night in our den on the 4th, split into 2 groups. This week is supposed to be even worse. I dont know what we are going to do. The styrofoam ice cooler turned out to be a joke in these kind of temps, only works good for about 15 minutes. We are seriously considering using our old window a/c unit and set it to 82 degrees for the coop. That way it can cycle on and off.

 

[Unswydd]

Yeah it's been really bad here the past week with heat index in the 100s daily. They have had to take turns coming inside for a bit to cool down, my coop my gosh was 102 degrees at nightfall and had to keep them in the attached run. Fireworks compounded the stress problem, so we threw together a 2nd big brooder and they all spent the night in our den on the 4th, split into 2 groups. This week is supposed to be even worse. I dont know what we are going to do. The styrofoam ice cooler turned out to be a joke in these kind of temps, only works good for about 15 minutes. We are seriously considering using our old window a/c unit and set it to 82 degrees for the coop. That way it can cycle on and off.

Wow! This really is going to be a tough one for you. Our temps are in the 90's with high humidity but it's not as bad as what you're going through. I'm sorry you're feeling stress, which I'm sure you are. The AC idea is a good one. I hope it works for you. It's 7:39 am here and it's already 80* ugh!!! Good Luck!

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

T

Wow! This really is going to be a tough one for you. Our temps are in the 90's with high humidity but it's not as bad as what you're going through. I'm sorry you're feeling stress, which I'm sure you are. The AC idea is a good one. I hope it works for you. It's 7:39 am here and it's already 80* ugh!!! Good Luck!

I feel for you as well, the humidity makes it feel so much hotter and makes the situation worse for sure. Good news that old clunky window unit still runs! It is now mounted in the coop and only took 35 minutes to bring the temp down from 100 to 80. They are comfy and safe now from the heat for the summer. Who knew raising chickens was going to be so hard? Oh well, they are worth it. Each has it's own personality and they are funny birds.