Dealing with hot weather

[angela27]

Just wondering what everyone does to help their chickens and ducks manage the hot weather on a day to day basis. It's been so hot lately and I really feel bad for them =(
By day I usually have them shut inside their runs as I don't like them out when no one is home to keep an eye on them cause I worry something will happen to them (they do generally get at least a couple of hours out each day though). I have a plastic pool for the ducks but they don't have access to this in the run cause it would take up too much space. The runs are under trees so they get a lot of natural shade and it is significantly cooler there, and they are very open and well ventilated. I generally hose the runs down around midday to try keeping them cooler too. I've also taken to feeding the ducks and chickens watermelon hoping that it will help keep them hydrated. I have some powder to add to water that aids in maintaining water balance (Sustenhance Coolchick) but I'm unsure if this is safe for the ducks and how often I should use it.
I'm probably just fussing too much, (besides the regular panting, none of them seems to be handling the weather too badly) but I'd just like to help them as much as I can

 

[N F C]

With the flock I had in Florida, hot weather was a real concern. You're already doing some good things to keep yours cooler (like shade, watermelon and wetting down the run floor). Another thing I did was to replace the glass windows and solid coop door with hardware cloth ones to allow more fresh air in. A box fan in the coop, aimed so it didn't blow directly on the birds, helped to keep the air moving. Having extra waterers out and a shallow pan of water they could stand were helpful.

You'll find lots of ideas for keeping your poultry cooler using the search box in the upper left corner.

Since you're having summer now while us here in North America are having winter (or at least cooler weather) makes me wonder what your location is. You can use the search box to find members that live closer to you and maybe get more ideas from them.

 

[Pork Pie]

Here's quite a good link - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/788391/keeping-chickens-cool-in-summer-heat