Don't laugh! Do my chickens need shade?

[chuckzoo]

I did a lot of the work on my coop on my own, my husband didn't have that much time, only weekends. Give it a try - it is not as hard as you may imagine - you may even enjoy it!

Good luck!

 

[Desert Plum]

Boy you guys sure do know how to freak a body out. Its 102 with humidity outside so with a hose I did wet down a larger ground space as I'd only put a wet spot in one place. The chickens got some water on them did not appreciate it at all.

But their places to cool off increased by five including under a tree where a breeze has just started blowing.

I have frozen bottles in cat litter box, their coop is partly under shade but I think perhaps I should grow something against a front facing wall so its not so blinding in the heat. For the most part they are staying still and in the shade while I hide inside.

I tossed around the idea of getting a window fan for them to "swamp cool" their immediate space. I just got my first egg now the heat and humidity are preventing more laying!

 

[threehorses]

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The growing stuff is what I do. Then I wet the leaves of the little trees there. THe water drips to the ground and makes the dirt there cooler. I often find The Mamas with their chests in that cool dirt - panting. The water on the leaves creates a sort of air conditioning as the wind blows through it - at least for a bit. And the shade keeps the area from being heated up.

The best parts of my barnyard (in the summer) are the ones that are high ground, but shaded on the west and east sides so that the sun never hits the ground there except at noon - enough to dry the ground a bit and do a little natural disinfecting. The chickens hide under the side trees at noon. So they stay cool.

Also I have a fan on some quarantined birds - not directly on them, but moving the air around. swamp cooling - I wish I could do that here! I'll probably have to figure it out this year as apparently it's going to be record highs here this summer.

 

[PeggySue]

~~I checked it out. You have a great setup! I love the fan cover, but my hubby would never build me one. I have to BEG for any upgrades to our coop! I'm still waiting on better roosts and a slanted roof on my nesting boxes! I love chicken NERDS and am proud to be one!lol~~~

Quote:
I don't have a husband at all, and have a coop, and chuckzoo is right. The experience I HAVE had with husbands, however, is that if you start something on your own, they will feel obligated to do it for you, (you know, to make sure it's done right and all)... but doing it yourself is quite gratifying, and not impossible.

 

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
I don't have a husband at all, and have a coop, and chuckzoo is right. The experience I HAVE had with husbands, however, is that if you start something on your own, they will feel obligated to do it for you, (you know, to make sure it's done right and all)... but doing it yourself is quite gratifying, and not impossible.

Husbands will chime in too, especially if want you are doing looks like fun!

I think we should have a competition; "Coops built by Women"!

 

[Eggie and Me]

We purchased a 6'x15' greenhouse cloth ($21.00 at Target)and put that over the wire roof on our enclosed yard. Decided against anything solid, like those blue tarps because they hold in heat. It's amazing how it took the temp down. Fortunately our flock of 7 has a lot of shade under their coop, both on the dirt or on cement, and shape from the trees as the sun moves. We've also taken those plastic water inserts you can freeze then dorp in a cup and have the largest one in our one gallon water dishes( those were free

, as I ripped those off from the grandkids) and have taken the water cans and placed them up off the ground on bricks. Seems to be helping. We also take our cool fruits and veggies several times a day especially watermelon, their favorite. The last look outside and our temp is 108 outside as we speak.

I HATE TO BE HOT!!! On yeah, and we also give them fresh water 2 sometime 3 times a day depending...

Best of luck everyone in staying cool and keeping your flocks safe from this heat...

 

[TcherDawn]

I put up greenhouse cloth too. The kind you use in gardens to keep down weeds. We had some left over. It was so lightweight and let air and water pass right through. Even here in cool and chilly New Hampshire, my hens almost always choose the shady side of the run. They also like running around in the rain catching worms and bugs, so getting wet does not concern them. It has rarely been in the 80's here, but if it gets hotter, I will keep the wetting down with the hose in mind. Thanks.

 

[Lora C]

Well, I guess no matter where we live, we have our weather extremes to deal with. Maine is perfect this time of year, but come January, OH BOY, id take a little that Texas heat. Glad we can all commiserate together and offer advice to one another

 

[Tane Z]

We're in the same area - Texas, 100's plus (add 15 degrees in the sun). Birds can overheat in their coops' shade. so yes please- add shade to their run. Planting some (bird safe) bushes around the fence of your coop can not only make it look lovely, but also help some of the morning and evening sun heat. Try to create an area of the run where all day long there's shade. It'll stay cooler.

Also provide multiple water stations.

I live in west Texas where it's hot in the summer. I am two weeks in to my three week old chicks. I have six of them and they are adorable and my babies. I worry about winter coming and they refuse to go in the coop. They run up the ramp and come to a screeching hault, turn around and go down the ramp. I worry about over heating in the summer so I've been letting them run around the run which is under the coop and beyond it. I don't know how to get them to like the coop. I've tried putting their food container with food in there and adding one or two at a time but they let out that scream sound they make that says its not safe. Any advise on keeping them warm in the winter and cool in the summer and how to get them to go in the coop. My coop doesn't have a door to close but it is surrounded by hardware mesh half inch and all sealed up and fixed to the ground for the strong winds so I think they are safe from predators. Help please?! I wanted to add, my baby's have plenty of shade because we positioned the coopamd run setup so the sun would only beam on the ground in random locations but still provide shade at all times of the day.