We have another heat wave. Anyone dunk their chickens in cool water to keep their body temps down? Good or bad idea? I have plenty of shade for them in the run and the coop is shaded, but with the dewpoint so high, the heat index is high too! It's miserable even in the shade, so I'm such a chicken when it comes to the heat, I brought all my chicks in the basement. I have 2 xl dog kennels I put side by side, so they can decide which one to sit in. I worry most for my Cochin and Brahma. Those two have the most difficulty and breathe very heavily in the heat.
The downside of the kennels is there is not much space. I have only one roosting bar. Although, they seem to be super happy in there right now. If they get restless, outside they will go. Right now my run is 94 degrees in the shade and the coop is 89 degrees. The girls are downstairs at 70 degrees.
. The heat index is currently at 100.
Does it take a while for their feathers to dry? Could I give them a cool bath and put them back outside in a few hours when the sun isn't so hot? I personally don't mind them in the house as long as their happy too. I don't want to lose any of my girls to heat stroke. Am I worrying too much about this???
I do have 4 one gallon jugs of ice in the deep freezer along with a big fan. It just seems like the fan blows around the hot air. The chicks don't like the fan noise at all.
The downside of the kennels is there is not much space. I have only one roosting bar. Although, they seem to be super happy in there right now. If they get restless, outside they will go. Right now my run is 94 degrees in the shade and the coop is 89 degrees. The girls are downstairs at 70 degrees.

Does it take a while for their feathers to dry? Could I give them a cool bath and put them back outside in a few hours when the sun isn't so hot? I personally don't mind them in the house as long as their happy too. I don't want to lose any of my girls to heat stroke. Am I worrying too much about this???
I do have 4 one gallon jugs of ice in the deep freezer along with a big fan. It just seems like the fan blows around the hot air. The chicks don't like the fan noise at all.