This is chicken year number one for me, so I still have so much to learn. My 10 girls and 2 boys have been outside for almost a month and we just had our first really hot (for us) day, in the mid-nineties. (Last week I was still wearing wool socks and a hoodie.) It was warm enough to make the chooks pant and hold their wings out, even though their coop and run is pretty shady all day. I gave them cold melon treats and lots of cool, clean water to drink, but they still seemed really warm. I also set out a shallow pan of water for them to walk in, with pavers in the bottom for stable footing. Of course, the water pan scared them all and they went and hid in the coop. So I put a fan in the coop, which of course, scared them all back out again. 
After that, I just wet down their dust boxes and sprinkled treats in them. They had to walk on the cool, wet mud to get to the treats and that really seemed to help a lot. (Yes, occasionally, I can be smarter than a chicken ... eventually . 
)
Anyway, we all survived, but at the end of the day they seemed really thirsty in spite of having access to both their nipple waterers and the water in the pan (which they eventually stopped being fearful of and then started drinking, but most still wouldn't step into it.) I added a cup waterer to the coop for now which they seemed to appreciate, but tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter (near 100F). I was wondering, would adding some electrolytes to one water source be a good idea? The stuff I have on hand also has vitamins in it, but I would only put it in tomorrow, not long term. Or is the water and melon enough to fend off dehydration?
I'm probably worrying overmuch, but they did seem pretty uncomfortable today and tomorrow will be worse. I know excessive heat can throw our electrolyte balance off, so I assume the same is true for them. Thought it might be better to offer them sooner, rather than wait for problems.
After that, I just wet down their dust boxes and sprinkled treats in them. They had to walk on the cool, wet mud to get to the treats and that really seemed to help a lot. (Yes, occasionally, I can be smarter than a chicken ... eventually . ) Anyway, we all survived, but at the end of the day they seemed really thirsty in spite of having access to both their nipple waterers and the water in the pan (which they eventually stopped being fearful of and then started drinking, but most still wouldn't step into it.
) I added a cup waterer to the coop for now which they seemed to appreciate, but tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter (near 100F). I was wondering, would adding some electrolytes to one water source be a good idea? The stuff I have on hand also has vitamins in it, but I would only put it in tomorrow, not long term. Or is the water and melon enough to fend off dehydration?I'm probably worrying overmuch, but they did seem pretty uncomfortable today and tomorrow will be worse. I know excessive heat can throw our electrolyte balance off, so I assume the same is true for them. Thought it might be better to offer them sooner, rather than wait for problems.
