Extreme heat issues

[Rick589]

I live in Florida where heat is an issue for months on end. Our coop is between a huge old live oak tree and a large pecan tree which receives only dappled sun. The chickens free range most of the day over several acres, so we have 7 gallon waterers tucked under trees in the areas they like to go the most, I have a soaker hose in the grass in the shade in front of the coop that gets turned on several times a day when it is hot, keeping the grass wet but not soaked, with a few Frisbees catching water.

Also, when I designed the coop, a 4 foot section of one wall is on hinges and a chain holds that door open, on the wall directly across there is a 4 foot long 'window' up at the top for some cross breeze action.
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and a favorite treat on hot days are 10 inch ice blocks of veggies and fruit.

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I did something similar with our coop. I made a framed screen that fits into the clean out door opening. We latch the clean out door open, insert the framed screen and secure it in place with eyebolts as stops. This give a wide open wall that will allow the vents to draft. If really hot we’ll crack the nesting boxes lid open, which is opposite the clean out door, to improve cross flow.

 

[Bawkbok]

For all, but especially for fellow Floridians -- we use the deep litter method and wetting the soil does help to provide some cooling but I've noticed it also increases the flies and sand fleas especially during extreme dry spells. We only do this when it is extremely dry to cut down on some of the dust. Given the recent rains it hasn't been necessary. Now I'm tilling it over every other day to help dry it out as it's still wet inches deep.

For shade - the coop and run are alongside a small tree line. The run roof is a heavy duty grommeted tarp that is bungee corded to the run. It stays on at all times. This creates deep shade with the help of the trees. When the sun is directly overhead, the trees add no value.
FANS!! We have 5 fans running at all times, four run all night.
A box fan is placed up high in one corner of the run, pointed downward toward the middle of the run, secured with bungee cords to the run. The cord is zippy tied to the run so no one strangles themself. Another box fan is placed outside the run facing in at ground level to move the lower air around. High speeds. Even with the shade and the tarp, it's not uncommon to find the girls literally lying in front of the fan during the hottest part of the day. They look comfortable and are not panting. Today the heat index was 107.
Three other fans are in and around the coop for constant air flow one facing up to the roof, one facing straight through and one facing out to remove warm air. They are not panting while on the nest so this circulation seems to work.

We keep two one gallon containers in the fridge at all times. We add a hard freezer pack to their water dispenser and replace that when we replace the water - keeping it cold. They prefer cooler water to warm water. Ice cubes melt instantly so those are pointless. Frozen bottles and cooler packs work well.

We limit yard time to the first two hours of the morning (the East rising sun is HOT) and to the last two to three hours pre sunset when the yard is in deepest shade. Treats are all but eliminated to minimize running around and excitement. They receive a cold salad of mixed greens; kale, romaine, lettuce from the garden, occasional shredded carrots to supplement the lack of greens with minimized roaming time, served in a refrigerated dish at the hottest time of day. Watermelon late afternoon. They don't gorge on this but take a few bites and walk away; just what they need.

Vitamins, amino acids, electrolytes are added to the water once a week for two consecutive days.

A water tray for standing foot baths has been tried multiple times using various items -- they simply don't use it, even after being placed there. For some reason they don't do the foot soak thing. I don't get it. I haven't tried the cat litter tray as seen above so I think we'll get one and see if that works.

We keep a bucket of water outside the run in the shade if we have to quickly dunk anyone for a quick soak. We've had to do this twice when the heat index is through the roof. It provides immediate relief but catching them for the soak is stressful so we only do it if they appear to be severely struggling.

I hope this provides others with ideas. Good luck keeping your babies cool --- most importantly --- check on them often to intercede quickly should they appear to falter.

 

[CFinID]

Thats smart!!

There is a company called Revolutionary Chicken that sells a kit designed for this purpose. I converted a cooler I got for $3 at a thrift store into a 5 gallon waterer. I drop a frozen water bottle in every day and it stays cool all day long...and it's been near and over 100 degrees here for a while.
https://revolutionarychicken.com/product/revolutionary-chicken-cooler-waterer-diy-kit/

 

[j_hare]

Are you able to run a sprinkler in the chicken pen?

I have misters in my enclosed run. I run them before the sun comes up to really wet the ground of part of the run and that will cool down that part of the run 10 plus degrees (I live in CA, so lower humidity and more evaporation). A sprinkler I think would work better than a mister.