Extreme Heat Wave - Formex Snap and Lock Chicken Coop

GloriousNorious

In the Brooder
Jun 6, 2021
15
23
39
Hello, everyone!

I have a question regarding extreme heat temperatures during the training period for the chickens. The chickens are 8 weeks old and are on Day 2 of being confined in their coop before being released into the run (in the process of being built.)

Temperatures are reaching 105 degrees today and 102 degrees tomorrow. The 6 chickens are in the large Formex Snap and Lock chicken coop with all ventilation slots opened. Their coop is under a big old lemon tree offering decent shade. I have PDZ and a bit of DE as bedding, hopefully it keeps their feet cool. I filled their water with ice blocks and fresh cold water. I stuck my hand in the coop to feel the inside temp myself and it feels fine to me but it's just about to get hotter throughout the day, until it starts to cool off in the evening.

Do you think I should move the chicks back into the brooder/wired dog crate in the garage? I'm not too sure about how the plastic coop will deal with the heat and frankly, the garage too may get hot. I want them to survive and do what's best for them. Advice would be appreciated here.

Thanks in advance!
 

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The "training period" of which you speak is erroneous and of dubious value. One afternoon in a new coop prior to spending the night in it is sufficient "training".

The real training involves teaching your chicks to go into the coop from the run at dusk. Chicks can spend two weeks cooped up, get released into the run, and then have no clue that the coop is where they've spent the past two weeks for the very simple reason that, from outside in the run, the coop appears entirely different to the chicks.

Please heed your instinct that moving the chicks into the cooler garage with better ventilation would be better for your chicks than adhering to this specious training plan in a hot, stuffy coop.
 
The "training period" of which you speak is erroneous and of dubious value. One afternoon in a new coop prior to spending the night in it is sufficient "training".

The real training involves teaching your chicks to go into the coop from the run at dusk. Chicks can spend two weeks cooped up, get released into the run, and then have no clue that the coop is where they've spent the past two weeks for the very simple reason that, from outside in the run, the coop appears entirely different to the chicks.

Please heed your instinct that moving the chicks into the cooler garage with better ventilation would be better for your chicks than adhering to this specious training plan in a hot, stuffy coop.
Thanks so much for the advice. Got it! I'm glad that you mentioned that training them this way is erroneous. A lot of people do that and I was surprised how readily people recommend this practice. It seems to have worked for many others although it kind of felt cruel to keep them locked up in the space for more than a couple days. Anyways, again thanks for the great advice I will move them back into the garage (it's hot there too) but at least they won't be cooped up in a stuffy coop as the wired dog crate has much better ventilation.
 
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The "training period" of which you speak is erroneous and of dubious value. One afternoon in a new coop prior to spending the night in it is sufficient "training".

The real training involves teaching your chicks to go into the coop from the run at dusk. Chicks can spend two weeks cooped up, get released into the run, and then have no clue that the coop is where they've spent the past two weeks for the very simple reason that, from outside in the run, the coop appears entirely different to the chicks.

Please heed your instinct that moving the chicks into the cooler garage with better ventilation would be better for your chicks than adhering to this specious training plan in a hot, stuffy coop.
I should have mentioned that the garage gets very hot too and lacks the proper ventilation so I opened the garage door and side door for airflow and ventilation. A few of them were on and off panting so I made the move to their brooder with another fresh bowl of ice water. Thanks for your help!
 

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