Extreme heat! Two chickens dead! Trying to save the others! HELP!

[chuckzoo]

Quote:
I agree misters in from of your fans even if they are small will create an evaporative cooling effect like air conditioning. I got misters at walmart for about $5. If you can't get those turn a sprinkler on low and run the fan a good way from it for safety it will blow a mist towards the chickens and cool them.
Here's my post on how I cool my chickens;

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2530933#p2530933

 

[Sallyschickens]

Quote:
I agree misters in from of your fans even if they are small will create an evaporative cooling effect like air conditioning. I got misters at walmart for about $5. If you can't get those turn a sprinkler on low and run the fan a good way from it for safety it will blow a mist towards the chickens and cool them.
Here's my post on how I cool my chickens;

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2530933#p2530933

Cuckzoo, thanks for sharing again...our heat came late. (Usually it isn't this bad either.)

 

[consdrs]

I live in Vancouver too! OMG it is soo hot! we are just not used to this kind of weather, I love it! but not used to it.
I just came in from installing misters in my runs. they had the whole set up at home depot yesterday. it was exactly what I was looking for and there it was in the garden center draped over the door way. all the parts for it were on a table near by. I did both runs for 25.00.
It was almost too hot to finish the job outside. I have 17 chickens and have spent the last 2 days trying to keep them at least comfortable. mine spend no time in the coop. I have a sand run and they lay under the coop where I wet down the sand. I do have a fan in the coop and it is in almost full shade most of the day. just a few weeks ago we prepared for hot weather. husband installed 2 roof vents, and a huge 1x2.5 ft vent at the floor level. this along with the 2 roof vents we already had and the huge windows has helped keep the coop from being too unbearable. my new coop is more exposed to sun than the other. we put up misters in that run yesterday and covered the run with a reflective tarp and it is soooo much better today.

mine love frozen blueberries! and frozen zucchini and beet greens.

I am so sorry you lost your babies... <<<hugs>>> and at the same time terrified it will happen to mine...

Good luck

Connie

 

[Eggie and Me]

Sorry about your loss. The heat can be such a problem. We started mentally (if you will) preparing our flock of 7 for the heat as early as we could. We never scare them in any way with water. Now they LOVE the water and if they see me with the hose they come running.

It's not me, they know there will be bugs, etc coming up around the hose. We also give them veggies and fruits from the refrigerator in the afternoons and put those plastic freezer inserts in their water containers. We've also put up shade tarps over their enclosed yard and their coop opens fully during the day. We have a double door so everything's shaded and open. We built their coop so that it is 2' off the ground. The area under their coop consists of cement, block wall and dirt all fortunately are shaded. Think the secret is lots of fresh water and as much shade as possible. Best of luck to you..

s

Just think, after summer is over next comes the winter... and rain.

 

[Sallyschickens]

Eggie and Me,

Oh the things I would do for rain right now!!

 

[threehorses]

I also agree with the mister idea. Also, when we had our big heat issue here, we soaked the ground a lot (as it was so hot that it would dry up by the next day) in a section of their area. *Usually* my mantra is "dry dry dry", but in the heat sometimes you have to pick an area (not where you keep their feed, possibly where you keep their water) and get the ground good and wet. With my birds, I soaked the leaf canopy over their coolest area. If you have a shade cover, sprinkle it - the air will cool it. Wet the roof of the coop to cool the interior temps. Spray the wood a bit as well. This is how I cool down our barn (for me and the chickens) here when it's very hot.

If you can block the sun without blocking air flock, do that. For example, make at least one area of the pen that is usually shade an area that stays shaded ALL day long - the sun never hits it to warm it back up. That will keep the area cooler. That shade-screen is great as you can wet it and the air will blow through and cool the area, the shade will keep the sun off. You can get some at Target pretty inexpensively apparently. I'm sure you could also get some at the hardware store if you go there for misters.

I hope you get a break with the heat. At least here in southeast Texas our birds get a little used to heat. And please know that I'm very sorry for your losses.

Incidentally, I would offer electrolyte water (use as labeled on the package) for heat stress. Also use multiple watering stations (in case one gets knocked over or they drink more) or even pans as someone suggested. Our hens sit on the rims of the pans and it seems to cool them. Only make sure they're shallow enough where your shortest bird can stand in it with the water full and still easily hold her head over the water.

My turkeys stand all day in shallow baby wading pools - the kind like you buy for the backyard. The hens lay in the cool damp dirt where I empty the pools daily (which is in the shade).

 

[Eggie and Me]

Quote:
Yeah - bring it on

....................... Forgot to mention we also have misters................. As we speak I just delivered the girls their afternoon FROZEN watermelon and FROZEN grapes (seedless of course).... Best of luck staying cool everyone...

 

[Coop d'etat]

Hi everyone -
We are in Medford, Oregon and having the same heat, and it seemed like our young flock was coping until today, I checked on them early this afternoon and they were panting and seemed restless. We let them have the run of our backyard and there is deep shade - their favorite spot is under a huge climbing rose and we soak the ground underneath it but today it just felt even hotter and I read everyone's posts and had to find a way to bring my chooks indoors. We only have six banties right now, and got a wire dog kennel and put newspaper on the bottom and caught them and brought them inside the house and put them in the dog kennel. They are a bit crowded but it's better than being out in the heat, of course they have their water in there with them too. I just checked the online weather page and it says it's 109 here. I just didn't think the deep shade on damp ground was working to keep them cool any longer, and ours don't care for the garden hose but we did try putting the hose on mister and setting it under the shade but it only made them go elsewhere to find shade.
I hope this helps, the wire dog kennel idea, it's usually hot here mid July to early August but not this hot!! 109 !! and it doesn't help there are thunderheads moving in from the south - hot and humid! Thanks everyone for posting and your ideas, Lisa I hope all works out well for you and so sorry for your loss. But your words encouraged me to keep watching mine and when I saw them acting like they were miserable, knew it was time to bring them indoors, somehow. They aren't cramped but doing ok in the crate right here next to my desk, do you have a laundry room? how about putting them in the shower if you have a shower door that closes? it can just be washed out when they go back outside. Just a few thoughts.
Take care everyone and keep yourselves and those chooks cool -
Anna

 

[kevahouse]

I am so sad. I left for work this morning. Came home late tonight and one of my larger Black Australops was dead. I had 4. I didn't probably put enough water in their large and partially shady run. They had their regular water and one other bowl of water, but it had dried up (or they had tipped it over) and it was empty this evening.

There's just no wind whatsoever.

Now it's so late and I went and put a fan to blow on them while they sleep. Is it too late? Have the others already begun to die and I will wake up with dead ones in the morning? I'm totally distraught.

The others have combs that are little bit wilted. I went out there and tried to feed some water to them but they are just perched out there and it's dark so maybe they won't drink this late. I felt like everything I was saying and doing was just stressing the remaining 3 even more.

I put a little bit of water on their feet but ....

Praying that they'll be alive in the morning.

I probably won't sleep.

If anyone's up email me.

[email protected]:/

 

[kevahouse]

Oh, me again. I did go ahead and prepare for tomorrow setting up a mister to run all day from a neighbor. And I'm freezing some liters of water to put around.

I hate it that I have to be away all day and no one can check on them.

Sigh,
It's hard because I feel like they are pets and not just livestock, and I feel like a bad parent.......