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

[TerriLaChicks]

Hose down the coop, run & chickens as often as you can. freeze 1/2 gallon cartons of ice--it'll last a bit longer that way. Mine love frozen watermelon. Shade cloth (Walmart here has it) across the top helps too.

 

[LesGan]

We have a break from the heat here right now, but inquired to these good folks when I needed the same advice. Was told that chickens can only give off body heat through comb and waddle, legs and feet and also by holding their wings out to let blood vessel in that area give off body heat. I took a shady spot in my chix yard and placed shallow pans (used shallow red heavy duty plastic paint trays as they were cheap) that I fill with water. I also spray the ground around that area several times a day and change water in the trays. The chix gravitate to that spot, get in and out of the water and generally act silly.

I also have concrete block chix house and have discovered that when I keep the people door closed that the temps inside stay about 8 degrees cooler. When I feel it needs it I spray the roof and block walls with the hose as I spray the shady spot and change water.

People laugh at me with what I do for my babies, but you guys all understand. Good luck with the heat, Leslie

 

[needafarm]

We have been having really high temps as well 105. Being that I couldn't afford an expensive cooler my grandma gave me the idea of using burlp sacs I hung these up over the open windows and doors and then would spray them with the hose, when the wind blows through it, it works like a cheap swamp cooler. I also through in frozen 2 litter bottles that they stand on or snuggle up against. Good luck.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

We're not so hot at the moment, but a couple of weeks ago it was so hot outside that you could hardly breathe!!

One thing I did was to put pans of cool water around the run. The chickens will stand in them to cool off. They're like us in that heat escapes from their feet and heads, so when a chicken stands in the water, it helps to cool them internally.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I tried all kinds of stuff when we were running around 108 here a while back. The two things that seemed to help the most were having water to stand in and a good fan. But, my chickens will not stand in any container of water, they will only stand in a puddle! Mine also come in the coop when it's hot but it's open on two sides, no sun at all, and I wet the floor (dirt) in there. After they stand in the puddles then they lay on the cool ground. Misters would be my next addition to the coop. My rooster likes to dip his wattles in any water deep enough to get most of his head in!

 

[purpletree23]

If there is shade outside in their run I would 'shoo' them outside. The air moves more outside than it does inside even if you have fans going. I dug a few shallow depressions for my girls to lay in (the earth wicks away some of the heat) and if they start to pant i pick them up and put their feet into a 4 inch deep pan that has water in it. If it is humid I would not get them wet because it will only make things worse. If it is a dry heat misting would help. At night I use the hose to spray down the area under the shrub where they like to lay during the day. I feel that damp earth does a better job of cooling then dry dirt.

 

[americana-chick]

Quote:
It gets VERY hot here too.. in the coop we did install 2 windows with a fan after one of our chickens died now none have died.
Best of luck!
~Bri

 

[Sallyschickens]

I feel your pain sista! I had to rescue two hens trying in vain to lay eggs in the coop. I had to bring them into the kitchen and sink them into some nice cool water.

I have since put a large trough on legs in the coop and filled it with water...since I used it as a feed trough, I put some nail holes into the bottom. Then I filled it with water and put a large piece of partical board over it. The water slowly dripps out and keeps the shaded dirt cool. You could do this with buckets etc. I have been using a baby pool to "slow drip" my orchard trees.

I wish you luck, we are having the same weather pattern here too.

So sorry you lost two hens.

Keep that dirt wet and make them leave the hot hen house.

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

I really think its harder on the northern birds when they are confronted with unbearable heat. It gets very hot here but my birds are used to some heat. When it get extremely hot (over 100)I do spray down the runs and coop and they always have pans of cold water to stand in, This might just be my opinion but think about it how many people on here in the hot states lose chickens.

 

[Sallyschickens]

Quote:
Right, when I lived in S. Texas my chickens (same breeds as the ones I have now) could handle the heat WAY better.