Extreme Heat

[Shayna]

Yep, dealing with the extreme heat here too.... I have been clearing out my freezer of fruits and veggies that have been there awhile and mixing them with yogurt. I put a bit of fresh fruits and veggies on top, stick it all back in the freezer so the yogurt is frozen too. They have been getting this every day and LOVE it!

Their pen is well shaded and I have half the run wetted down. The coop windows are open and the run is screened all the way around to allow breeze. Everything stays well shaded throughout the day because it's surrounded by trees. They have plenty of water available. Even though we're seeing triple digits, they really don't hold their wings out or pant very much, and do their typical chicken business. I've been letting them wander in the woods in the afternoon for a bit most days. They are still laying pretty well too.

 

[Lizard Feet]

grapes, strawberries and spinach ( from my garden that bolted ). Tonight gonna freeze one with watermellon, may even try to use mellon half as bowl not sure.

 

[ChickenJerk]

We have a rooster that spends a lot of time swimming with the ducks

Sure you do.


Please don't mislead people like this. It only ends up hurting the birds.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

It is 100 degrees here in Indiana. We are having a horrible drought. The corn fields are suffering and I see super high grocery and feed prices in our futures. I keep pools (little kid hard plastic pools) out in the pens. I water down the ground every single day about twice. I mist the birds all a few times a day with the hose if they appear to be panting a lot. We have a rooster that spends a lot of time swimming with the ducks LOL I water the ground to take care of bird poop and odors, but it helps keep the birds cool too.

At those temperatures, you may wish to consider dunking the chickens up to their necks in the cool but not cold kiddie pool a couple times a day. That will bring their body temperatures down and help them pant less for a little while (the mister can't accomplish the same thing). It can actually be a life saving measure.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

here in Indiana also....hot hot hot!! Just tried this!!

That looks FABULOUS!! (does it come in a people version? LOL)

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Folks, the simple fact is, chickens can swim -- til they sink. When their feathers get waterlogged enough, they will drown. Many people have enjoyed watching their chickens swim, for a while. Perhaps they removed the chicken before it got waterlogged enough. But it is a well documented fact that, sooner or later, they will get soaked through and drown. A quick Google search will confirm this.

I have gotten mine wet when the heat got bad -- but never leave them in water over their head. I dunk them, slosh them, spray them, encourage them to stand in shallow water, etc.

 

[pinkhenhouse]

I have to make one of those ice blocks...what a GREAT idea! I have lost two girls in the last two weeks and almost another one yesterday due to the crazy heat here in OK. I put my girl in a cool tub of water to bring her temp. down and syringed water in her mouth to bring her back from nearly dying due to the heat. She is up today getting into everything like nothing ever happened...what a miracle. It's so crazy I spend half of my day making sure my babies have plenty of heat and the other half making sure the big chickens are staying away from it...when does the madness end?

 

[gickelvolk]

To keep our hens happy we've been offering frozen veg & fruits, cold melon pieces, and keep blue-ice packs in their waterer. We also run a misting hose..... They free-range and can seek out the "cooler" spots to save themselves......

However, they couldn't cool off enough at night in the coop. The temp has stayed over 82 and humid at night for the last couple of weeks.... We have a fan running in the coop and, of course, all the windows open. Their production dropped (6 hens and only 2 eggs after the first couple of hot nights.

We made a corner of the garage into a temporary "Chicken Camp"..... When the temp outside gets over 95 and the humidity is as high as usual (45 - 60%) they are brought in until the next morning.

In the garage, we put up bird netting on posts to surround the area and covered the floor in straw. I made a "yard-roost" for them this spring and brought it in for them to use at night. There is also a fan running for circulation. The garage stays around 76 constantly since we stopped parking in there.

Our production is back to 4 to 6 eggs a day. Most days have been 5 and 6 eggs.......

For us, this works..... I guess you could say they are spoiled, but mama (my Mrs) loves her hens and we want to keep her and the hens happy......

 

[MarieNC]

I have two fans in their run during the day, two fans in the coop at night, plus an exhaust fan on a timer that works GREAT! The girls get frozen water bottles in their water bowls, very shallow little wading pools with frozen water bottles in them, and they get frozen watermelon. I like the idea of freezing yogurt and putting veggies in it as well. I worry about the girls in this extreme heat. I even went home at lunch time today so I could switch out their frozen water bottles. I have tried setting up a mister but they HATE IT. They also hate getting sprayed down with water - you'd think I was trying to kill them. And it's just a bottle of water with a fan attached to it so it comes out slowly. Go figure. I have two young pullets, about 4 months old, and they seem to have more trouble with the heat than the 2 year old hens. I will take an ice cube and rub it on them or put them into the little wading pools to cool their feet and they like this better than the mister. Can't wait for this heat wave to break.

 

[pysankigirl]

Do fans do any good if there is already plenty of air circulation? we have a coop that is honestly mostly wire mesh and it isn't warmer in there than out (actually it's cooler because of the shade.) It would be easy to put a fan in but if they aren't sweating I am not sure it would help them.