Extreme Heat

[Chris09]

Our temps have been in the upper 90's (yesterday was 100) with a heat index of 103 to 110 for the last week or two and I cant say that my birds have really shown signs of being overly hot.
I provide plenty of fresh water, air, and shade that's it. I haven't had to put ice or frozen foods out for them at all, I did drop the protein of some of the birds feed (they were on a feed that was 20% protein or higher) by adding scratch since over feeding protein will make your birds very hot but other than provide plenty of fresh water, air, and shade that's it. In fact my free-rang birds are out and about like any other (less hot) day.

Chris

 

[gale65]

It was over 100 here yesterday. Other than making sure they have plenty of water and keeping the coop windows open 24/7 I've only thrown out some fruits. I didn't yesterday though-I didn't get out there because of other things that were going on. Our chickens look pretty hot and stressed and are seeking shade but theyr'e still laying pretty well. DH puts water in an old dog bowl and some of them have been standing in it. I'll probably throw them the rest of the old frozen grapes today.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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......

Good for you, sounds like you're doing everything possible for them. Keep up the good work!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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.

If you put some frozen bottles of water in front of the fan, you bet it will help!

I couldn't help but notice your username and I know how much Pysanki artists appreciate pretty eggs, so I have to share my girls' work with you:

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Chris, the protein content of feed should actually be INCREASED during high heat conditions since chickens will eat less when it's hot. Scratch is actually not recommended because it replaces the essential nutrients they need in the reduced amount of feed they will be eating with the equivalent of chicken candy. So...in short: increase protein and never add scratch to feed, particularly in summer heat.

Our temps have been in the upper 90's (yesterday was 100) with a heat index of 103 to 110 for the last week or two and I cant say that my birds have really shown signs of being overly hot.
I provide plenty of fresh water, air, and shade that's it. I haven't had to put ice or frozen foods out for them at all, I did drop the protein of some of the birds feed (they were on a feed that was 20% protein or higher) by adding scratch since over feeding protein will make your birds very hot but other than provide plenty of fresh water, air, and shade that's it. In fact my free-rang birds are out and about like any other (less hot) day.

Chris

 

[pysankigirl]

Nice!!!

look at all those colors!

I started getting interested in having my own chickens because commercially produced eggs have compressed roller marks on them that don't take the dye evenly, but now I lust after all the natural colors, too.

 

[Chris09]

Chris, the protein content of feed should actually be INCREASED during high heat conditions since chickens will eat less when it's hot. Scratch is actually not recommended because it replaces the essential nutrients they need in the reduced amount of feed they will be eating with the equivalent of chicken candy. So...in short: increase protein and never add scratch to feed, particularly in summer heat.

I have talked to a few people that have a background poultry nutrition and they all said basically the same thing and it is not to over feed protein when it is hot out.
As far as Scratch being "chicken candy" you are incorrect if fed correctly scratch can be a very good feedstuff in a poultry diet, remember that most all poultry feed contains corn, wheat and oats the same feedstuff that is in most scratch feed also don't forget not all scratch is the same.

There is a happy medium with the protein amount, where you are not over feeding protein and where your not starving them of protein the same go's with feeding scratch .



Chris

 

[coolcanoechic]

I have two fans going. One in the coop and one in the run. The one in the run faces their favorite perching place and they will sit right in front of the fan. It looks like they actually like it.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Nice!!!

look at all those colors!

I started getting interested in having my own chickens because commercially produced eggs have compressed roller marks on them that don't take the dye evenly, but now I lust after all the natural colors, too.

I never knew that about commercially produced eggs. Very interesting. What purpose do the rollers serve?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

I have talked to a few people that have a background poultry nutrition and they all said basically the same thing and it is not to over feed protein when it is hot out.
As far as Scratch being "chicken candy" you are incorrect if fed correctly scratch can be a very good feedstuff in a poultry diet, remember that most all poultry feed contains corn, wheat and oats the same feedstuff that is in most scratch feed also don't forget not all scratch is the same.

There is a happy medium with the protein amount, where you are not over feeding protein and where your not starving them of protein the same go's with feeding scratch .



Chris

There is simply no danger of overfeeding chickens in the heat. The whole point of offering chickens feed with a higher protein content than their usual fare in the heat is that they WILL eat LESS OVERALL in the heat, therefore they NEED a high-protein ration to make up for what is lost in reduce feed volume intake.
I am very interested to know the names of those with "a background in poultry nutrition" who informed you that scratch can be "a very good feedstuff in a poultry diet" and would love to read some of their publications supporting that proposition. Please do share.

As for scratch, without substantiating your position with facts or references, your assertion that I am incorrect is baseless. Even the largest commercial producer of chicken feed, Purina, acknowledges that scratch is supplement, intended to encourage natural pecking and feeding instincts, and help reduce the incidence of birds pecking and harming each other. So, the truth is, it should be thought of as a treat for behavior management more than anything else. They go on to state that scratch is not a complete feed and that if too much is consumed, it will dilute the feed intake of complete feeds reducing the bird’s nutritional intake and overall performance. Scratch should never comprise more than 10% of their total diet and should not be fed during high heat conditions as previously stated for all the reasons cited, regardless of whether it contains high quaility grains or not.