Going on vacation, worried about the heat

[bmill88]

Hello chicken lovers!

Me and my husband are going to go on vacation for a few days, so I got a sitter to stop by once a day to check on them. I am a bit worried about the heat and humidity (Georgia summer). Since the sitter is only coming once a day, they won't be able to have their frozen jugs in their run with them. The temp says it's only going to be 93 but my backyard gets direct sunlight for 8+ hours a day. The coop has a run attached to it, and I keep it on my screened in porch which is shaded 100%. I put ice in their water already, and have instructed the sitter to do so as well. there is also a ceiling fan on the porch that I keep on to help keep it cooler and the air circulating. I keep reading about the poor chickens dying due to heat and it has got me worried a bit. The porch stays shaded but it still gets hot. What should I do? I love my babies and I would be so heart broken if they died.

 

[aart]

Have the sitter come during the hotter part of the day and put the frozen jugs down then.
Freeze up some extras for them and leave the fan running.

 

[Greenthumb83]

You could put some of their favorite treats in a bag in the freezer for your sitter to give them. We got to a 100 a little over a week ago here and I was so worried for my birds. We were still putting the top on the run and they had no shade except under the coop. I did the frozen jugs and ice in water. It didn't seem like enough, so I grabbed a small loaf of homemade bread from my freezer (spoiled chickens lol). They loved pecking away at the frozen treat. I saw a post where someone had put sunflower seeds in the water, along with ice cubes to encourage drinking. I am sure they will be ok. We are having some of the same worries here though. We go on vacation next week.

Have a great time!

 

[bmill88]

Thanks for the feed back. I talked my sitter into coming twice a day just so they can have their frozen jugs. i just checked the porch at the hottest part of the day, it's at about 79 degrees and they are not panting. I think they should be ok. Thanks again!