HEAT, How do you save your chickens?

[MoodyChicken]

Plant big shady trees and grass around the coop. When the trees get big enough they'll provide shade which will keep the grass cool. Half our lawn is shaded by a massive privet tree, the other half isn't. The one half is MUCH colder than the other. It's not immediate help though, but in the long run it will help. Also, I have misteres set up which help, but that will add to the humidity. I live in California, so I'm set up for dry heat, not humidity and heat. Soaking them with the hose helps, but be sure to wet them to the fluff. Fans, lots of shade, shaded mud, that might help.

Be sure to keep their water cold! Chickens will drink frozen water, but if it's too hot they won't touch it, even if they're dehydrated.

 

[codybird]

It was 102.7 in the shade and 96% humidity here Saturday.

No breeze.

My chickens had shade and water.

They panted. I panted.

We all survived.

 

[rmelvin23]

I live with my girls in orlando. It has been crazy hot, but we all will survive. I do not put ice in their water, but they have lots of shade, over 90%. I haven't seen any panting, but they hide in the shady sandy spot for the hottest parts of the day. On a positive note, the weather is supposed to be regular hot not crazy hot this week. It seems nuts to look forward to low nineties. HA HA

 

[astatula]

Okay, all good ideas. I have the misters set to one corner of the run. I bought those wavy plastic panels 12x2 foot and covered half of the run last night.

I also planted a passion vine, known to grow 30 feet or more in one year and chicken friendly, and as always change the water at 5:30am and 7:00pm.

My chickens don't like fans, but I live in a very rarely found hilly area of Florida and have breezes most of the day rising from a 30 foot high incline behind my house.

I am going to try the frozen spinach and broccoli and maybe some watermelon too.

I have given trees some thought and I have some 6-7 foot tall maples just outside the coop that have been there for 2-3 years, but they take so long to get tall, that has to be a long term goal, and a good one, but for the short term I am hoping for two things to help. First a break in the heat, not really likely, and the passion vine to explode in size.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and good luck with your summers wherever you are. Ron

 

[codybird]

Do misters work in high humidity?

 

[Tonopah Pati]

I live in Tonopah AZ. Today it has hit 105 at 2:00pm so far, It is to get to 107, I installed two mist systems just a little while ago, after about 5 min. my chicks quit panting, I checked the temp. inside the run and it had dropped 10 degrees in that short of a time. I will check again between 3 and 5 the hottest part of the day. So far they seem to love it. I sure hope this does the trick for are hotter than heck AZ. summer. I also give them cold treats in the middle of the day.

 

[Tonopah Pati]

I don't think that the mist systems work in high humidity, however I have read on BYC that some people say they use them.

 

[biddyboo]

Thanks to all of you who have given me ideas for cooling our small new flock of heat-stressed hens. They too stay in the shade under their coop until their chicken yard becomes shady, beginning about 2 oclock. I've changed waterers to cool fresh water several times and gave them cookie trays of cool water to stand in. They just looked at me strangely for that one! I scattered frozen peas, fresh chard leaves, and broccoli around, but the only ones who showed interest are our small Cinnamon Queens. The big Buff Orpingtons just look down their beaks at the treats but refuse to try them. The Barred Rocks sample them, but the Americaunas only try bread crusts. I sprayed them this afternoon with water hose and did they ever hate that! They worked up more heat running from the spray than they lost from the cooling water. So...we are trying here in mid-Missouri, heat index well over 100 again today. However, out of our eleven hens, they gave seven eggs on such a sweltery day. I'm grateful

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Tampa Bay Fl, heat wave last week 80 at night 95 + afternoon.

My chicks are doing well, lots of grandpa oaks and I put up a couple of sprinkler spray heads high spraying tops of my citrus trees between 12 and 5 PM.

Chicks love it, even if they get wet a little bit.

2 of my 4 month old bantam hens laid their first eggs today!

 

[okiecountrygirl]

I live in north central oklahoma and it has been triple digets for days now I was so worried about my chickens overheating so I froze gallon water or milk jugs in the freezer and put them in there runs and in the coop and change them out they seem to stay alot cooler now and they sit around them. They have small houses the go into at night and I feared shutting them up because it was still in the 80's at 10 oclock so I froze 20 oz bottles and put them in there houses at night when I close them up.
so far so good.
They still give me 6 eggs a day and seem happy.