HEAT, How do you save your chickens?

[wingnut1]

Mississippi is HOT right now too!

Here is what we use - Watermelon, ice in the water, shade, and fans (we place ours high - use bungee cords to attach them to the top of the fencing- not blowing "on" the birds - just keeping the air moving).

And the humans use - watermelon, ice in the water, shade, fans, and A/C!!!!

Good luck - and great to hear that you are taking such great care of your chickens! They are fun to spoil!!!

 

[lovinlife]

I'm in central Texas and we're working on a week of heat around 105+. It's horribly hot here. I read about freezing water in jugs so I put some in the freezer this morning. I also put water in a gallon size ziplock baggie and will put those out tomorrow. I bought one of the shade fabric panels at Wal-Mart also and put it over the run, tied it on with zip ties. It made a huge difference in the temp of the run. I don't have an enclosed coop, just some plastic milk crates with hay in the corner of the run under a tarp. So, i don't have to worry about them getting overheated in an enclosed coop.

I do have a sprinkler set up in the run and turn it on low for an hour or so each day. It gets the ground nice and moist and keeps the trees around the run watered so they don't die. I'm losing very large well-established trees like crazy due to the drought. It's horrible.

 

[4kidZ]

Here in N. Central FLorida, too? Ice melts almost instantly after hitting the water, birds run away from the mist and the watermelon is hot after about 10 minutes. This is my first summer having chickens.
Questions:

What is too hot? Chickens pant to stay cool right? Are they going to survive OK through the next 3 months of drastically high temps? Can they die from heat if they have a constant source of shade and water?

Also, has anyone found that their birds like a kiddie pool? I was thinking about buying one. I hatched out a couple of ducks a few months ago, and when they went outside, they went in a run w/ some 2 mo. old chicks. I would put a bin of water in the run for the ducks, but I swear, the chicks were using it more than the ducks were? Any other experience w/ this?

Thanks guys!

~Fluffy Butts Farm

 

[elmo]

Ok, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but my five and three week old chicks started to pant today and I brought them inside to a bird cage so they could spend the afternoon in air conditioning.

They still sleep indoors at night, so I figured, what the heck. It's supposed to get cooler tonight, maybe....fingers crossed.

 

[Shared Acres]

I bought the largest blue ice blocks (those things you keep refreezing) I could find and bought enough for some to be in the freezer while some are outside.

I have been throwing 2-3 under the coop. Not sure if they are figuring it out yet but they do like to pick at the paper on it. I flip them over after a couple of hours (the ice blocks, not the chickens

).

In my baby chick run I have a plastic bin with an opening cut out of the front that they use for a house. I shove one of those blocks in there. The chicks have been climbing and sitting next to it. They aren't panting anymore, unlike the adults.

My sister had a party the other day and they had a watermelon cut in half. I took the left overs and put it in the freezer. Gave that to them today about lunch--figured lots of cold water in that for them, they ate it up.

OH, and I went to Home Depot today and bought some personal misters for $10 that I plan to plug in tommorow. The package says it cools down the temp by 20 degrees.

 

[austinchicken]

I'm going to post this in all the heat-related threads just to be sure to get the message out.

I installed a mister in one of my runs yesterday. Today was the first time I have seen them NOT PANTING in well over a week. I was delighted, and I'm sure they were too.

It might take them a bit to get used to it. They were leery of it and all the bravest one were hanging back in the coop or out in the other, less shady run. So today I spread a bunch of scratch in the run and waited for them all to be out in it and too jazzed about the scratch to care about anything, and I turned the mister on. That did the trick--they got used to it and then hung out there the rest of the afternoon.

 

[Mahonri]

I've got to do something... it hit 110 today... Put ice in the waterer, have the fan going in the coop... I'm getting ready to go out and check on them again. Lost my RIR to heat prostration yesterday.

 

[christyware]

Try filling Pop bottles with water then freezing them, then put them in the coop with the Chickens, they can cuddle up to the frozen bottles and keep cool, also put ice in their drinking water and wet the ground. Place a fan inside the coop or try a window air conditioner placed in the window of the coop.

 

[Fuzzbuttfarm]

I don't have a proper freezer so I can't do the soda bottle full of water trick, but I chilled their afternoon snacks and staggered them throughout the afternoon yesterday.

Cold diced fruit (apricots and plums) and cold diced zucchini and shredded beet tops. They really like the ribs from lettuces, too.

Unfortunately, my melons aren't producing yet, otherwise I'd do the frozen watermelon trick in a heartbeat...

 

[cowman910]

I wouldn't be complaning if i wear you! i live on long island and todays high was only 70! thats sad for almost july! but when it does get hot i usually let my chickens free range so they can pick their favorite spot.