heat - lost 7 - coop cooling question

[Ravishaw]

I have a rather large coop, just screened it with hardware fabric to keep out the baddies. My problem is that yesterday 7 hens died because it got hot and they couldn't get into my garden and root around in the dirt I'm guessing. The coop is in shade 100% of the day, there was water but they still died all the same.

How would you keep a good breeze of cooling system in place? It has to be passive or reactive because I'm gone during the day.

 

[chickenbuttsowhat]

i have 2 box fans in my coop one ontop nesting box cuz for some reason they like to sleep up there and one on the ground it can get up to 109 F here and handnt had any die or anything also got one water bowl in coop and two outside just make sure they have lots of cool fresh water

 

[ChicKat]

Ravishaw,

so sorry to hear about your loss.

Some people use 'misters' to produce cool water for their chickens.

Fans---if you have access to electric power in your coop. Solar fan(s) and/or solar attic fan if you don't have electricity near by. Outdoor extension cords can go a long way.

Hope you find something to beat the heat. good luck!

 

[AZBootsie]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Misters are working well for my chooks. At first they hated them, but now they stand right under and enjoy the cool mist. I also put windows with hardware cloth as screens on 3 sides of the coop. There is 1 mister nozzle in front of the west window and the rest of the line goes out a hole and accross a little section of the run. Cross winds blow a breeze accross the mister and through the coop. They like to lay in the moist sand. Only problem I have is that they dig up the sand to root around. The bare dirt gets muddy and then they track it all into the nesting boxes. So my eggs have little muddy foot prints. Pretty minor considering they are comfortable. They have 3 cat litter pans full of water to wade in. I make big ice cubes in plastic cups and toss one in each pan every day. I had checked into solar fans, but so far the breeze through the coop has been constant (I live at the base of some mountians). AZ heat can be brutal, so I am doing anything I can think of. Frozen fruits and veges are a nice treat, but hard to do if you are at work. Stay away from scratches and corns in the summer.

 

[teach1rusl]

Are they in a shaded run during the day while you're gone, or inside a housing?? Have you ruled out any other possible causes??

 

[rockbottompottery]

on hot days i i put frozen bottles of ice in the water and around the coop, cheap ac. not perfect but it helps

 

[plantoneonme]

I have my 3 full size girls in a 4x8 tractor that has and enclosed end on one side and a tarp on top. I put an old patio umbrella over top to add shade. The girls still panted hard. Now I have several bottles that I filled with water and froze. I put them in the enclosed end and the girls will go inside and lay against or on top of the bottles to get cool. I also keep a large pan of water with a milk jug filled with ice set inside to keep the water ice cold. Their favorite treat now is pieces of frozen melon I give them every 2-3 hours to also help cool them. The temps have been in the upper 90's for the past 4 days and the chickens no longer lay there holding their wings out panting.

My bantams in the chicken cabana have an industrial fan blowing through it. Sometimes the chickens lay directly in the breeze and other times they lay off to the side. No panting or signs of distress. Of course, they love the frozen melons too

 

[nurse_turtle]

Frozen gallon jugs of water placed in front of a box fan. They stop panting.

 

[omilona]

Quote:
I'm glad to hear that your girls got used to the mister. I've had it running a few days now and 7 out of 9 are completely appalled by it. The 2 cuckoo marans (3 weeks younger) are into it. I've got to try the ice packs tomorrow. It's going to be 100* in NY.

 

[farmer_lew]

The frozen bottles for them to sit on is a good idea. We do that here in California. The gallon jugs of frozen water in front of a fan is great idea. Cool air for them, but they don't get wet.