Heat Wave and Chickens

[OC Chick]

Yesterday I came home to find one of my Easter Eggers, Petunia, dead. When I left at 10:30 AM she was strong and healthy. SoCal's heatwave had my neighborhood at 113* degrees yesterday. I had watered down my chicken yard in the morning, put out a fan, put out 10lb blocks of ice in front of the fan, filled the girls water bucket inside their coop and run entirely with ice, had additional water containers filled with ice spread around the chicken yard, and had the shade umbrella up in their yard for additional shade protection. When I checked the girls water bucket in the coop when I got home, the water was burning hot. The other watering containers in the chicken yard were cool. I am devastated. Petunia would always get a bit overheated once it reached 85* and as far as I can tell, she was trying to lay an egg yesterday when she passed away (nest box was turned over and she was outside the coop. When I picked her up an egg fell out of her little body). The thing I don't understand is that my girls (now I have 3 left - all almost two years old) have always been well taken care of as they have been pets, but farmer's don't necessarily spend all day putting out blocks of ice in water and attempting to set up "outdoor AC's" for their hens. How do hens survive places where the summer temperatures are typically over 100*? Is there anything else I can do? I don't want to lose another of my baby girls.

 

[micstrachan]

I’m so sorry for your loss. You did everything you could. The only other things I can think of are maybe leaving on a mister to cool the area and providing frozen watermelon. She may not have died from the heat. Hugs.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

as far as I can tell, she was trying to lay an egg yesterday when she passed away (nest box was turned over and she was outside the coop. When I picked her up an egg fell out of her little body).

The thing I don't understand is that my girls (now I have 3 left - all almost two years old) have always been well taken care of as they have been pets, but farmer's don't necessarily spend all day putting out blocks of ice in water and attempting to set up "outdoor AC's" for their hens. How do hens survive places where the summer temperatures are typically over 100*?

I'm sorry for your loss

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to keep your flock cool.

The overturned nest box? How is that made? Could something (predator) have startled her from the box and she succumbed to stress and heat? Without a necropsy, it is hard to know exactly what caused death.

As for what farmers do...I don't know much about the set-up you are talking about. Do you mean in poultry houses? Usually those are environmentally controlled with fans. A lot, I can only assume would have to be due to the breed of the chicken as well. If you can give us an example that would be good. I've found that my "heavy" girls like White Plymouth Rocks suffer more during heat than say a White Leghorn, so that is something to think about as well.

 

[IamRainey]

I'm in the San Fernando Valley just NW of Los Angeles proper. It hit 120˚ here yesterday with another triple-digit day coming today before it dips back into the 90˚s tomorrow and the rest of the coming week.

Yesterday on a neighborhood forum someone said she lost 2 chickens. The worst part was an "animal rescue" person (who I assume was referring to dogs and cats) berating the poor woman for not bringing her 8 chickens inside. Other people suggested herding them into an interior shower for a day or putting them in a dog crate and bringing that inside.

OK. Off to get some 10# blocks of ice, set up a fan and a sprinkler near the run to get ahead of today's heat. I am going to try the business of digging a hole in the run, submerging a block of ice and covering that with some hardware cloth so the chickens can cool their feet.

Keep the practical solutions coming Chickenistas and Chickerinos!

 

[CourtKnee]

I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m in SoCal too, the high desert, and it’s been so HOT. I strung misters up around my chicken run and I turn them on for a few minutes at a time throughout the day to give them periods of relief and to wet the ground. I also have a mortar tub I lined with bricks and fill with water up to the bricks; the bricks stay cool and wet all day for them to stand or lay on, and they drink from the water on the sides.

I asked another local backyard chicken owner what they do to help beat the heat, and they just have shade and a tub of water, but they lose a few each summer.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Yesterday on a neighborhood forum someone said she lost 2 chickens. The worst part was an "animal rescue" person (who I assume was referring to dogs and cats) berating the poor woman for not bringing her 8 chickens inside. Other people suggested herding them into an interior shower for a day or putting them in a dog crate and bringing that inside.

That's sad. There is always going to be that 1 person who wants to increase someone's suffering. I've never understood it. Bringing in chickens is not nearly as easy as a cat or dog, plus they do not acclimate as well. It's better to try to leave them where they are and provide extra shade and cool water.

120F!!!!...we were 99F a couple of days ago, my girls were panting and lounging-run fans and keep water cool.
Today it's overcast and 69F....yes, you read it correctly. It will jump back up over the next few days - temp swings can also be hard on them too.

 

[Abriana]

I’m so sorry for your loss you did everything you could. And remember she may not have died from the heat. As someone said, a predator could have startled her and the stress and heat was too much. Sometimes birds die for no reason-it just happens. It wasn’t your fault, and I have to say I’m very impressed at the lengths you took to keep your birds comfy. You’re a good chicken mama!

 

[deepbluesea]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you're doing a lot!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings OC Chick,

I am so very sorry for your loss.

It got up to 109 here, yesterday. Here is what I do.

1. Set up box fans: 1 blowing to the south, directed under the coop, 1 blowing south in the connected recreation pen, 1 blowing west into the coop (large coop door open).
2. Set up 2 misting systems: one misting into the connected recreation pen, 1 misting into the coop/run area. Placed in front of the fans.
3. Set up large size open containers with water in front of the fans. The wind chill from the fans will keep the water ice cold!
4. At 90 degrees the fans go on.
5. At 98 degrees the misters go on.
6. Two waterers, filled with fresh water, with electrolytes, the first 2 days of a heat wave.
7. Cold water melon, greens, ice treats, etc. though out the day.
8. Spray down the trees 2-3 times a day.
9. Camo netting for extra shade, facing south and east sides.
10. Additional shade cloth tarps, and/or beach umbrellas

Emergency aide:

It's normal for the chicken to open its wings and pant when it's hot. But if they are also doing the following, they are -
Heat stressed: (Need fans, misting system, cold water, electrolytes in water)

• Labored breathing and panting
• Have Pale combs/wattles
• Lifting wings away from body
• Are very Lethargic
• Diarrhea (watery poops are a normal way they cool themselves)

Heat exhaustion: (Administer life saving treatment immediately)

• 
  
  
  • Lifting wings away from body
  • Are very Lethargic
  • Eyes closing, and/or rolling
  • Diarrhea

Life saving treatment: bathe the chicken in cool water (not cold), administer 1-2 mL, full strength electrolyte solution, with oral syringe, careful not to aspirate the chicken. Let the chicken recover in a cool place, in your house is best.

Heat stroke:

• Seizures/convulsions
• death

What to do for Sick chickens or other animals:
Set up the garage or some other area with an evaporative cooler. Set up properly, and started in the morning, the temperature should not go over 90, with outside temps 109 and over. You can put sick animals here, during the day with cold water, food, and an additional circulating fan.

Even with all these measures, during extreme heat waves, someone needs to be home to check on the chickens. Especially, after noon, when the temps can skyrocket!

I have done every single one of these things for my chickens and animals. Even with all this, some heavy breeds like Orpingtons, may still need more help, especially in their first year. It's a lot of work, but, I haven't lost a chicken yet to high heat. Just have to start prepping in early June to be ready.

Climate change my friends, it's here for the long term.

These are my thoughts on extreme Summer Heat. I hope they have been helpful.

God Bless you all. Stay cool, and your chickens too!

 

[IamRainey]

l was collecting my block ice this morning and I flashed on being a kid spending Summers in Maine. Back then in the 50s there wasn't a camp (Maine-speak for a cabin in the woods or on a lake) that had electricity. Food was kept in ice boxes -- and that literally meant a tin-lined box that held ice in an upper compartment and food in a lower one. The ice was what had been collected from the frozen lakes and stored for months and months in big barn "ice houses". These were uninsulated wooden sided barns. The ice itself was insulated with copious amounts of sawdust.

The point of all of this is that I think the same low tech approach might work for us and our chickens.,

I've put a 10# block of ice in an open cooler and filled all the voids with pine shavings. The shavings themselves will cool and work as an evaporative cooler. Meanwhile, the chickens will be able to comfortably stand on the shavings and cool their feet. I'll check and replace the shavings on the top of the block throughout the day.

When the block has finally melted the wet shavings can go on the ground in the run where they can continue to cool their feet until the shavings dry out.

I've got 2 back up blocks in the freezer to repeat as necessary through the day. Meanwhile, with 2 days notice, Jim's Fallbrook market can supply giant 40# blocks of ice that could last a full day to get the chickens through hot weekdays when people can't be home to watch them vigilantly.

Happily, the ice blocks are a manageable size and cost a whopping $2 each. I think we've got a do-able, affordable and hopefully, *effective* solution!