Heat wave! Help!

[katie_3487]

from august 30th (tomorrow) to September 4th there is suppose to be a huge heat wave where I live. It is suppose to get to 108 degrees (Fahrenheit) which is concerning for my chickens. They have adequate shade but I’m still very concerned. Any recommendations?

 

[cavemanrich]

Freeze some blocks of ice, and place into water dishes.. Chickens will drink cold water, and will cool off. Sprinkle water hose nozzle on fine mist, into their run area. That will cool the ground via, evaporation. If you have a shallow pool, like a kiddie pool, fill with about 2 inches of water, and allow chickens to wade thru it.
Offer cold watermelon as treat, and maybe some frozen peas. Anything cold going into chickens stomach will help cool the chickens body overall.
If you can get a hold of misters, in short order. those would be more ideal than a hose sprinkling a gentle mist.
I have this, but I do not use for chickens,,, since I do not encounter very high temps in my area. Do set it up for my youngsters to have fun being cool.

You can search to see where you can find closest to you. Above at TSC is available at my TSC currently.
Most other offers of sale are on line,, including Amazon. All depends how soon you can get it.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Callender Girl]

That is some crazy high heat! I whined when we got into the mid-90's here this summer.

Like @cavemanrich, I use ice in the chickens' water, they have access to the ducks' kiddie pools, and I serve chilled watermelon and grapes. Mine also like to dig into the dirt, like they're dusting bathing, but they mostly just lie still.

Best wishes for your flock!

 

[Acre4Me]

I notice when it is very hot here that the chickens primarily hang out in the shade. So they don’t eat as much or even drink as much as they should, then egg production goes down. During hot days, I’ll put wet feed in their run once it’s about 1 -2pm bc their run is fully shaded at that point. I mix feed and water, let hydrate for 10 min, add more water if needed, mix in a lot of ice cubes, and sprinkle with seeds or bits of fruit. They love it, they eat their feed and drink lots of water this way. You can also mix up some chicken electrolytes - but remove after the stated number of hours on the packaging, and always offer plain (no additive) water too. Just refreshing their water mid day makes them come over and drink too. When I’m cooling down the hose water, I let it run into a shady corner of the run. This wets the ground and they love to scratch in it and make resting pits for themselves. Good ideas above too.

 

[aart]

where I live

Where do you live?
If it's a dry desert type area, misters can help.

Electrolytes and huge ice blocks are the best tools I've found for where I live.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Matejka]

Mine did great in our extended heat wave (lower than normal humidity-30 t0 40%). 100-110 they hung out in shade, fresh water daily, watered run down, hung hose at top of run with gentle spray, I would notice immediate cool down of area, it cooled the air around run also.
Now, 80-mid 90's, high humidity (80 to 95%), they're struggling, panting, wings out.

 

[NatJ]

I notice when it is very hot here that the chickens primarily hang out in the shade. So they don’t eat as much or even drink as much as they should

Does it help to put a feeder and waterer in the shade? That way they don't have to walk out into the sun to get them.

During hot days, I’ll put wet feed in their run once it’s about 1 -2pm bc their run is fully shaded at that point. I mix feed and water, let hydrate for 10 min, add more water if needed, mix in a lot of ice cubes, and sprinkle with seeds or bits of fruit. They love it, they eat their feed and drink lots of water this way.

A lazier method: chicken feed plus cold water, no extra ingredients. Every chicken I've seen loves it that way too.

 

[Red Horse]

Mine love to have frozen grapes or watermelon pieces floating in a shallow tub to wade in, but I try not to give them too many sugary treats on a hot day. I like to soak their crumbles in hot water the night before and put it in the fridge when it cools so it's nice and chilled for them in the morning and they get a little extra water in their bodies. Instead of adding electrolyte to their main water bucket, I put it in their old chick waterer so they have 3 choices where to drink from (they don't bother much with the water nipples on their bucket when they have the electrolyte water and the tub water). Battery powered fans are nice to put inside the coop, even if they're just powerful enough to get some air moving.

 

[Acre4Me]

Does it help to put a feeder and waterer in the shade? That way they don't have to walk out into the sun to get them.


A lazier method: chicken feed plus cold water, no extra ingredients. Every chicken I've seen loves it that way too.

Lol- of course. Water and feed are always in the shade.

The ice added to the wet feed keeps it colder longer AND melts, adding more water- both are beneficial.

 

[igorsMistress]

from august 30th (tomorrow) to September 4th there is suppose to be a huge heat wave where I live. It is suppose to get to 108 degrees (Fahrenheit) which is concerning for my chickens. They have adequate shade but I’m still very concerned. Any recommendations?

Wet down the soil in a shady spot so they can bathe in damp soil; they’ll appreciate standing in the mud quite a bit too as it helps cool them off so you may need to do this multiple times a day. Give them multiple areas if you can, sometimes they’re grumpy when it’s hot and need space. Put out a block of ice, not cubes they melt too fast. I put it in a kiddie pool with two doors cut in the sides. They’ll stand on it and drink the melt water. Give cool, water containing treats like watermelon or cucumber. Electrolytes, the Save a chick type, are also a good idea maybe a couple of days in that time period, but be sure they also have plain water. A fan doesn’t really help much in those temps, it’s like standing in front of a hair dryer. However a fan to move hot air out of the coop might help at night to cool it off.