Heat wave

[Bryce Thomas]

So I already said this but all this week here in Arizona is a crippling heat wave, and I need to know how long that putting a chicken in a small bowl of water up to the neck will cool them down for. I have a feeling my small black hen shadow wont survive. When I got my first silkies I had 1 white and 1 black. They had shade, water and everything. My friends came over and saw they were not doing so well, so they put them in the shade with food and water(they already saw both tiny chickens eating and drinking water just fine), they raised chickens for years so they knew what to do. I came over 15 seconds later (LITERALLY 15 seconds after they put them in the shade with food and water) and the black one was dead. It was alive and well then something happened and it was just dead. I inspected the black pullets body for damage, it was not hurt or anything. I got 2 new silkies and the white one survived and its my rooster Koa. The new white one became my hen Peaches and the other new one was a black one named Shadow. Her wattles are extremely tiny I can barely even see them. I help all my chickens the best I can but its like my gut instinct it telling me shadow will have a really hard time or might even die, she is small and pants often. I added another waterer thats really big so I have 2 waterers now, 1 mister, tons of shade from all sides of the coop. I am thinking about adding a water kiddie pool but the last time I did it they didn't care about it. Any help with heat would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Shade is good.
Fresh water multiple times a day will help them.
Chickens can drown in water. If you use the kiddie pool, make sure to supervise the chickens at all times.
Other things would be fruits and vegetables that have been kept in the fridge. Mine love cold watermelon and cucumbers.

 

[aart]

Ice blocks and Electrolytes/Vitamins.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Bryce Thomas]

Shade is good.
Fresh water multiple times a day will help them.
Chickens can drown in water. If you use the kiddie pool, make sure to supervise the chickens at all times.
Other things would be fruits and vegetables that have been kept in the fridge. Mine love cold watermelon and cucumbers.

I have a small plastic bin less thats 4 inches tall, 7 inches long, and 4 inches wide. I am thinking about adding a layer of pebbles then drilling 2 tiny holes 1 inch tall in the plastic bin so if the water level gets to tall then it can slowly pour out into the soil. Is this a good idea?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The water is just going to get warm unless constantly emptied out or moved into the shade. Find a way to keep them in a breeze (artificial or natural). That's the fastest way to keep my birds cooled at least

 

[Banana01]

Misters for the desert would be worth making. Can you post a picture of your setup? I don't think shade and cool water is enough for the record temperatures.

Even moving them indoors in the few hottest hours of the day, unless you built a cooling box that reflects the sun and provides a breeze.

 

[Bryce Thomas]

Misters for the desert would be worth making. Can you post a picture of your setup? I don't think shade and cool water is enough for the record temperatures.

Even moving them indoors in the few hottest hours of the day, unless you built a cooling box that reflects the sun and provides a breeze.

I already have: 1 mister, shade that covers more than half of the coop, very well ventilation, breezes that's constant and its always a little bit windy of around 5-6 mph wind in any direction, 2 waterers that are always cold

im thinking about getting another mister, like the ones you see in some restaurants that are outdoors that blow mist constantly

 

[Banana01]

Can you post a picture of the coop? My chickens huddle up and lay down in the shade under plants when it's dangerously hot where I live. The ground is usually damp and is cool.

I don't know if a bath is practicle. It will cool their body down, but it takes them time to recover from heat exposure. They need to stay cool, and rest, and then they might be normal after several hours. The heavy breathing and panting, which is how they cool themselves down, can kill them from exhaustion.

Are they always on hot dry sand? Maybe some sort of wall to keep the sun off the sand would drop the temperature to a safer level. Grass or dirt with shade that they can crouch under would be ideal, maybe that can also get dampened by the misters.

 

[aart]

Did you see this @Bryce Thomas ?

Ice blocks and Electrolytes/Vitamins.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Bryce Thomas]

Did you see this @Bryce Thomas ?

just now i did and i will look into this and try it