To help cool down the coop I also have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into coop and pushes hot air out.
To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see if everyone is moving well.
I put out large shallow pans of ice cubes late afternoon, they walk in and sit on them and sip the water as it slowly melts...used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I
have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.
Deep all day shade is best but....I don't have much of that.
This has worked very well to keep heat stress/stroke at bay:
I give a dose of
Sav-a-Chick electrolytes/vitamins about once a week during heat waves.
It
really seems to help....started this after they saved a heat stroked hen once.
Can mix up a smaller amount, just wrap the packet tight and store in a dry cool place.
Always have plain water available too.
BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.
Much more useful to the chickens than frozen foods and treats.
Make space in your freezer!
