Help! Heat index next week predicted to be 111! Should I install an air conditioner?

[what did I do]

You are in MONTANA!  How nice that must be...

Isn't the allure of Montana wonderful. Right now it is a blinding green. It is a great place to be in the spring, summer, and fall. It is the winters that can get you.

 

[Gigiintheforest]

Isn't the allure of Montana wonderful. Right now it is a blinding green. It is a great place to be in the spring, summer, and fall. It is the winters that can get you.

I imagine Montana winters have as much challenge as Oklahoma summers - LOL! If we could just merge to two and get a happy medium...

 

[bigoledude]

I would put the fan blowing onto the birds at the level of the roost. You can only blow as much air OUT of the coop as you can suck INTO it. However you can CIRCULATE as much air as you can afford in fan costs.

The large hatcheries have major issues with humidity because of the very heavy population of birds crammed into every square inch of space. They absolutely must evacuate the super saturated moisture in the air to prevent disease and the many other problems that arise due to moisture-saturated air.

I can't imagine that you would have your birds jammed-n-crowded like they do.

 

[Gigiintheforest]

I would put the fan blowing onto the birds at the level of the roost. You can only blow as much air OUT of the coop as you can suck INTO it. However you can CIRCULATE as much air as you can afford in fan costs.

The large hatcheries have major issues with humidity because of the very heavy population of birds crammed into every square inch of space. They absolutely must evacuate the super saturated moisture in the air to prevent disease and the many other problems that arise due to moisture-saturated air.

I can't imagine that you would have your birds jammed-n-crowded like they do.

No - we have about 15 feet of roost space all at one level for 11 birds. They tend to still clump up like a pile of puppies on one end of the roost. Circulation is definitely the key. You always read about avoiding drafts but when it's super hot maybe a draft is a good thing?

 

[bigoledude]

Just like humidity is part of the "Heat Index". Wind or "draft" is figured into "Chill Factor". Right now, we all need as much "Chill Factor" as we can get. For the most part, winter drafts can be unhealthy. When the Heat Index is in the 90's and 100's a breeze will save some chicken's lives.

 

[Gigiintheforest]

Just like humidity is part of the "Heat Index". Wind or "draft" is figured into "Chill Factor". Right now, we all need as much "Chill Factor" as we can get. For the most part, winter drafts can be unhealthy. When the Heat Index is in the 90's and 100's a breeze will save some chicken's lives.

Got it! Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[stone_family3]

I fill up old juice bottles with water and freeze them, then I pop them in their coop water, change out every few hours. Then again, I don't have A/C in my house and it's been high 80's for over a week now in Ohio.

 

[Gigiintheforest]

I'm bumping this thread as it's REALLY hot here now (109 yesterday) so all the ideas on how to keep the girls cool are not only welcome but a matter of survival. How are you keeping your chicks cool(er) and healthy during these horrible temperatures?

 

[mabhera]

You can try ice in water, shaded places, even a fan. You can try painting the coops roof white. That only should make the coop a few degrees down.

 

[CGinJCMO]

I'm bumping this thread as it's REALLY hot here now (109 yesterday) so all the ideas on how to keep the girls cool are not only welcome but a matter of survival. How are you keeping your chicks cool(er) and healthy during these horrible temperatures?

Well, like others have mentioned above, I'm using frozen juice or 2 liter soda bottles in a large flower pot saucer with water. It is located next to their coop where they get under for shade. This gives them easy access to cool water. I also have outside the coop a 1 gallon water that I fill with cool tap water and occasionally a packet of sav-a-chick. Sometimes I'll put ice cubes in the 1 gal.waterer and some in the in-coop waterer too. My waterer in the coop is a gravity fed bowl so I imagine the ice-cold water wouldn't make it thru the hose to the bowl so that's why some ice will go directly into the bowl.

I have a small osculating fan that blows across the roost because there is a window up there so hot air can flow out. I also open the people door (I don't have them fenced into a run yet - need more $$$) so there's the west facing window and the south facing door to let as much breeze as possible. The other thing that I think is helping is that we have had no rain for months and therefor we do not have the humidity that we usually have. We are under water restriction right now but I do have a water mister to give them an option. When Back-to-school meetings start up in a few weeks (I also work in a school like some of the other posters above), I won't be able to put ice in the dish as often, and I won't leave the people door open but they'll still be able to hang out under the coop's shade. I'll just hope for the best and pray for this heat wave to end. My birds are young and healthy (as far as I know) so they should make.

Honestly, when building the coop, the winter weather scares me more (getting enough ventilation without letting all the heat out) and maybe next summer or two when my girls are older I'll worry more.