Help! I think my chicken died from the heat!!

[dbounds10]

We have shade cloth, fans 24x7 and misters during the hotest part of the day. Also jugs of frozen water for them to lay against. If you look closely under the ramp you can see the fan and a jug of frozen water. You can also see the mist coming from the mister system. They still pant even with all this. But I can tell you that the shade cloth keeps the run 10 degrees cooler.

 

[eds500]

My coop isn't in wide-open sun like yours but the run is exposed to direct sun between 10am and 4pm so I did two things. One, I secured landscaping cloth in the roof of the run to give overhead shade and some protection from rain although the cloth is permeable. Secondly, I planted corn on the south side of the run. Fortunately, the corn was tall enough when the heat of the summer set in so the shade of the corn has provided some relief. The upside is they get shade and I get corn. Otherwise, you can try the ideas given already.

 

[Kriscam]

I feel for you and am deathly afraid of the same fate for our 15 week olds. We live in Washington state and are facing a historic "heat dome" event with 8+ days of triple digit temps - 114 is predicted midweek. Our 4'x4' coop and 4'x15' run are in our garden with no natural shade. On both sides we have shade blinds and fabric, and misters, as well as fans at both ends. Today we put up pop-up tents over the top to hopefully keep direct sun off of the roof and walls because it doesn't cool down at night. I have an extra large pan that I keep frozen water bottles and cold bricks in that they drink from and can stand on/in. They have two drinkers that I replenish with ice every couple of hours or so. They've always turned up their beaks at frozen treats but this week they are devouring them. The coop holds heat at night so I've been putting a small rechargeable tent fan in front of frozen water bottles in a corner and it seems to blow cool air. Today I broke down and bought one of those mini swamp coolers to see if will bring them any relief at all in their coop at night. They dig holes in the bottom of the run to cool off, but we also leave the door to their run open and when they get too hot, they look for a cooler place. Unfortunately that's the flower beds behind our house, but sacrificing our flowers for their comfort is worth it. They are so uncomfortable and I feel horrible that I can't do more to help them.

Does anyone bring their chickens indoors when it's 114 degrees outside?

 

[Mamatomany123]

We also lost a chick to the heat. The day we lost her I did tons of research and found this. Made it for my girls and closed up the bottom under the coop. They love it. It feels so amazing underneath. We also freeze water bottle, old coke bottles, ect and place them in the run for.the chickens to lay on/next to. Since your girl died in the box she may have had a problem laying. Ours wasn't old.enough to lay and I found her under the ramp to the coop

https://diyways.com/make-a-homemade-air-conditioner-using-a-cooler-ice-a-fan/