Help! Record High temperatures in my area 110 and can go higher. What can I do for my chickens?

[christal1980]

I am relatively new to byc and also to having chickens in my backyard. I have a giant blue cochin roo and a chicken and 2 easter egger chickens and 2 mixed breed chickens. We have never had such high temperatures and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if the chickens have different nutritional needs during this time? Do they loose electrolytes like we do? I have been keeping ice water that they can get in in addition to the other waterer. They always have a dish of scratch and a dish of lay mash available. They are feed kitchen scraps daily but I have been giving them cold berries, shredded potatoes and carrots that are also cold as a treat. They are located in a shady spot in my yard. Is there anything else I can do for them? Also my giant blue chicken "Mrs. Fluff" has been sitting on eggs. Will this extreme temperature kill her eggs? I really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, christal1980, and

! Pleased you joined us! Heat, particularly coupled with humidity, can be brutal on chickens. Lots of suggestions I've read are the ones you'd expect: fresh cool water, lots of shade, and breeze. I will wet the dirt in the shade of their run and my chickens dig and scratch into and lay down. Lots of folks gave cool treats like frozen peas and watermelon. I sometimes give them the duck's kiddie pool - the chickens will wade in and cool off. I've also used misters that create a cooling mist for the birds - they hate it at first but if it's hot enough.... My biggest challenge is having them get overheated in the hen house where I don't have breeze - one that takes a while to lay can become heat stressed pretty quick. I wish you the best with your warm weather chickens.

 

[BrendaJ]

Great info above ^^^^ - best of luck with your flock.

 

[christal1980]

Thanks so much! I had not thought about frozen peas! Lucky for me I guess, there is no humidity here at this point. I am going to go get the ground wet for them right now and take out another bucket of ice. One of my girls will hop in the water and chase the ice cubes around. Of course the ice melts really fast but she seems lively while she is on the chase! Thanks again!!!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[CedarAcres]

Sound like you're doing a lot to help them stay cool already. One of my favorite things to do is provide wading pools of cold water for my chickens. They stop panting right away after dipping their feet in!

Welcome to BYC!

 

[drumstick diva]

Is it possible to put a fan in the coop - protected so the chickens don't make contact. Moving air feels cooler and may especially help the poor broody.

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!