Hot Hens in the Henhouse :(

[KerriChick]

So...we put our coop in the corner of the yard under the neighbor's huge redwood tree, and it was shady and cooler when the rest of the yard was super hot all last year during the summer. My hens were pullets and not laying yet, so they spent most of their day following the shade around the yard and enjoying their frozen watermelon and ice water, keeping cool and collected. Welp, our neighbor decided to take out the entire line of redwoods along his fenceline this spring. Now our coop has no shade and it is blazing hot in the afternoon when our dinky chickens of course want to lay! We really don't have another good spot for it(in the burbs n 7000 sq ft lot). We are ordering a shade sail to go over that corner of the yard, but I'm afraid it wont be enough for this hot California summer sun-not really a great substitute for a giant redwood tree. Any other temporary ideas that I may not have thought of? It needs to be easily removable as we have been looking at homes and will likely move elsewhere in the area within the next few months.

I have been opening up the coop as much as possible so they get a breeze in there as well, and lifting their cute little privacy curtains but leaving their favorite nest boxes closed on the side. They seem to be handling it ok. Just don't want to lose a bird to the heat, the kids would be devastated.

Our area is also about to be put on pretty serious water restrictions as well, so a mister going constantly is not really an option, although I do wet down the coop roof and will mist the area with the hose occasionally.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Do they get to roam the yard?

If so a picnic table can give some shade that is pretty solid keeping the ground under it cooler.

For suggestions on the coop a few pictures will really help.

 

[KerriChick]

Yes they are free range during the most of the day, they have a trampoline to relax under and other places with good shade. It's only when the silly birds decide to lay eggs in 95 degrees in the afternoon heat that they have issues.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I see.
How open is the hen house? If it is all closed up it can be a lot hotter in there then outside.

 

[KerriChick]

We have a pre-fab coop(plan on leveling up when we move), the barn-style kind with two nest boxes on each side and a ramp down with a mini-run under. We have a 6x8ish pen attached to the front for when we need to keep them in(that part is not predator proof but only used during the day-the only day predators we have are hawks and the pen is covered with a tarp if we need to put them away for safety-still gets hot under there). The nest box areas open on each side, and there are barn doors on the front that open and a vent window in the back. There are no high vents-have thought of adding a couple this year, but as this thing is near the end of its life for us we will probably just keep it mostly open instead until we can start anew.

 

[21hens-incharge]

The higher you put the tarp on the run the more air can move under it.

I am not a fan of tarps since they can catch the wind and don't let air move much. An inexpensive option that provides shade and still lets air move is shade cloth.

My linking is messed up again.

Anyway.....look at lowes.com for shade cloth (easy gardener) they have a roll 6'x15' and sell it by the foot at $2 a foot by 6' wide. I double it up and get really nice shade.

I assume you are leaving the coop as opened up as possible during the day. I doubt a fan would help in that heat.

 

[springvalley123]

I used to live a lot closer to Phoenix, so my birds were in the nest during temps over 100. I used plastic totes for the nests. I cut openings in the back of them, covered those with shade cloth for privacy but more ventilation. Left the openings in front (entry/exit) open. I had the misting nozzle aimed above it to cool the area. I've also put frozen soda jugs in the nests and/or on top of the nests.

 

[3KillerBs]

I put a cheap picnic fly over my coop. You can see it in this photo.

 

[LaFleche]

@3KillerBs solution looks good, but in case you can invest more money into a more stable construction, get a carport installed above and around the coop and your chickens should be fine enjoying the shade it provides.

 

[3KillerBs]

@3KillerBs solution looks good, but in case you can invest more money into a more stable construction, get a carport installed above and around the coop and your chickens should be fine enjoying the shade it provides.

Yes. Mine was never intended to be a permanent installation.