Hot hot hot

[Muscovy Wunda]

So here in Australia we have started a heck of a heat wave, an entire week over 40 degrees Celsius, and from Wednesday to Friday here it will be atleast 46 degrees Celsius (114 Fahrenheit). What are your best tips at keeping your flock cool? Last year we had a sprinkler under their favourite tree but we didn't have so many days in a row that hot, and we did unfortunately lose a hen.

 

[Ribh]

We have plenty of shade & water but it is nowhere near that hot off the Brissie coast either.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

We have plenty of shade & water but it is nowhere near that hot off the Brissie coast either.

You guys have humidity but and that can be just as brutal. Do you have multiple water dishes or just regularly checking?

 

[BlueBaby]

Hi! I'm over here in the USA, but I live in the desert of Arizona. We have hot summer temperatures of 118 F. The best thing to do is to have plenty places of shade for them. and have extra pans of water. They will drink the water, but also stand in it too. I froze some ice to help keep the water cooler for them. Chickens cool off through the feet. I had mister's put up that they could go under. You could also set out a bowl that has a big chunk of ice that you have frozen some fruits and veggies in, or put something like some cold watermelon in the bowl.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sorry for your loss What about ice in their waterer, chilled fruits, freeze water in plastic bottles .... 2x BlueBaby

 

[TheBeardie]

Shade, frozen treats and fans are your chickens best friends in a heat wave!

I have a off the gound chicken coop, trees and a patch of bushes for shade. Most frozen vegetables and fruits are a good treat for them. Make sure to give in moderation, so they still eat their chicken feed. Fans are great in the heat too. Set them up around the chickens favorite chill spot or in the coop.

This is coming from a native floridian! It seems like we deal with the heat waves for months on end.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

I love the idea of frozen treats, we do them for my husbands work dogs. Thanks for all the advice so far, I'm determined not to loose anyone this time!

 

[TheBeardie]

I have nipple waterers for my chickens. One is tapped into a old water spigot that broke and never got fixed. The five gallon bucket has a toilet valve and the nipples in it. It continues to fill itself up when it gets low! All you have to do is check on it once in a while to make sure it's still filling up.

The chickens seem to drink more from the nipples to me. If I didn't have ducks I wouldn't have any pools! The buckets are so much cleaner than a bowl of water. The chickens love to drink out of it. The ducks will use them once in a while. I even have a puppy that will drink out of them.

 

[Pork Pie]

Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/788391/keeping-chickens-cool-in-summer-heat

 

[member 512732]

a kiddie pool with cool water maybe changed a couple times a day to keep it cool..and in the shade. Im in arizona and it gets pretty hot. All we have is hot water that comes out of the hose so I try to do the best I can...I wet the ground..put frozen fruit from the freezer in the pool or around the pool..and make sure they are mostly in the shade. I also give them alfalfa and wet it down in the very early morning when the water is at its coolest...which is still very warm though.