HOT WATER !!!!!!

[kuntrygirl]

I live in South Louisiana and the temps are at a high of 95 degrees (will get hotter VERY soon). I am having a problem with keeping my chicken's water cool. I have the waterers placed under trees but this is not working. I work during the day and I don't get home until 5pm. The temps start increasing around 11am until 5pm. During this time, my chickens do not have cool water to drink. I am so afraid that they will die because of this. Can you all tell me what do you do to keep your chicken's water cool. I have tried placing the waters in the coop but the water still gets warm. I have other animals as well and they all share the waterers, so where I place the waterers is important because it involves not only chickens, but ducks, geese and turkeys. I am desparate because I am afraid that I will come home and find my chickens dead. I also have broilers that I am trying to raise for longevity of their life. They are panting pretty hard when I get home. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Uzuri]

Make ice for the waterers?

Won't keep it cold forever, but for longer.

 

[flopshot]

the water is going to be the same temp as everything else around it.
cool water might be a nice treat but it's not mandatory. your birds will be fine as long as they have air circulation and shade. depending on how the water gets to the coop, ( hose on the ground won't work) you could hook up a battery powered water timer to top off the water supply every couple of hours with fresh cooler water.

 

[citrusdreams]

The water in my waterers gets HOT too. And I have all kinds of containers from double aluminum to those big rubbermaid ones.

What I do is fill up all the water containers in the afternoon so they all have cool water in the afternoon. So I'd make that my first chore when you come home from work. Overnight the water gets cool, so in the morning they have cool water.

For in between, I don't do much. You're out all day so there's little you can do but put ice out in spots. You can put a big chunk of ice in the water containers in the morning before you leave for work. Or if you can, fill up some of their containers only with ice. They'll have cooler water longer.

You can try putting out a shallow kid pool. They can wade in it if they like.

It gets hot here too, it's going to be 94 today. The chickens usually find their shade and say there a while. They hang out under the porch, deck, outbuildings, trailers, etc. They dust in the dirt and stay warm and pest free that way. Sometimes I look outside and see not a chicken in sight and wonder if I have any left. Then as the sun starts going down they all start ranging again. I only lost a chicken to what I thought was the heat one time. I've never had a chicken just keel over and die in the heat of summer. Though I'm sure they're hot.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
Yes, a hose on the ground won't work. That water is hot hot hot. I'm sure I'm not the only one who uses that hot water to clean out buckets first before it starts getting cool enough to start filling containers with it.

 

[Chris09]

Well this might help you some if you chickens can get up to your house and if there pened up you might thing about running a water line underground to the pen so that you can use this...
Found it at McMurray..

Chris

 

[Castaway]

I have the same concern because I'm planning to be out of town for a week on vacation. I'm thinking about asking a neighbor to freeze my three gallon waterer each night and place it in the run. A smaller water container (unfrozen) will be available throughout the night and morning, as it gets hot the larger container should melt.

 

[rancher hicks]

You could freeze soup cans or larger and put the whole chunk in the waterer. The bigger the chunks last longer.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I know people use the term "bird brain" alot but I was wondering.......do u think the ice will give them a cold rush to their brain, thus causing a "brain freeze". I know it sounds like I'm overly concerned huh? At this point and time, I'm willing to try anything. I just want to have peace and mind while I'm at work on those 95 degree days, soon to be 100 degree days in Louisiana, knowing that my chickens are ok.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Would freezing water in either half gallon or gallon milk jugs and then putting them inside the waterers work? Be so easy to remove, refreeze and start over again?