Hot weather chicken coops?

[tiki_chickens]

Where I live the coldest it usually gets is in the mid-40's, so I'm not too terribly concerned about winters. But in the summer (that lasts from May to October), it get's into the mid-100's with a lot of humidity for weeks at a time.

I haven't built a coop yet, but what should I look for in my design to make sure the poor things don't overheat? Obviously windows and one of those rooftop whirly-gig vents, but I still think it would still be too hot in there for them, even if they were outside in a shady run. Inside my dogs bogart the fans, but I just don't know how I'd keep the chickens cool enough out there.

 

[feetsoup]

I've got the same question - I'm about to build my coop in Malibu (hi neighbor!), where the temps are usually between 50 and 70 year round, but I want to plan for the occasional spike into the 90's/100's. The advice I've seen so far is just to provide plenty of ventilation, and perhaps get a heat-resistant breed if you don't yet have your chickens. Here are all the breeds that theHenderson Chicken Chart lists as heat-tolerant or heat-hardy: Andalusian, Aseel or Asil, Brahma, Buttercup, Catalana, Cubalaya, Delaware, Leghorn, Malay, Modern Game, Naked Neck or Turken, New Hampshire Red, Penedesenca, Rhode Island Red, Rosecomb, Silkie, Spanish White Ear, and Sumatra.

 

[elmo]

Check my page for our warm weather coop. All you need is a roof and hardware cloth sides. You don't need to build a four walled, closed coop for your climate. Pick heat tolerant breeds, make sure you have shade for them, and during the hottest weather, you can also do things like put out pans of water for the chickens to stand it (cools feet) and/or set up misters.

It's good that you're thinking ahead.

 

[Tala]

I'll shamelessly share my coop ideas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=27985-open-air-design-coop

 

[FortWorthChicks]

Well it sure gets hot here in the summer. I was planning on putting a shade screen over half the run and down two sides. I was thinking if it got too hot i would just put a fan out there but a mister sounds much smarter!

Thanks

 

[tiki_chickens]

Having an open wall doesn't make them cold at all? It seems like a great idea! Especially the mister idea. Thanks!

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I dunno, let me go out there and ask them! lol
With a large wall and the roost next to it, they seem to move out of the most direct wind by shifting to different parts of the roost as necessary. If we were having a bad storm or something I can always put up a tarp for them.

They don't seem to mind the cold much. I mean compared to others on this forum, my chickens are out in a balmy 29*F right now.....
For me in Arkansas, "winterizing" my coop means that I put out a heated dog water bowl.

 

[kcfuerst]

Hey Tiki Chick, I used to be from so CA.... 100 years ago; I remember the lovely weather. Up here where I live now it might dip to 35-38 for a few nights in a row, but the summer brings 110°+ for days on end.

I have 3 windows in my coop plus ventilation at the top. This past summer I installed a big exhaust fan that exchanges the air every two minutes. It is set on a thermostat so that when the coop reaches temps of 90° it automatically comes on and runs until the temp cools off, usually around 10 pm. I love it! I also have "misters" inside the run that come on automatically during the really hot days and stay on intermittently during the hottest parts of the day. The girls like it a lot.

I would highly recommend an exhaust fan for anybody with hot temps, and a mister system to cool those gals off.

 

[Sam The Yam]

The key is plenty of shade from the direct sun and access to fresh water. They need to be able to have some loose dirt that they can dig a hole and lay in the cooler dirt under the surface. I recommend the you dampen the soil occasionally, turn it, and keep it clump free and loose. They love to scratch in the dirt and rest in it. They also like to have shade, some bushes help but they can raise havoc on anything green. They love to eat green. But good ventilation is key in hot climates. I have one of those whirly birds on the roof of mine but it does not really do well. There is a thread you can check on here that posts all styles of hot weather coops.
Good luck!

They also like it when they can stand in some water and keep their feet cool.

 

[RocketDad]

The roof overhang on my coop is 18". At the height of summer, the shadow covers the whole wall at noon. I also put in soffit venting and rafter vent panels in the roof, so that the heat from the shingles gets carried away by air instead of radiating down into the coop. My coop stays amazingly cool on hot days.