It's already in the 90s in south Texas and it's only the end of May/early June. How do I keep the girls cool? They have shade from trees, and some from the shadow of the garage. Will they need a trap or umbrella type covering? I've tired introducing a dish pan of water to soak their feet in, but they looked at me like I was nuts. I just put a fan in the coop too. It's up high, in a window. What else can I do. The poor girls are already panting.
I have used one gallon milk jugs for my rabbits for year...when it gets in the 100's I put two in with the mini-lop...she will lie between them...smart girl! Plan to do the same for my chicks...been putting 20 oz frozen bottles in the chick hutches on our enclosed porch and have a fan blowing on them. Plus I added ice to the nipple waterers.
I set up a water misting system inside my greenhouse and it was very inexpensive. If I lived in heat like you have, I'd set up a misting system for my chicken run. I bought a battery operated timer, too, so I can set it up to mist for anything from 1-60 minutes as well as automatically turn on/off every 1-24 hours. I think the whole shebang cost me around $35.00. The mist that comes out is about what you see at the grocery store in the produce section. I have friends in California that have these misters set up around their patio. You get cool without getting soaked.
