How do I help my chickens in Excessive HEAT?

[ChooksChick]

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Hi!

You're having the same weather as me, I'm sorry to say. It's not fun, and I'm hoping everyone is doing okay. Fill old cardboard juice containers or big bowls with frozen corn and berries, scratch and other kitchen treats, then fill with water (and vitamins and electrolytes powder, too!) and freeze. Turn the block of treat ice out for them to pick at all day!

Also, you can just toss frozen veggies and whatnot out for them to eat.

Mine really like the old yogurt my kids forget to eat, frozen in the cups. Yogurt cubes!

My fave is getting the melons that are past prime cheap from the grocery store and freezing them in halves. The birds love those and frozen grapes.

Stay cool, folks.

 

[dbounds10]

I live in N Texas and we are in extreme heat warnings also. I have a fan that runs 24x7, I use frozen jugs of water and they lay against them, I also use a mister system. It keeps the sand cool and they dig holes in the damp sand. Nothing is going to stop them from panting short of an A/C unit which I am not going to do but all these things help. I also give frozen fruits and veggies. Here are a couple of pictures:

If you look closely in this one you can see the mist, and also under the coop you can see the fan and a frozen jug of water.

 

[amenfarm]

would a a dining type tent or tarp strung over the coop or run help? I'm glad a ran into this thread now. Don't have my chickens yet--but I know now to buy up fans when i see them on sale.

 

[ChooksChick]

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Yes, any shade helps. I recommend planting malabar spinach, honeysuckle and grapevines up the south fence and over a support structure of bamboo or something so the vines cover the run.

I also suggest planting a thick mat of clover, grass, and birdseed in the run so they decimate it more slowly.

 

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a tarp for shade and a fan

 

[Lindz]

I was just coming to ask this same question. Today is supposed to be our hottest day and I feel so bad for them. They just pant all day. Ill start the sprinkler up for them today I think.

 

[Trunkster]

We built our coop surrounded by trees and it still get hot for them. Today we'll be adding bamboo shades on the west side to provide even more shade. We also water down the run to cool things. See my coop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=63059-mother-cluckers

 

[mandelyn]

I put a tarp over the run and will take the hose and put it onto a fine mist, and hang it from the top of the roof to mist down on them. At first they acted like they hated it, but they must have gotten some relief and so they returned to it periodically. They don't want to be sprayed, just lightly misted.

Before the changes one of my girls was in the corner inside the coop and wasn't looking too good. I had just changed the duck pool water, so I took her in there right away and set her into the duck pool. She stood in that cool water for about 10 minutes, calm as could be since she could stand on the bottom, and perked right up. The shade alone didn't help her much when she went inside the coop. If it gets that hot again, which I'm sure it will, I'm dragging a fan out there for inside the coop. We wired it for electric for the winter time... never thought I would need it in the summer but I'm glad it's there now.

I check on them through out the hottest parts of the day and dip them as needed into water, they won't wade in water by themselves yet. The worse was when the heat index was up to a 115 or something crazy because of the humidity.

I only have 5 hens, so I really can't afford to lose one. Makes me paranoid, and I leave the comfort of my a/c every hour or so to check that they're alright and make any adjustments, and take them cold treats. Was really scary when the one was standing in the corner all listless, I could have lost her if I hadn't been paying attention. The coop is under nice sized trees and really doesn't get much sun, but it still was too hot.

 

[SJUDD]

I wish all of you well with the heat. I live in an area that reaches 105-110 every summer but with practically no humidity so I am not sure how to deal with the humidity factor. I have a tarp covering approximately 1/4 of the coop to give them shade. I freeze 2 liter bottles and wrap them in towels and put them on the ground in the shade for them to lay next to. I have two that like it and 3 that just dig holes in the dirt and settle in. I also freeze 16oz water bottles and put them in the waterer. This keeps the water cool throughout the day. I wet down the shady area of the coop 2x's a day and feed them frozen veggies on the really hot days. (got the frozen veggie idea from this forum, thank you to those of you who suggested it) Good idea though with the frozen watermelon, etc. I will try that. Mine were born and raised here so they seem to be used to the heat and I have only gone out there and seen them panting once so far this summer, but that was the day the tarp blew off the coop... it is more secure now. I am about 20 minutes from the Pacific Ocean though so we cool down every evening. I am really feeling for all of you who are going through this heat wave, I hope it receeds for you soon.

 

[sharol]

I'm in Kansas in the middle of this, too. We have been 100+ for what seems like forever (a couple of weeks at least). I blundered into a solution of sorts for my 12 week old adolescents. They are in a hoop/tractor. I fastened shade cloth to the south side of the run part of the tractor and set up a mister upwind from it. The breeze carries the mist into the shade cloth and the breeze through it makes a sort of swamp cooler. When I went in the run today to freshen their water, it was at least 15 degrees cooler in there than it was outside (even in the mist).

I'm running all errands in the mornings so that my big girls (just over a year) can be out in the yard to find the coolest spots during the worst heat of the day, and they are staying close to the hoop, too, even though there is another mister running in their run.

I took the windows off the coop to let more air in, and put a fan in the window to boost the air flow in the evenings.

Since it is looking like at least 2 more weeks of this, I'm just putting the girls first.