How Do You Cool Off Your Chickens? (112 degrees in Southern NM!)

[jsimplytx125]

I place a frozen quart bottle in a hog rubber pan with water for my hens to stand in. Kind of like a chicken "kiddie pool'. They love it and one will wait in the edge while two are cooling their feet wading in it. My Border collie takes a flying leap into my horse trough and lays in it, funniest thing! I do wet the ground once each day. 111 in the shade a couple of Saturdays ago here. Luckily my run is in shade but at 111, does it matter?

 

[kycklingmamma]

Great thread. I have been dealing with the heat as well, or should I say my flock. I do sprinkle the run with water once a day, and it seesm to help, they have a fairly large kiddie pool that I fill with water, only my white leghorn have actually walked in it, but they all drink from it. I also have two other waterers through out the run. They get the watermelon rinds, that I freeze as we eat them, sometimes I give them frozen veggies as a treat.
As far as a mister, where should I try to locate one of those? Do you leave them on all day long or turn them on as needed? I have a huge fan mounted into my coop, and my coop is all open air (see my page), it makes for airy but if 105+ in shade how does it matter..? One of my Roos (avatar) actually came down with pneumonia last week, so I moved him indoors for three days and medicated with Tylan, he is swell now though. Pneumonia in this d--n heat? oh well..

 

[FlockMama]

Quote:
Spoiled? I don't even have one in my house

I guess my girls are spoiled too!

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Quote:
Spoiled? I don't even have one in my house

I guess my girls are spoiled too!

I dont think i could live without AC lol
Although my aunt does,she just has fans going.She lives in a house
that is almost 100yrs old.Really nice tho...


I will fill milk jugs with water and put in little kiddie pools of water.The animals love it !!

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Posted these pictures in another tread but thought I'd share here. Recycled wine barrel and we use reusable ice blocks from WalMart for $2.00 each. We have also added misters to the run and they seem to enjoy.

 

[ams3651]

last summer it was very hot here, 100 degrees and 85% humidity is hot for PA. I have a fan running in the coop that has a thermostat to control it and I placed chunks of ice in the water at lunch time. Keep melon in the fridge for cool snacks and semi frozen corn kernels, and semi frozen grapes are a favorite. I just made sure I have good ventilation around the roof line and this year I added a screen door. I do need to get the shade cloth as my run gets full afternoon sun but I have a bamboo mat wrapped around the corner so it makes some shade. If I lived in TX or AZ I would think a small AC in the coop may at times be a necessity.

 

[TexGardenGirl]

Someone asked where to get misters - you should be able to find them at Home Depot or Lowe's, as well as many garden centers or maybe plumbing supply places. Basically they use the same components as drip irrigation systems. I went to HD the other day to get one, and they had kits which looked fine, not too hard to put together, but then we noticed this gizmo that's basically a stiff piece of plastic pipe that hooks straight to the hose and is twisted in such a way to stand up on the ground on its own. So it's portable, at least as far as your hose will reach. It was cheaper too (though a basic kit is only 30-40 bucks) and I'm pleased so far.
I also have large pans of water which they both drink out of and stand in. They also like the mud which results when I pour out the old water.
And shade is really important. I've actually carried the thermometer around to different parts of the yard and it's 5-10 degrees cooler in the shade. Big difference between 110 and 100, believe me! We're lucky to have decided to put the coop in a place where their run has a huge maple tree on the south border which shades the middle third of the run. They stay in that shade all afternoon unless they go in the coop to lay or to get a bite or two of pellet food (they have lots of grass & bugs outdoors)

 

[kycklingmamma]

Texgardengirl.. Thanks for the info on the mister, I was the one that was looking in an earlier post. I have seen something that look like a cobra, that stands up and attaches straight to the hose, is that what you got? I am hoping my local ACE has one, if not did you get yours at HD?

Thanks, Kycklingmamma

 

[ozark hen]

Dh has hung a box fan in one of the windows..on the north side as it is shady there and it doesn't rain in that window. It has three speeds on it and I adjust as needed. We keep a large black rubber tub up on a concrete block with cool water in it. Plus, for the hot days we freeze frozen milk jugs full of water and set the jug in the middle of the black waterer tub. You can go in there any time in the afternoon and find it much cooler in there. You will also find lots of chickens in there cooling off. I also spray the two large quince bushes that are in the yard. The chickens stay under them as they are thick bushes and very shady. They get cool veggies/fruits as treats. I have also put crushed ice in their water before but not too much, just a handful or two. Lots of extra sources of water all around the yard. My coop has several inches of litter in it and I see them wallering around inside when it is too hot outside. Hope this helps you. We don't get that hot here but it can get to 100 or just above but rarely.

 

[TXmom]

Quote:
I bought one of those cobra-looking misters at Steinhausers (in Sealy) for $14. I wish it sprayed out more water, but it works pretty good. Maybe my water pressure is a little low...I dunno. I think Steinhausers has 5 locations, so there might be one near you.