How is everyone managing heat stress?

[clucky2]

Hi Patty,
Ha Ha your funny! I'm in Sonoma County. And it looks like rain and cooler weather for a while huh? So now the question is how to keep the pen dry! Oh well, all this variety gives me a chance to figure things out all in a short time frame. Where is River Pines? Sounds nice.
Enjoy the moisture.....

 

[PunkinPeep]

I can't imagine why misting them would hurt them in any way, as long as you're just using water. They're fine when they get rained on, so i'm sure the mist is welcome.

Mine just hang out in the shade a lot during the day too.

I think your younger chicks just need a little time to get used to it and then they will be free and easy like the older birds.

Some people put ice chips in the water or put frozen 2 liters of ice in the run or coop for the chickens to get up against to cool down.

It's still comfortable (70s or 80s) here in the morning and evening, so the girls stay pretty still in the shade during the day and do their running around and exploring in the morning and evening.

 

[SproutGirl]

I feed them frozen veggies as a treat. It's like chicken ice cream--they love it on a very hot day. It seems to really cool them down. When they are panting a lot and have their wings out, I'll bring out the frozen veggies, they gobble them up, and they stop panting. We have a very small backyard flock, so it is economical to get a very large bag from the store, and also fun to feed these treats, but this may not be a good solution for those with 100+ birds!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
i hadn't heard that one before. it sounds like great fun!!! chicken ice cream.

 

[clucky2]

If you want a good article on managing heat stress, go to the home page for BYC, look to the left column, and click on All about Chickens. You may need to look for the specific article on heat stress if it doesn't come right up, but it's easily accessed. Good info. on dust baths, misting etc.! Oooops. Just realized this was a temporary add by Google. The article was in a Poultry magazine. On the topic of misting, it did say that the humidity needs to be below 70% in order to supply a cooling factor. So there's that.

 

[Blue Skys]

I just keep lots of fresh water for them and they have access to lots of shade and dirt to lounge in. It doesn't seem to bother them though, they just run around panting. But I think the younger they are the harder it is for them to regulate their body temps, so as they grow older it will be easier for them to keep themselves cool.

 

[vortec]

Mine free range all day, but I always keep the shady coop open and a box fan blowing on the hot days. They pretty much lay around all day infront of the fan until the sun starts setting then they are wide open at night, when its time to sleep.

vortec