How is my ventilation?

[linguini]

A note:

While ice and other such measures may be necessary in extreme climates in order to keep chickens at all,

And while such measures may be necessary during unusual heat spikes, especially those that come on rapidly without time for birds to acclimate,

And while such measures may be necessary for a person keeping birds bred for tolerance of extreme cold in an areas that get extreme heat,

It's not actually required if birds are given deep shade, generous ventilation, abundant fresh water, and access to the ground where they can "dig in" to cooler layers beneath the surface and breeds are chosen for their suitability to the climate they're living in. People who are unwilling to devote 1/4 of their food storage area to ice blocks for the chickens needn't feel guilty about it.

My normal summer temperatures from June through August (and sometimes into September), are in the mid-90's Fahrenheit and are frequently accompanied by 90+% humdity. But I have never made ice blocks for my flock, on this property or in town, and will probably never do so unless we get an unusual, triple-digit heat spike over a period of several days.

Now and then I wet a portion of the run on a particularly hot afternoon.

Remember, chickens are livestock -- bred over millennia to be tough and adaptable.

BTW, I also often hose down the chicken coops in extreme heat. That's what we did when I was a child growing up in hot weather to our own house - hose it down to give it a quick cooling down!

 

[springvalley123]

BTW, I also often hose down the chicken coops in extreme heat. That's what we did when I was a child growing up in hot weather to our own house - hose it down to give it a quick cooling down!

Yes, and I've done similar---I aimed the mister at the wall of the coop to cool the coop and the area in front of the door, without getting the birds wet. But, where I am, it's usually a dry heat.

 

[Ccort]

The coop was 108 degrees yesterday. I think its good to have a thermostat as a temp that high is hard to believe. The high outside was 110. Needless to say, the chicks went inside. I truly don't think they could have withstood those temps, especially with the extreme humidity and this going on for days.