How is your flock holding up in this heat. Any tips for me I have a lot of very feathered breeds.

[ldutch123]

All my chickens roam around 3 acres I have so many different kinds and I gotta see this is my first summer with chickens and I'm worried. My Cochins are about 10 months olds now and they are sooooooo feathered that I worry they won't make it when the temps are continuously in the 90s and 90 being the low lol.

Anyone else have experience with heVy feathered breeds in this kind of heat?

I literally have a little bit of everything. Tophats, Cochins, Silkies, brahmas and everything else :/

 

[Chick1043]

LOL I have to keep 5 ice cream buckets of ice water around the 1/2 acre

 

[cr213636]

I don't have first-hand experience (so don't hold me to what I say!), but where I live it gets pretty hot so I was reading about how to keep chickens cool. Of course, plenty of water and plenty of shade is a must. I've also seen people saying they leave misters out for their chickens. Another thing would be cold treats. For example, people give frozen watermelon.

Here are some links:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4477285_keep-chickens-cool-summer.html
http://www.examiner.com/article/keeping-your-chickens-cool-the-heat

 

[dianehodges]

My chickens are Domineckers and supposed to tolerate heat and cold well But we have had triple digits and they were very stressed I lost one hen I change the water regularly but I also freeze gallon jugs and bottles of water The jugs are placed in a rubber maid container with a lid On top of the lid i put the water bottles with holes punched in them The water dribbles out on to the lid and they drink it It becomes somewhat of a game because the like to peck at the bottles The area around the container stays cool and cools the ground The flock will dig holes around the container and lay in them I like this because every thing is reusable except the water bottles As a precaution when I refill the bottles/jugs I wipe each bottle with a solution of bleach and water Hope this is helpful

1 veteran 1 rooster 8 hens 1 dog 1 very old cat

 

[Sjisty]

I live in Florida with lots of Brahmas, huge chickens with lots of feathering. Mainly, I just make sure they have plenty of clean water. They hang out under the bushes and the palmettos in the back yard during the heat of the day. A couple of times a week I will break open a watermelon for them. They seem to tolerate the heat okay, just a lot of panting when it's too hot. I have tons of shade over 3 acres and have about 7 watering areas so they are never far from water. Often they pile up on my front porch. Either the concrete is cool or they just want me to feel guilty that on the other side of the door, I'm here in air conditioning!

 

[galanie]

I live close to the Gulf Coast in Texas. I have some breeder quality Orpingtons and didn't lose a one in our 110 degree summer last year.

Lots of shade, lots of water, lots of air flow. And my biggest helper is this:

They wade and stand in this water and cool off.

 

[Chickinn]

We give ice water and we have a fan blowing underneath the coop. We made sure our coop was in a shaded area for most of the day. The fan helps, they all gather near it when it is really hot....

 

[ldutch123]

They have tons of shade and a lot of different watering stations and even water to stand in. I just worry because it's like this heat is never going to break! My big girls seem to hang out under the deck against the basement walls. Im assuming it's pretty cool against there. They only do this when it's really hot though.

They also get a lot of watermelon and cantelope rinds and any treats they get are cold and given at dusk.

 

[tadpole98]

frozen fruit
buckets of cool water around
spray down a dusting spot just a little to make the dirt a bit cooler. But dont soak, just mist

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Clean cool water, shade, lots of shade, melons split open, and the sprinklers come on mid day and get everything good and wet. The chickens play in the cool first when they turn off. The ducks and geese play in the water while they run.