How much panting is too much??

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Jeez that’s warm. I’ve heard of people filling old milk jugs with water and freezing them to help cool off the birds.

How many hours of panting is too much though? They have been panting since 1pm? Do I need to bring them inside the house? Is it ok to leave them out panting for 5 hours now??

 

[FathertoFeathers]

How many hours of panting is too much though? They have been panting since 1pm? Do I need to bring them inside the house? Is it ok to leave them out panting for 5 hours now??

I honestly don’t know. I’m able to get mine to cool off pretty fast.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I honestly don’t know. I’m able to get mine to cool off pretty fast.

Okay, thanks for reading and all the advice. Hopefully someone might know.

 

[Lovemygirls20]

I honestly don’t know. I’m able to get mine to cool off pretty fast.

Are they showing any other symptoms? Do they go out and forage, eat/drink and play?

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Are they showing any other symptoms? Do they go out and forage, eat/drink and play?

They drink if I throw pieces of lettuce in their water (they love lettuce). They just want to lay down, attempt to sleep, only to wake right back up and resume panting. I didnt want to risk their lives, so we brought them back inside for the night. Hubby is going to add more security to their run tonight and thru tomorrow, so they can come and go from coop to run, as they choose. We are also talking about adding a mister to the run on one side, as it's only going to get hotter here in Texas.

 

[Lovemygirls20]

They drink if I throw pieces of lettuce in their water (they love lettuce). They just want to lay down, attempt to sleep, only to wake right back up and resume panting. I didnt want to risk their lives, so we brought them back inside for the night. Hubby is going to add more security to their run tonight and thru tomorrow, so they can come and go from coop to run, as they choose. We are also talking about adding a mister to the run on one side, as it's only going to get hotter here in Texas.

Im sorry I don’t have the answer as how much panting is too much but I understand your worries! We’re in Texas too and our girls are about 12 weeks. I’ve started freezing bottles of water to put in their water. From what I’m understanding (I’m a first time chicken owner) that panting is how they cool down and as long as your providing them with cool water, shade and y’all put the fan out- they should be okay. Mine pant a lot but get playful when I come out and will eat & drink. I had to bring one inside today because she wouldn’t get up to eat or anything and was almost lifeless . Hope the misters help, that’ll be the next thing I try.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Im sorry I don’t have the answer as how much panting is too much but I understand your worries! We’re in Texas too and our girls are about 12 weeks. I’ve started freezing bottles of water to put in their water. From what I’m understanding (I’m a first time chicken owner) that panting is how they cool down and as long as your providing them with cool water, shade and y’all put the fan out- they should be okay. Mine pant a lot but get playful when I come out and will eat & drink. I had to bring one inside today because she wouldn’t get up to eat or anything and was almost lifeless . Hope the misters help, that’ll be the next thing I try.

Yeah it was really hot here today, and forecast only shows the numbers going up until Tuesday night unfortunately. I hope your girl gets better fast! I mixed up a homemade electrolyte solution and added it to their water after I got them inside. 2 are still panting off & on (it's been an hour) and pray yours and mine make it thru the night. By the way, I've been searching, and it looks like Lowe's has the best bang for your buck mister setup. Hope that helps you too. Good luck and feel free to keep in touch. Let me know how your girl is in the morning.

 

[lizo97]

I am in Phoenix, Arizona and it was over 100 last week. My coop is open to the air -- I had 2 large box fans and replaced them with even larger fans! I have misters as well which really help. Shade is a must! Every night, my chickens were panting and I was really worried that I would find one dead in the morning, but they were all fine. One thing that helped was upgrading the fans. Another huge help is what my son and daughter did. They filled buckets with water and held the chickens in for 5 minutes. In most cases, the chickens would float and relax. This really helped with the panting. I was surprised the kids did this. I would suggest taking a thermometer to measure the temps in the coop. My coop is also near the house and the house was just radiating heat!

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I am in Phoenix, Arizona and it was over 100 last week. My coop is open to the air -- I had 2 large box fans and replaced them with even larger fans! I have misters as well which really help. Shade is a must! Every night, my chickens were panting and I was really worried that I would find one dead in the morning, but they were all fine. One thing that helped was upgrading the fans. Another huge help is what my son and daughter did. They filled buckets with water and held the chickens in for 5 minutes. In most cases, the chickens would float and relax. This really helped with the panting. I was surprised the kids did this. I would suggest taking a thermometer to measure the temps in the coop. My coop is also near the house and the house was just radiating heat!

Thanks for the message! We are sketching out some ideas tonight on how to cool the coop down asap. The kids are all in again for the night, still have 1 not out of the woods yet, she is still panting off and on in our 76 degree house. We are heading to Lowes in the morning for a misting system and supplies.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

UPDATE: All our feather babies recovered and are all doing okay once again. We are keeping them in the house until Tuesday night when this heat wave is over. We will be turning their outdoor run into Fort Knox, adding motion lights, a misting system with timer for the hottest part of the day, and I froze a bunch of water bottles and veggies in water for treats last night. Hopefully we can get this all done by Tuesday night so they can go outside and live a safe, happy, healthy life. Thank you to everyone for all the messages. We really appreciated the input.