How to Keep Chickens Cool in Upcoming Heat Wave?

[Adrianep]

Hello fellow chicken friends - I live in Portland and we are expecting a horrible heat wave this weekend. Temps are going to be over 100 for multiple days, which is not typical for this area. I am worried about my chickens who have definitely never experienced that much prolonged heat. They have shade and I will hose down the grass multiple times and refill their water as often as I can throughout the day, but should I do anything else? I don't have a/c in my home, so I can't bring them inside either. Help!

Those cheap dark blue plastic freezable squares people put into coolers? You can probably get them at Fred Meyer's in the "campIng"/ hardware section. They work very efficiently for a smaller freezer. I have several on rotation in my freezer to accomodate cool water to drink for my girls as well as in a shallow glass casserole dish so they can step into it. I've also used old plastic gallon milk containers- they last longer, but take longer to freeze and also take up gobs of space I don't currently have on hand...hope they fair OK- that's crazy hot for Portland!!

 

[thomathacker]

I bought a commercial fan for when they are in the coop and run. It's shady, but the extra wind is welcomed for them. I'm in Arkansas and it gets really hot here. I've read to have a bucket of water nearby in case any of them are in distress. I'm keeping my silkies indoors during the hottest parts of the day, and let the bigger girls (Brahmas) have as much outdoor free range time in the compost pile as I can. They dig way down in my flowerbeds too. Or what used to be flowerbeds! haha

 

[Amberblue111]

Get some large containers to freeze water in. Pop out the ice chunks and leave them in a shallow pan to slowly thaw.
Give them an electrolyte mash made from their food the first and third mornings of the heat wave.
Saturate the ground in a shady spot and aim a floor fan across it.
Freeze some sliced grapes and feed them during the hottest part of the day.

electrolytes in the water. I put multiple water areas ( they drink more that way) and a tub filled 2 in of cold water they wade in a bit. I put ice in it thruout the day. if i see a chick not doing well putting her in the cool water gently helps revive her. Also fans in the coop for nighttime are really helpful to get a chance to cool down some. ( I have a screen door alternate to the regular door (hardware cloth covered) on my coop for summer ).

 

[Tyoung925]

Hello fellow chicken friends - I live in Portland and we are expecting a horrible heat wave this weekend. Temps are going to be over 100 for multiple days, which is not typical for this area. I am worried about my chickens who have definitely never experienced that much prolonged heat. They have shade and I will hose down the grass multiple times and refill their water as often as I can throughout the day, but should I do anything else? I don't have a/c in my home, so I can't bring them inside either. Help!

Give them Frozen watermelon slices, this will
Keep them hydrated and cool them off too. Give them one about an hour before they go to roost so they are hydrated prior to sleeping. They tend to lose a lot of water when they pant all night (if it stays hot all night).

 

[awmartian]

I live in the Central Valley and we have triple digits frequently. I give my buff orpingtons refrigerated fruit around 3:00pm. They didn't like frozen fruit it was too cold for them. I also gently hose them down including the run. I try to wet them down before they start showing signs of heat exhaustion (ie extended wings). I make sure to wet their undersides & combs. They stop panting immediately. They don't like the water, but it works great to keep them cool. I also have a commercial fan that moves more than 1000 CFM of air which sits on the ground outside of the run. This forces the hot air up and out. I keep a camera on them so I can monitor them from the inside.

 

[Lavender Wraps]

Hello fellow chicken friends - I live in Portland and we are expecting a horrible heat wave this weekend. Temps are going to be over 100 for multiple days, which is not typical for this area. I am worried about my chickens who have definitely never experienced that much prolonged heat. They have shade and I will hose down the grass multiple times and refill their water as often as I can throughout the day, but should I do anything else? I don't have a/c in my home, so I can't bring them inside either. Help!

What I suggest is, purchase a couple lengths of Fogers/Misters. Tack them up around the area that they will be during the day. Just attach to facet and turn on. If you order from Amazon you should get them in a day or so. Really fast shipping. When we had rabbits, we lined the isles with them and turned them on during the hottest part of the day. Works wonders for cooling the air. My sister and niece line their patio with them, around the edges of the canopy. They sit on the patio in comfort along with their dog!

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Hello fellow chicken friends - I live in Portland and we are expecting a horrible heat wave this weekend. Temps are going to be over 100 for multiple days, which is not typical for this area. I am worried about my chickens who have definitely never experienced that much prolonged heat. They have shade and I will hose down the grass multiple times and refill their water as often as I can throughout the day, but should I do anything else? I don't have a/c in my home, so I can't bring them inside either. Help!

I put ice in their water. Don’t feed them corn, that raises their body temp. If you have a kiddy pool put shallow water in it, in the shade, they may want to stand in it. If you can put a fan in their coop, do that. I also hang a misting system I the trees. Put it on low because the water accumulates quickly. When it’s really hot I put liter bottles frozen solid with water in front of the fan or around the coop. We deal with very hot weather here. I take it seriously.

 

[TreeTreeZR]

My misting system says it can lower the temperature by up to 15°C. I've noticed it lowers the temp by 10°c.
If you have a sprayer head, some of them have a misting option. I recomend using either a misting system or a misting sprayer head alongside a fan(make sure the power is waterproofed). If you have a tap timer to go on for 5 mins every 15 mins it will save water and keep them cool


It saves my chickens from death when the weather is 45°c(113°F). Ice blocks don't work great here because they seem to melt in 1 hour.

 

[MelbaQ]

Hello fellow chicken friends - I live in Portland and we are expecting a horrible heat wave this weekend. Temps are going to be over 100 for multiple days, which is not typical for this area. I am worried about my chickens who have definitely never experienced that much prolonged heat. They have shade and I will hose down the grass multiple times and refill their water as often as I can throughout the day, but should I do anything else? I don't have a/c in my home, so I can't bring them inside either. Help!

put electrolytes in water. you can make but don’t remember how. look it up. if a chicken goes into heat shock keep her cool w water. also can set up a fan

 

[Sngarcia67]

I live in Texas and I give my girls frozen watermelon, grapes and blueberries as well as ice water and shallow water bowls where they can put their feet in. I also have plenty if shade, electrolytes and plenty of spots for them to burrow in. Hope this helps.