How to keep my hens cool in the hot summer

[Sstonewolf]

We put up at patio mister line along part of their run fence and the yard fence. Keeps the ground cooler. We do the ice rings, too. Some fly larvae, a little grain, and a bit of fruit. We also have a stand fan we put in the run to circulate the air.

We’re in Michigan, so we don’t get the heat like down south, but we’ve had a lot of scorchers this year. After losing a couple due to heat a couple of years ago we learned a lot. Unfortunately, we need hens that do well in the winter, so we need winter hardy birds. Seems you are hard pressed to find hens that tolerate both extremes. So we work harder in the summer to keep them cool, but we have less to worry about in the winter. The advantage is that our extreme heat season is much shorter.

 

[Mamahen64]

I've also had trouble getting mine to use certain foot pools. They seem to like terra cotta saucers (like what you'd put under a planter) best. The terra cotta cools just like a brick would, and you can keep the water very shallow. Get the largest one you can find. I still need to encourage mine to use it.

This is the one I have.

I have 8 hens and live in Texas, I go out and wet the area they stay in and it makes it muddy, I do it every 3- 4 hours my girls love it cause it's all in the shade and muddy.Plus I feed them cold watermelon or cucumber, apples it cools them down to eat something cold like that. I tried the pool thing and the laying around saucers with water they never took to it.

 

[Mamahen64]

I have 8 hens and live in Texas, I go out and wet the area they stay in and it makes it muddy, I do it every 3- 4 hours my girls love it cause it's all in the shade and muddy.Plus I feed them cold watermelon or cucumber, apples it cools them down to eat something cold like that. I tried the pool thing and the laying around saucers with water they never took to it.

Good luck.

 

[ohso3d]

I have three hens now. I’m trying to keep them cool I bought a baby swimming pool put water in it. Put rocks that they could stand on and bricks where they can step up on. I even set them in there for a few minutes cause I know they cool off by their feet and legs. One of my young hens was breathing so heavy and her wings was expanding. I was a little bit worried For some reason. They just won’t go in the pool. Anybody have any ideas? Any help would be very much appreciated.

Get a big shallow saucer like you put under plants. Fill it with cool water. They will stand in it. Guarantee!

 

[Bawkbok]

Get a big shallow saucer like you put under plants. Fill it with cool water. They will stand in it. Guarantee!

Can I get a refund on your guarantee? We tried that, even different types of saucers - no go - even after placing the birds in them - still no go.
Spraying the run dirt daily works the best for us. They stand and lay in the cool wet earth.

 

[DLA]

Can I get a refund on your guarantee? We tried that, even different types of saucers - no go - even after placing the birds in them - still no go.
Spraying the run dirt daily works the best for us. They stand and lay in the cool wet earth.

I've had the same experience. They will play in puddles on the ground but won't stand in or on any kind of saucer, plate, or container with water in it. LOL.