How to keep water cool in 90 degree weather?

[ericlw55555]

Hi guys, I live in SoCal and the temperatures have been up to the low 90s for the past few weeks, and I've seen my chickens panting all day. It is quite concerning because this is my first time raising chickens. The thing is that I've read that chickens have been able to manage the high temps if they have cool water, but I don't know how to keep it cool all day, even in the shade. It's not like I have a stainless steel water container or something... does anyone have any ideas? My current solution is that I have been putting ice cubes in their water feeder constantly all day, which works but is quite a hassle, and I need to concentrate on other things to do during the day. Does anyone have any advice for me? It'll be much appreciated...

 

[BullChick]

Freeze plastic water bottles or a gallon jug of water. Don’t forget that water expands, so only fill the containers 3/4 full. Also, some birds will stand in a bowl or baby pool of water.

 

[BullChick]

I’m sorry, I didn’t say what to do with the frozen containers. You can put them in the water, and you can lay them on the ground/floor of the coop. The chickens will cuddle with them to cool off.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

I freeze three or four plastic water bottles and then put them down into their main plastic waterer to keep it cool. I also place them into a big giant metal cake or serving pan full of water and it keeps it full of chilled water almost all day. It as been a working plan all summer.

 

[Acre4Me]

good suggestions
with frozen containers.

We have a large double-wall, galvanized waterer that we place on blocks, and have a large sheet of scrap OSB in front if it to shade it. It is in the shade for most of the day, but gets Early morning to mid morning sun.

the birds have full shade access all day. Last year we bought shade cloth and covered the south-East and south sides of the run. This helped immensely with temps. This year, we planted gourds to climb up strings on the fence (they cant climb up the fence bc the chickens will eat them!). The best and largest foliage is on the “birdhouse gourd”, which are easy to find seeds for.

the other way I help them with water intake is to feed them wet feed in the afternoon, when their run is fully shaded and they are moving around more, and wanting to eat. I mix water into the feed, sprinkle seeds on top (actually, I often use a whole grain chicken feed to sprinkle on top), and then push ice down into the feed since it will melt over time. The birds love it and still get their feed along with some hydration. I notice they lay a bit better too since not drinking enough water will lessen egg output.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

I’m not sure if this is the same thread I placed this in or not. There are so many just like it for cool treats. I put cold or frozen sweet peas into a long metal cafe pan that I keep cleaned outside on a daily basis full of the iced cold water for them to wade in and when it’s time for this activity I make sure it is clean again. I toss out the old and replace new water then add either new frozen peas or sweet corn out of the freezer or can as well. They go bobbing or drinking also for hours which is another good way to keep them hydrated. I often replace the regular water with Save-A-Chick electrolyte drink which makes things even that much better hydration in hot weather. You can do the cut up berries or fruit easily that way also.

 

[CatsandCrops]

You know those plastic containers mushrooms come in? I freeze water in two of those; pop out the giant ice cubes, put them inside their outdoor waterer, add a little water and all done. They melt throughout the day while keeping the water cooler.

I also freeze giant blocks of ice in the plastic containers that organic salad mix comes in. I set it outside for a few to melt then pop the block into their "pool" (bottom of a plastic barrel we found in our woods) along with a pitcher of ice cubes from our fridge. It melts throughout the day and they splash around in it/lay on it.

 

[3KillerBs]

This may sound heartless, but in my climate "only" 90F is a cool summer day, so I don't take any extraordinary efforts in the normal temperatures that my chickens will have to endure for months.

They have abundant water in the shade with a waterer in the coop and a waterer in the pen and I didn't fully transition to the nipple waterers until I was certain that they were using it. I've given them electrolyte once or twice a week during the most brutal 97-100F days.

Should the temperatures start topping 100, which is unusual heat in this area, then I would start using ice, etc. and give electrolyte more often. But only as long as the most brutal heat lasted.

Both with my previous flock and my current flock I chose my breeds with my climate in mind and resolved that if they couldn't adapt to my weather but, instead, had to be pampered they were simply not a suitable breed for me.

 

[Abriana]

As several people stated, you can freeze old jugs (plastic orange juice or milk cartons for example) and place them in the waterer or around a shady area where they normally rest during the hot parts of the day. You can also freeze fruit like watermelon or grapes (cut the grapes into small pieces before freezing) and they’ll love that, and it will help cool off their body temperature from the inside.