I need help

[Mamatomany123]

Guys, it's so hot in Texas right now. So far we are at 117. My poor chickens are struggling. They have deep shade, a pool filled with fresh ice water, 2 fans (one is the makeshift ac cooler). I'm going out there every hour having to put cool water under their wings. They're panting heavily and wings are open away from the body. I'm seriously about to fill my house up with 40 chickens I don't know what else to do to help them. Any ideas?? We are going to be well over 100 for the next week or so.

 

[kalsea]

I'm in Colorado and I dealt with the opposite issue this winter (-30°). Even though everyone said they would be fine, it just didn't sit well with me to do nothing. Plus constantly checking on them was a huge time and energy suck.

Solution? I bought a giant $30 tent from Walmart and put them in my basement for a week. It kept all the dust/dirt contained, saved me tons of stress and effort, and my flock of 10 survived the extreme temps!

Just throwing a different solution into the ring. Sending a cool breeze your way!

 

[Theorrin]

Thanks for the reassurance. We get hot every summer but not this hot. This heat wave is miserable.

as your state neighbor we have that wonderful heat as well. dont worry your birdies will be okay

 

[Mamatomany123]

I live in Florida so I understand how bad the heat can be. Shade, fans, frozen fruit and veggies, ice bottles, and if it's not humid misters are all good and will help. I've had a chicken almost pass away from heat stress so I understand your worries!

Very little humidity, today is something like 20% I'll try the misters. We aren't too bad today, around 98 right now and have a good wind. They seem more lively today, probably appreciating the "cooler" weather.

 

[Theorrin]

frozen fruits and veggies will help

 

[The-White-Elephant]

They're not in direct sunlight. Some are hanging out in the coop and others in the covered portion of the run.

That’s good then.

I'm just worried with how hard they're panting.

I know it can be worrying, but they will be ok. Yes, they are pretty hot, especially since they have all those feathers, but they won’t die or anything like that.

 

[Mamatomany123]

That’s good then.

I know it can be worrying, but they will be ok. Yes, they are pretty hot, especially since they have all those feathers, but they won’t die or anything like that.

Thanks for the reassurance. We get hot every summer but not this hot. This heat wave is miserable.

 

[Mamatomany123]

as your state neighbor we have that wonderful heat as well. dont worry your birdies will be okay

It's so miserable. I'm not one to sweat and man, I'm come back inside dripping sweat every time now.

 

[jpalmatier83]

Chickens can’t sweat. So, wings out help to push cooler air (cooler than their body) under and past exposed blood vessels on the sides of their chest (less feathers) and to a lesser extent under their wings. Open mouth panting is similar to what dogs do, also cooler air into respiratory system and lungs (lots of blood vessels) to heat exchange with warmer body temp.

The pool helps, lots of thermal exchange through the feet.

Here in northern Michigan we have the opposite problem. Have to keep chickens warm, through the same thermal transfer modes. That means wide roosts so they can cover their feet, and less importantly, stable so they can keep their wings tucked.

The MOST important part, at least here, is to not climate control. Chickens will adapt to normal termerature changes if they have enough time. It’s temperature spikes that will get them. Heat lamps in the winter are a terrible idea for cold weather chickens. If you have a power outage, the lamps go out, and the temp drops percipatiously, they can’t adapt and that will kill them.

I believe it’s similar for hot weather and ac.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Misters and a shallow pool to cool their feet make a huge difference! We get that dry heat also. Next week is supposed to be 116. We're hovering at 101 right now. I purchased a mister system on Amazon that was quite simple to set up. I have it lining their run about 4ish feet off the ground.

The shallow pool is something I just added this past week. They've figured it out and make use of it! Putting blocks in for them to stand in is a good idea.

I also use old cool whip containers to freeze blocks of ice. I put those in their water buckets to cool the drinking water.

Another things I've done is put some ice water in a shallow container with frozen blueberries. I even tossed in a few chia seeds. This made them dip their waddles in the cold water to get the berries/seeds. That also helps cool them down.

(I'll add some pics in a few)