In need of some quick advice for keeping chickens cool

[mle022]

It's been super hot here, and I lost one hen today to heat stroke. My daughter is crushed because it was her favorite.

It was about 105 today, and I was putting ice water out for them and making sure they had water but it wasn't enough. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 108! So even more hot! I need some quick advice to prep for tomorrow so I don't lose anymore hens.


Would getting a small kiddy pool and putting a little water in it help? I think we have a mister system somewhere in our garage but I'm unsure if we can find it and set it up. The whole run is shaded, but it's still way too hot outside.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[SilkieNation]

It's been super hot here, and I lost one hen today to heat stroke. My daughter is crushed because it was her favorite.

It was about 105 today, and I was putting ice water out for them and making sure they had water but it wasn't enough. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 108! So even more hot! I need some quick advice to prep for tomorrow so I don't lose anymore hens.


Would getting a small kiddy pool and putting a little water in it help? I think we have a mister system somewhere in our garage but I'm unsure if we can find it and set it up. The whole run is shaded, but it's still way too hot outside.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Search this site, there's lots of good ideas.

Home Depot sells misters for $10. They are supposed to work great in dry climates. I have read that some people do put some water in a kiddie pool. Can you put a fan on them? You can freeze their treats (veges and fruit not starchy things or corn). I freeze gallon jugs of water and place them in a shady spot in the run, but they don't last all day. If you can enclose a small area, and put the ice jugs in there, it will create a cooler space, but it might freak out your chickens and they may not go near it. Again, do a search and good luck!

 

[mle022]

Thank you for the suggestions. My husband found the mister system and set it up in the run for tomorrow. I hope that will be enough, and they actually go into the mist.

I have a big watermelon in the fridge for them tomorrow too.

I think you're right on the ice not lasting. If it's forecasted 108 tomorrow, that means it will be closer to 110 to 112. It's like a hair dryer in your face. I feel like I live in Phoenix again.

I did a search earlier and most people suggested ice water, which I did. But they mentioned the weather was only in the 90's, so I figured I would ask in a separate thread since it's treading well into the triple digits here. Now I only have 5 hens left, and I really don't want to lose anymore.

 

[SilkieNation]

Thank you for the suggestions. My husband found the mister system and set it up in the run for tomorrow. I hope that will be enough, and they actually go into the mist.

I have a big watermelon in the fridge for them tomorrow too.

I think you're right on the ice not lasting. If it's forecasted 108 tomorrow, that means it will be closer to 110 to 112. It's like a hair dryer in your face. I feel like I live in Phoenix again.

I did a search earlier and most people suggested ice water, which I did. But they mentioned the weather was only in the 90's, so I figured I would ask in a separate thread since it's treading well into the triple digits here. Now I only have 5 hens left, and I really don't want to lose anymore.

Yes it's in the 90's here, not triple digits. However, it's humid here, making the heat quite unbearable. Still, 110 is pretty outrageous. My chickens were afraid of the mister when I turned it on for the first time. Wasn't surprised. Chickens don't like new things in their space. It takes some getting used to. I hope yours learn to love it quickly. You can freeze pieces of the melon too. It'll cool them down temporarily. I dig some of the frozen jugs into their dirt bath, which is a good size. That cools the dirt and keeps the ice from melting as fast.

 

[dawg53]

Easy on the watermelon, it'll give them watery diarrhea and they could end up losing much needed minerals and nutrients during the heat.
You can also put a fan inside their house. Direct the fan to blow the hot "used" air out the vent. Indirect fresh air will be sucked in through the other vents. The fans inside both our hen houses run 24/7 from spring until cooler temps arrive. I also have a box fan in each pen to at least get a breeze blowing. I dont think the box fans would work in conjunction with misters though. I'd worry about the chickens getting shocked.

 

[SilkieNation]

Easy on the watermelon, it'll give them watery diarrhea and they could end up losing much needed minerals and nutrients during the heat.
You can also put a fan inside their house. Direct the fan to blow the hot "used" air out the vent. Indirect fresh air will be sucked in through the other vents. The fans inside both our hen houses run 24/7 from spring until cooler temps arrive. I also have a box fan in each pen to at least get a breeze blowing. I dont think the box fans would work in conjunction with misters though. I'd worry about the chickens getting shocked.

X2. I was thinking the same when mle022 said "big watermelon". I suppose it depends on how many chickens there are! I only give mine a smallish section each, maybe 5" x 5" (my chickens are bantams though), with just some of the red. The rind has all the nutrients of the red part, I've read. They eat it down to the skin. I also think the misters would do a lot more in dry heat than a fan, but they're definitely essential in the coop. I'll also say that they'll get watery poop from drinking a lot of water, which is, I guess, different from diarrhea. Adding electrolytes to their water is a good thing to do in the excessive heat.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
You're correct, they'll get watery poop from drinking alot of water. I've even seen bits and pieces of watermelon in the watery diarrhea, they just hog it on down...gluttons. Electrolytes will replace the lost nutrients/minerals, good to have around.

 

[allbirds4me]

shade cloth would help

 

[mle022]

Update:
It hit 108 by 11am, according to my car.

I tried to find a kiddy pool in town, and was unsuccessful. The misters seem to be helping a lot though. Their mouths are not open as much as they were yesterday. I had to coax them out into the run this morning, because they were scared of them at first, but they are a really light mist. One of the ladies decided it was a good idea to continue her morning ritual of laying on her egg for hours. She was panting a ton, so I kicked her out of the hen house and put the frozen watermelon out to keep her out and occupied. I can lock it closed, but I was worried about them not being able to lay eggs, or having to fumble around to find where they decided to lay. Broken egg in this heat might turn into a dirty egg scramble.

Do you think locking them out of the hen house is a good idea? I can't put any fans in there, nothing will fit since it's a smaller coop.

Also, the run is completely covered with shade screen and half tarp because the shade screen still lets a lot of light through.

The watermelon I put out isn't a huge one, it's a smaller one I got from the farmer's market a couple weeks ago. But I put it in the freezer last night, so it's frozen solid. They'll have to work at it for a bit to get stuff out. It was more to keep them cool and keep them occupied while in the misters. I'll add some electrolytes to their water when I change it again in a little bit. Hopefully it's not too much melon! I also put a cold ball of cabbage out there under the mist to keep them occupied too. They don't care about it though.

 

[wlantry]

I can't think of anything better than shade and mist in such a dry climate. With luck, it'll turn the run into a giant swamp cooler. Ice cubes in the water? Think how much they'd have to drink for it to have any effect! But I think electrolytes are a great idea, especially if you've been giving them melon. It's 95 here today, and my birds are all lounging in the shade. They don't know how easy they have it!