Is it OK to hose the girls down?

[hannakat]

kichohana ~ So sorry about your loss. It sounds like you did everything possible.


goldfinches ~ Thank you for the response. I can see where wet dirt would be cooling even if they don't like the misting.

 

[Elite Silkies]

My husband just informed me that we have been put under a water ban

I'm still misting my birds, I will not have them die. I will have my kids be on lookout for the city. You can see my coops from the road, but I can't just let them die of heat strokes.

 

[stargazer2014]

All this misting is great, but what if you CAN'T get them to go outside????!!!

I've been hosing down their run, and they have a little wader, but they won't leave the coop. I have a fan running in there, and they all sit in front of it, panting like crazy. I know they'd be cooler if they went out, but they just won't go.

I don't know what to do!

 

[Amethyste]

When we had that huge heat wave over a few days here in Seattle a couple of years back, I hooked up the sprinkler and set it on mist. I aimed it towards the girls and let it go. They loved it. I also set it up so it was like rain falling? They love to play in the rain so it seemed to work well.

I did hose down the run to cool the ground since in the hottest part of the day 1/2 the run is in the sun. The coop was under trees and I left the covers off the windows for them. I also put a kiddie pool in the run with water in it so they could walk their feets in it and cool off. They sat in it like ducks

We watered down the run several times during the day. I was really worried about them burning their feet on the dirt it was so hot, Its unusual for it to be at 107 here!!

Quote:
You can try giving them cool treats as well...frozen grapes/berries/cold cucumbers...fruits and veggies with high water content AND can be cooled off or frozen. I made my girls frozen yogurt pops of berries, layer pellets, and a bit of yogurt to hold it all together. They loved it surprisingly enough. I also gave them frozen peas. Those went over like gangbusters! Ice in the water to keep it cool.

You can even put some of those ice packs behind a fan in a bowl or something if you can hook one up to pull the cool air off the ice/gel blocks whatever and cool the air a little. I used to do something similar in my 3rd story apt back years ago. In the winter it was great cos we had no heating bills...we got all the heat from downstairs

In the summer tho... UGH!!!! So we would get a big bowl of ice and set it towels behind a fan and turn on the fan to get some of the cooler air to flow towards us. I have heard similar things people have done for their birds so... it might help?

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Quote:
When I need my chickens to vacate a locale, I just reach for the hose. They know what comes next, so they depart the premises at maximum velocity, leaving only feathers, dust, and chickeny cuss words hanging in the air.

 

[bertman]

Quote:
Elite Silkies, Set up rain barrels at your downspouts or rig up a cistern. The next time it rains you'll get a good supply of water. Be sure to filter it with a fine wire strainer so it doesn't have too much organic debris or roofing shingle grit in it. Then you can buy a simple boat bilge pump or a sump pump and pump the water to the run with a hose and sprayer attachment. The city shouldn't have any objection to that.

We were on water rationing a couple of years ago and a lot of the gardeners and urban chicken folks came up with that idea.

Good luck.

P.S. It's not a bad idea to throw a frozen gallon milk jug of water to cool the rainwater down before you spray the birds.

 

[CandiceN]

Glad I read this! I'm going to go mist my girls right now

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
Elite Silkies, Set up rain barrels at your downspouts or rig up a cistern. The next time it rains you'll get a good supply of water. Be sure to filter it with a fine wire strainer so it doesn't have too much organic debris or roofing shingle grit in it. Then you can buy a simple boat bilge pump or a sump pump and pump the water to the run with a hose and sprayer attachment. The city shouldn't have any objection to that.

We were on water rationing a couple of years ago and a lot of the gardeners and urban chicken folks came up with that idea.

Good luck.

P.S. It's not a bad idea to throw a frozen gallon milk jug of water to cool the rainwater down before you spray the birds.

That's a good idea. I have a sump pump.

 

[BrokenRoadFarm]

Quote:
You could use hand held spray bottles instead of the hose. Wouldn't be as conspicuous that way. Would also give the kids something fun to do

What kid doesn't like spraying water at something

 

[Naughty]

i have actually gotten up a few minutes early to water the yard - by the time i am done - the areas under the tree are mud puddles - it seems to help - they also have a nice kiddie pool full of water - the chickens and dog both have been seen in it - so it helps

i spray water onthem in the evening - i dont think they know if they like it yet but they are getting slower to run away from it