It's gonna be a hot one here in MN

[Chickenaddict]

Today the heat index will reach 105+ Yesterday was pretty bad as well. The chickens seemed to handle it pretty well. Today i'm not so sure. I will be refreshing their waterers a few times and adding electrolytes to keep them nice and hydrated. I feel so bad for them out there with their down coats on. I find they dig extra deep holes to hide in lately. They have plenty of shade thank god. Yesterday I opened the patio door and there they were waiting to run in the house and soak up the air. With 37 chicks hatching at the end of the week and 90+ temps all week i don't think i have to worry about a heat lamp. What do you guys do for your flocks in this heat?

 

[jsimplytx125]

In Texas we don't bother with indexes because it's actually 104 in the shade! Been that way all weekend and this week. My poor chickens.

 

[sparkles2307]

Up here in Northern MN its only suppoed to hit 84 degrees. The chooks have a shade tree in their run and a cememnt floor under their litter in the VERY cool coop so I guess they are lucky birdies.

 

[barnwife]

I used to keep my flock locked in their coop until they paid rent...but for the last couple of months I just can't do that to them. I open it in the morning.

The weatherman lies. I have thirty or so accurate thermometeres lying around for incubating...and just to see if the weatehrman was telling truth, I set them out in various shady places all over the yard.

Not a single one read below 104 yesterday, and one was as high as 111(no, it was not in the sun, either).

The weatherman predicted it to be 99.

I go outside every couple of hours to check waters...which actually means change the water so it doesnt get hot and nasty, and each time i mist/spray the chickens and ducks that aren't hiding under the house to give them that sweaty advantage.

Goats, too.

The baby pens/broody pens I put bottles of frozen water inside and make certain they are 100% shaded from all sun using spare bits of anything I find laying around. without dampening the air flow for their pens, anyhow.

We also put honey and acv (apple cider vinegar) into most of the waterers once during the day.

I run a sprinkler on low to keep the grass alive without drowning it and keep the waterfowl happy.

That's it. (lol) I guess we have too much free time lol.

 

[b.hromada]

Barnwife, your weather is outrageous!! I know it gets HOT in Texas, but 104 - 111!! Whoa!! Where I live, its been mid to upper 90's and believe me, its unbearable. This morning we had a major storm come through, I sure was glad to see it though!

About 2 or 3 weeks ago, we had rain all day for over 3 weeks, and I was in heaven. Heard you guys are in desperate need of rain? I hope you get some real soon.

Its gonna be a very long hot summer guys.

 

[barnwife]

Thanks, BHR!

Desperate need of rain, yes. From September till March it rained twice! The ground is so very dry that when it does rain, the ground acts like cement...so it doesnt soak in, it runs away and flash floods... completely useless.

Thankfully, we have a live creek on our property.

(for those of you in less arid places, live creek means it doesn't dry up even in drought)


The chickens are still laying two eggs every three days, and the older ducks are laying six-seven eggs a week!


Breed choice for the heat is your best bet!

The success list-

Andalusians, brahmas (lf) EE, serama, marans, mutts, faverolles, cubalaya, d'uccle

not-so-good list Banty cochins, LF cochins, cornish X (meat birds), barred rock

undecided- buff orps, speckled sussex, silkie, bantam cornish (not cross),

My chickens tell me it is four degrees shy of death and eternity. The weatehrman says it is only the beginning of a record-breaking summer.

the quail handle it very nicely.

Hope maybe this helps, too?

 

[Chickenaddict]

Yep it helps alot... Uffdah on your temps there in TX I wouldn't make it. Of course the majority of my flock are cochins. I will be hosing them off several times today since i'm home. I thought about a huge rubbermaid tub with frozen gallon waterers in either side to give them a temp getaway or just let them lounge by the doors soaking up the air creeping thru the cracks

. They are taking it very well so far but i owrry about the chunky cochin banties especially the dark ones. I have changed their waterers twice already. The humidity is so thick you could probably cut it with a knife. It literally takes your breath away when you step outside. We haven't had much rain here either seems to skip right over us everytime. Sounds like you take very good care of your flock Barnwife! Too much time... nah Just a great chicken mama

I may just tuck them in the 3rd stall garage where its a nice 70 degrees if they get too overheated. Or fill the kidie pool and take em for a swim LOL

 

[barnwife]

How funny!!

One of the contraptions the hot-weather savvy use here is a mister setup....

LARGE outdoor fan...water hose or drip pvc setrup to drip water into the fan setup to create a floating "mist" area...it works very very well here...but with the humidity you are talking about...IDK. They use it in gerogia they will have tents set up in the downtown areas and always during festivals and whatnot.


I might go to this method later this summer. The old folks say they usually dont get temps this hot until late july/august timeframe.

It does seem we are in for an exceptionally hot one this year. Usually that means we are in for a cooling trend soon!! YAY!

Sounds like you have good ideas for your chickens. I have two lf cochins...a gold laced and a partridge. the partridge lady seems to do slightly better than the gold laced. I soak em down three or four times a day, less if its 95 and under.

Maybe you could get away with just making a breezeway for your chickens... a tarp supported to make the tunnel...and a fan on one end.

The mister might not work for you, but the wind tunnel doesnt work here.

Forced-movement hot air still feels like hot air...the movement doesnt help!! I grew up along the great lakes, though, so I understand the humidity thing, too...that the air just didn't MOVE was the biggest problem!

I hope you find a good solution!

 

[michickenwrangler]

Hot here in Michigan, too. Because of the Great Lakes, we usually don't get as hot as Minnesota. My gals are sacked out in their pine needled lined coop. I had a tough time keeping the dog out of the pond. We've had a fairly cold spring thus far ... I actually need a few days like this so my peppers and tomatoes will grow! This is the first week where the temps are above 50 degrees at night!

 

[Chickenaddict]

I guess there is no happy medium, I was complaining when it was 40 below and now its too hot lol. The weather has been unusually cooler until now. One extreme to another is no fun. The chickens survived with lots of cold showers, Electrolyte water and foot soaks in the kiddie pool

Tomorrow I will be making a mini cool room out of a rubbermaid tub I have out in the yard and 2 frozen gallon water jugs. The windows finally stopped dripping dew so the humidity must have dropped a bit. It gets harder and harder to deal with these temps as i get older Thank god for central air!