It's hot and the chicks HATE the mister!

[PatS]

We have 5 week old Buff Orps, who are living outside in their coop and run. They are dealing fine with the cold nights, in the 50s, but I am worried on our plus 100 degree days we've had this week. By the afternoon, they are panting a little. There is shade for them and yesterday DH and I put in a 5 nozzle mister to lower the temps in a section of the run.

Well, they hate the mister and hide from it. But they hide in the shade, behind a lean-to we made of plywood. Which means they aren't running around in the 100+ degree weather, so that is something.

Has anyone else been crazy enough to put in a mister for their chickens, or are we just being overprotective "parents?" (The folks at the feed store laugh at us, I am sure!)

Did your chicks hate the mister, too?

 

[cmom]

I had a sprinkler set up for my birds but they seem to prefer a shallow under the bed storage box with water in it to wade in.

 

[ke_ben]

My chickens love the misters but I'm at 110+ right now. I originally set it up for my meat birds because they are so big and run hot anyway, but I'm still running it after processing the meaties on 7/3. If your interested I have frizzled NH Red roo

that like to stand under the mister...he didn't start out frizzled but you can't tell it now! I've got mine on a timer on 2 different lines that alternate in the hottest part of the day so 1 spot doesn't get soaked.

 

[Pupsnpullets]

I'm in the middle of the desert and the first year I was here I set up a mister, too. All I got was ungrateful chickens and a whole bunch of flies. It didn't occur to me that hot moist conditions was tailor made for fly reproduction!!

My girls really do quite well in the heat. Egg production stays up although the eggs do get smaller if I don't increase the protein. I have them in a shady spot, have vented panels in the nest boxes and plenty of venting in the main house and they're fine.

One caution, though. I was using covered plastic cat litter boxes for nest boxes and somehow one overturned it onto herself a couple of summers ago. The poor girl died before I found her. Even the venting in the top wasn't enough to save her