It's hot everywhere How do you keep pastured birds alive, cool and eating?

[jaj121159]

I'm moving my third batch of 150 Cornish X's to pasture today. I have lost several birds during this almost nation-wide heat wave. I have made some changes to how I treat my pastured flock. I am using two hoop-coops and two Salatin type tractors.

The hoop-coops seem to allow lots more air flow. and I haven't had any losses in those style coops. The metal clad tractors are a different story. I have started to cover the metal with white plastic panels. This has kept the metal under the panels cool. I have also started to cover the non-covered portion of the pen with either white plastic panels or blue tarps to create shade for the birds.

How has this heat affected your pastured birds and what are you doing to keep them cool and keep them eating?

 

[burnyourmoney]

I let mine run free and because it is all open farmland down here with no shade, I planted sunflowers, corn and raspberries to let the birds go and hide in the shade. My birds also have a very nice evergreen tree with branches that touch the ground and from about 9-7 all they do is hang out underneath that tree. I don't think there is much for them to eat out in the open anyways. Obviously free ranging like I am and tractors are very different but you might be fine with building a cage in the shade of a tree and then putting them out to pasture only during the cooler times of the day.

 

[jaj121159]

I let mine run free and because it is all open farmland down here with no shade, I planted sunflowers, corn and raspberries to let the birds go and hide in the shade. My birds also have a very nice evergreen tree with branches that touch the ground and from about 9-7 all they do is hang out underneath that tree. I don't think there is much for them to eat out in the open anyways. Obviously free ranging like I am and tractors are very different but you might be fine with building a cage in the shade of a tree and then putting them out to pasture only during the cooler times of the day.

Letting them run free isn't an option due to predators including my own dogs and cats. As far as building a cage in the shade, I can't move 150+ chickens individually into a cage. I'm sure your options would work well for certain situations, but not mine.

 

[Buster52]

Letting them run free isn't an option due to predators including my own dogs and cats.

You need better dogs.

 

[jaj121159]

What can I say about my dogs, they are trained bird dogs. My Lab will retrieve them and rarely injure them. With him it would be a long day of fetch. My German Shorthair is a different story. He would just point and let me know where they are. When the lab retrieves a run-a-way the Shorthair usually tries to steal it from him. He has a hard mouth and I'm afraid it wouldn't be pretty.

 

[burnyourmoney]

I realized that my situation wouldn't be ideal for you with that many birds. I mainly wanted to let you know what my birds were doing since they have a choice. Do they have a coop that they sleep in or are they in the tractors 24/7?

If you are watering your garden you could coil up a garden hose or two etc to let the birds sit on it. That would keep a few cool and I'm sure there would be some pushing for who gets the garden hose. Of course with 150 birds...

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

I set up a mister hose. They were in an open tractor with free access to grass and bugs and they would spend most of the day foraging in the grass that had the mister going. Kept my lawn watered and the broilers cool.

 

[bigredfeather]

After losing 25 FR's last week, I butchered the remaining ones yesterday. I'm afraid they wouldn't have made it thru the next few days here (supposed to be 100+).

 

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Letting them run free isn't an option due to predators including my own dogs and cats. As far as building a cage in the shade, I can't move 150+ chickens individually into a cage. I'm sure your options would work well for certain situations, but not mine.

Hey over the weekend I had 18 birds die from heat because I moved all the tractors and put ice packets in them but then I got a cell phone call and forgot to move the last one (atleast it had the least birds in it) and I came back out and hour later and all dead birds all laying beside the waterers.

the thing I hate the most is that that would have been good income and all the feed you put in those birds was just wasted

 

[bigredfeather]

Hey over the weekend I had 18 birds die from heat because I moved all the tractors and put ice packets in them but then I got a cell phone call and forgot to move the last one (atleast it had the least birds in it) and I came back out and hour later and all dead birds all laying beside the waterers.

the thing I hate the most is that that would have been good income and all the feed you put in those birds was just wasted

It about made me sick to toss mine into the wheelbarrel. I would have gotten about $20 each for them, so that was around a $500 net loss.