Keep from overheating (cross posted in Chickens) -- HELP needed!!

[CajunWildTurkey]

What about the door, can it be replaced or fitted with a screen door? And Fans are great my chicks and turkeys love the box fans I put in their coop.

 

[Arielle]

Keeping animals/birds cool can be a challenge.

1. Are you able to feed a gruel made out of their feed by mixing cold water into a small portion of feed. Feed only a small amount, what they will eat up in 10 minutes, as it will spoil quickly in the heat. THis isn't always practical.

2. Frozen berries, if you like feeding fresh foods (vs. commercial crumbles).

3. Frozen 2 liter soda bottles: Fill 3/4 full and freeze. Even if they don't lie near it, it will help reduce the temps. I add 2 T vinegar to keep the water from spoiling; that way I feel comfortable reusing the bottle, just wash the outside and put it back into the freezer.

4. Do go after one more of the windows to open it up. Remove the plywood and cover with hardware cloth. THen, if you need to you can cover it. Covering can be a hinged plywood window cover, or attach a cloth curtain. A curtain is a cloth a little wider than the opening and a little longer. Tack it up across the top with 2 long strings positioned one quarter of the way in . These act as tie ups. Let it hang to block air movement or roll up cloth and tie like an old fashion western bed roll.

5. OPen all the windows and cover with hardware cloth.

6. Can you shield the roof from direct sun in any way? Or change the color to a lighter color or reflective material. Perhaps throwing an old white bed sheet over the roof. I've thought about growing pole beans on a tall trellis, for example. Cucumbers might work too.

7. Can you let them out into a run for the day to make use of natural breezes. I use old dog exercise pens. For the ones that try to fly out, I throw a tarp over or old screens and then a tarpto cover a smaller area (provides shade while catching a breeze). You might try craigs list for used items.

Hope one of these ideas might work for you, or help you think of another solution. Keeping them cool is a bigger problem then keeping them warm in the colder months.

GL

 

[tleventer]

Thanks for all the replies. I may need to try more of these as the summer wears on. I wasn't at home yesterday, but by the time I got home, everyone was still alive and seemed none the worse for wear so I must have done something right. I pulled a 2nd fan (a pedestal) from the barn into the building. I also removed one of the windows and covered it in wire (80% in heavy cage wire and the top 20% in chicken wire -- that's what I had laying around the farm). that particular window is a south facing, but with the overhang, not much direct sun comes in it. it also is in the rabbits' pen... building on N and S, chain link kennel fence on E and W sides... so if the chicks somehow managed to get through the wire window cover, they'd be in the rabbit kennel... thus double protected from predators. I also froze 2 gallon jugs of water and put them in there. Someone had fun because the 1 jug had a couple small holes in it and was mostly empty when I checked on them last night.

The roof is metal. There are 2 roof vents... wish they were electric so they'd draw the heat up and out. they might be, but there's no longer electric in that building. Hmmm... may need to check. if they are, running electric to the building moves up on my farm To-Do project list.

 

[silkeysandra]

Just went shopping for mister ideas--home depot here is out of mist appliances so we went next to Northern Tool off I20 & Great SW Pky. Got a cool (literally) mister attachment that zip ties onto a fans wire front for 12 smackers! Bought their small black wire front fan for 29, and walked out with a non-oscillating outfit for under 50 bucks!
The mister might fit any fan like a box fan or other you have already. We only had a big box fan but for garage cooling, so another fan was needed. Works fabulous! might sit with chickeys just to enjoy the mist myself!
thout you all would want to know!