Keeping chickens cool in the summer?

[cmarlowdrive]

My chickens have a kiddie pool but won't go in it, but, they will walk or hop across it on a cement block placed in the middle. If I catch them I will splash their toes with water. They don't seem to mind. Mine get frozen watermelon rinds for afternoon snack and frozen muffin tin treats with mint and corn. I have a mister system in corner of run and plenty of shade with 2 fans. There are frozen water bottles scattered about the run and extra ice water bowls. So far so good.

 

[lovemy6hens]

We took the lid off a cooler and filled the lid with ice. They love it.

 

[Nardo]

I'm in North central Texas and we have shade cloth over the coop area and the hens can get out under the trees. I give them frozen grapes sometimes and they love to get into this primitive shelter that we keep sprayed down with water and it is under a huge oak tree. I also have a big fan that draws air from under the trees into the greenhouse and then out into the coop (the two areas are separated only by chicken wire). This is the leaf shelter they like to hang out in.

 

[Fletch83]

I'm in North central Texas and we have shade cloth over the coop area and the hens can get out under the trees. I give them frozen grapes sometimes and they love to get into this primitive shelter that we keep sprayed down with water and it is under a huge oak tree. I also have a big fan that draws air from under the trees into the greenhouse and then out into the coop (the two areas are separated only by chicken wire). This is the leaf shelter they like to hang out in.

I am in North Texas too!

 

[SueT]

During the heat of the day, my free range hens hang out under a hedge. The youngsters like to lounge in front of a fan, and have shade cloth over the sunny side of their run....

 

[Fletch83]

How do you have your fan set up? Do you have electricity in your coop? I'm thinking about getting a fan, but I would need to run a long extension cord out.

 

[SueT]

Fletch83--We did run an extension cord from our barn which happens to be pretty close to the coop. The cord is raised up on poles attached to fence posts so we can walk under it. My husband wired it to an electrical box inside so we can plug in two things at once, we had a heated waterer and a light in the winter.
Altho the fan is in their section, the hens don't seem to mess with it, they come in lay their eggs and leave. I turn it off at night when they come in to roost.

 

[cmarlowdrive]

I have an electric fan on the outside of run so as not to invite an accident. I have a long cord that reaches from house to the run and a small battery operated fan that sits in the window of the coop blowing into the coop. You can get a decent sized battery operated fan, but, batteries do not last long and can get expensive.
I catch my girls lounging in front of the large fan while they let it poof their feathers. They seem to enjoy the breeze and it helps with flies.

 

[Fletch83]

Fletch83--We did run an extension cord from our barn which happens to be pretty close to the coop. The cord is raised up on poles attached to fence posts so we can walk under it. My husband wired it to an electrical box inside so we can plug in two things at once, we had a heated waterer and a light in the winter.
Altho the fan is in their section, the hens don't seem to mess with it, they come in lay their eggs and leave. I turn it off at night when they come in to roost.

I have an electric fan on the outside of run so as not to invite an accident. I have a long cord that reaches from house to the run and a small battery operated fan that sits in the window of the coop blowing into the coop. You can get a decent sized battery operated fan, but, batteries do not last long and can get expensive.
I catch my girls lounging in front of the large fan while they let it poof their feathers. They seem to enjoy the breeze and it helps with flies.

I think I'll set one up this week! Even if it helps a little with the flies that would be a relief...the flies have been terrible this year, I think some of it has to do with how much rain we got in the spring. Plus I'm sure that a little extra air circulation under their feathers wouldn't hurt.

 

[Blooie]

You can also look into exhaust fans for older mobile homes. We live in one of those old mobiles, and there's a place we go online to get parts. I can't remember what it is right now, but I think if you google "older mobile home parts" it will pop up. Those exhaust fans are wall mounted and designed for the much thinner walls than newer mobiles and stick frame houses have, which makes them about perfect for a lot of coop construction too.

Ours is hardwired in (hubby is a professional electrician, which helps!) and we can just open the cover for passive winter ventilation. Then in summer we can open the cover and then switch on the fan, which exhausts much of the stale, warm air out. There's a 6 inch by 6 inch vent in the lower wall opposite and diagonal to the fan, which is mounted up above the people door, and the back of the coop is tucked close to a thick lilac hedge. So the fan pulls the cooler air from the heavily shaded area into and throughout the coop, up and out. It's worked very, very well for us. On warmer winter days (above 10 degrees), we also run the fan to help vent out humidity and bring in some fresh air without making a big draft. I wouldn't trade my mobile home fan out there for anything!


The exhaust fan above the people door....it's open and running in this shot, although it's probably hard to tell.


Open and running.


The exhaust fan off with the cover closed.


The lower vent opposite the fan, taken from the outside.


The vent from the inside before the too-long screws were cut down and the trim was added around it.