Keeping chickens cool

[Dmay530]

Hi! I have just 4 ladies. They are almost 8 weeks old. We live in a neighborhood ( for now anyway!) so my girls live in a homemade coop alongside my house. I also have an 8 ft run attached to the coop. Where I live it gets very hot-we're expecting some really hot days next week. The coop and run are in partial shade most of the day, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make them more comfortable. They seem to really like frozen watermelon what else can I do for them?

 

[seann]

I read a little and you can put mister, sand on bottom, cold water to drink, shade and even fan.

 

[aart]

Hi! I have just 4 ladies. They are almost 8 weeks old. We live in a neighborhood ( for now anyway!) so my girls live in a homemade coop alongside my house. I also have an 8 ft run attached to the coop. Where I live it gets very hot-we're expecting some really hot days next week. The coop and run are in partial shade most of the day, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make them more comfortable. They seem to really like frozen watermelon

what else can I do for them?

Where do you live....putting your location in your profile can help folks help you.

Misters will work where they humidity is low.-below 50-60% I would guess.

Shade, air flow, ice water to drink and walk in, access to shaded dirt so they can dig in.

 

[Dmay530]

I live in Hemet, California. I could make them a little pool, but I thought I needed to keep their feet dry?

 

[GalaBoys]

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. Also, insulation will help a lot, too. Keeps heat out in the summer, heat in during the winter.

 

[Bethel3330]

Yes, ventilation and fresh cool water are the biggest things. I heard an interview with a guy that's been breeding chickens for over 40 years and he said most breeds can tolerate heat better than cold. He didn't even put a fan on his until over 100 degrees. I may take pity on mine well before then though.

 

[aart]

I live in Hemet, California. I could make them a little pool, but I thought I needed to keep their feet dry?

Shallow water, just enough to cover half their legs. Well, dry is good when the temps are freezing to mild, but if their suffering from the heat some cold water to drink and wade in can help. I think just a shallow pan that's easily emptied and refreshed would be better than a 'pool' per say.

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation. Also, insulation will help a lot, too. Keeps heat out in the summer, heat in during the winter.

It's fallacy that insulation can keep heat in during the winter.....because if you have enough ventilation temps outside are the same as inside the coop...and ventilation is more important than heat in winter.
But.......insulation can help a coop from over heating as quickly inside if it's in the sun in the summer. You have to balance your building techniques with your climate.

Yes, ventilation and fresh cool water are the biggest things. I heard an interview with a guy that's been breeding chickens for over 40 years and he said most breeds can tolerate heat better than cold. He didn't even put a fan on his until over 100 degrees. I may take pity on mine well before then though.

Funny, I've read overwhelmingly most often just the opposite.....and from what I've observed in the last 6 months they do better in the cold than the heat.
I wonder where that guy lived climate wise?

 

[Bethel3330]

I think Arkansas, but I can tell you no one in my family ever put fans out for their heavy breeds. We shall see. He and I don't have breeds with feathered legs. We're going to run power over, though, because I'd heard that as well. My neighbor uses a fan in one coop.

 

[GalaBoys]

It's fallacy that insulation can keep heat in during the winter.....because if you have enough ventilation temps outside are the same as inside the coop...and ventilation is more important than heat in winter.
But.......insulation can help a coop from over heating as quickly inside if it's in the sun in the summer. You have to balance your building techniques with your climate.

Funny, I've read overwhelmingly most often just the opposite.....and from what I've observed in the last 6 months they do better in the cold than the heat.
I wonder where that guy lived climate wise?

I am in Canada and in the winter, my coop is normally 10 degrees celsius warmer inside than the outside temperature, with no additional heat source in use - just well insulated and ventilated. I do adjust the ventilation according to the weather to help keep it warmer/cooler. If it's -10 celsius or warmer, I open the windows. I have cold hardy breeds exclusively, and they don't seem to care if it's -40 or -10 celsius - it's all the same to them.

In the summer, I remove the windows completely (I built my own windows so that I could do this) to allow the cross breeze to go through, and it stays cooler in the coop than in my house.

 

[Dmay530]

You guys are all wonderful! Thank you so much for the info! I put a shallow pan of water in the run-they love it!! Also, I've put a nice block in their water dispenser. I actually sat in the coop for a bit to check the ventilation - seems pretty good to me ( husband thinks I'm nuts now

) . It's so great to have this community to ask advice. Thanks so much!!