Keeping cool in the summer

[perchie.girl]

I'm in california and we have officially hit 100° weather. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to keep my babies refreshed and cool for the already dreaded summer. All ideas are appreciated. Thanks

live in San Diego but my home is in the high desert.... I provide shade. I also bought land race birds from a local guy. All hard feathered and Bantam crosses. All did very well without extras.

I also had a small flock of Wellsummers They handled the heat very well. Coop construction is important if you have to keep them confined. Lots of space Water in the shade. I also prefer water tubs over waterers... So they dip their wattles in it when they drink.Most I saw was spread out wings and a little panting and alot of napping in the shade during the heat of the day. But that was on days where the temp went over 110. When It got that hot I hosed the whole coop down....

If I saw they were stressed I would do all the things suggested. I am leaning toward the sandy wet area so they can choose to wet their feet. slices of watermelon frozen or not... When I build my poultry house I have a Swamp cooler I want to put in there.

For what its worth my coops are open sided with a roof for shade and one wall as a windbreak. I tarp it in the winter. yes we do get snow but the cold doesnt seem to bother them as long as they are protected from the wind.

deb

 

[PD-Riverman]

I've checked out those Fogg-It misting nozzles before. Their "superfine" nozzle is 1/2 GPM (30 GPH) and their "super-superfine" nozzle is 1/4 GPM (15 GPH). I believe their higher rate misters are 1, 2, and 4 GPM. So setting up a system of fine misters would be a few GPM which really adds up over an afternoon...especially for me with a fussy well.

You are probably looking at the wrong heads(maybe lawn mister heads)----this link is for a 30 head----app 7 to 9 gph(hour) at 30 to 40psi. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mist-Cooling-System-Outdoor-Water-Greenhouse-Mister-Portable-Garden-Patio-Cools/262880299512?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid=2220072&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=40130&meid=41f6a0ed167c405aabff2414f647ee34&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=122485228140

They do not need to run all the time, just 2/3 hours a day or a little more. That's Why I want to set-up a timer to cycle the system on and off ever few minutes. Once the ground is misted---it will be cooler for a while, then back on for a few.

 

[igorsMistress]

I give cold melon, freeze things they like in water, turn on the hose in the evening before they roost to help them cool down.

I too put frozen soda bottles out for them.

We have been working on some shade for them too until our trees grow larger. We recycle old stuff laying around and attach shade cloth to give them options around the yard. They love the old swing. We put it in their favorite afternoon hangout and we keep that area cool by running the hose there so the soil stays damp.

 

[meetthebubus]

You can get misting hose for 10 bucks at Walmart and they have a manual timer for 7 bucks which I use you can turn on the mister from 15 minutes up to 2 hours I do 45 min and then hours later another 45 min

If you leave them on for hours your right they will use tons of gallons a pools worth over a month time but that manual timer is great

 

[EggSighted4Life]

live in San Diego but my home is in the high desert.... I provide shade. I also bought land race birds from a local guy. All hard feathered and Bantam crosses. All did very well without extras.

I also had a small flock of Wellsummers They handled the heat very well. Coop construction is important if you have to keep them confined. Lots of space Water in the shade. I also prefer water tubs over waterers... So they dip their wattles in it when they drink.Most I saw was spread out wings and a little panting and alot of napping in the shade during the heat of the day. But that was on days where the temp went over 110. When It got that hot I hosed the whole coop down....

If I saw they were stressed I would do all the things suggested. I am leaning toward the sandy wet area so they can choose to wet their feet. slices of watermelon frozen or not... When I build my poultry house I have a Swamp cooler I want to put in there.

For what its worth my coops are open sided with a roof for shade and one wall as a windbreak. I tarp it in the winter. yes we do get snow but the cold doesnt seem to bother them as long as they are protected from the wind.

deb

You hit on good points... get the right breeds for your climate!
When I lived in Bakersfield, yes those 110 degree days.. I mostly did not much other than shade and water. Birds were Barred Rock, RIR (supposedly), and an EE. Funny some other states never heard of a swamp cooler.

 

[thewatsonfarm]

I freeze chunks of watermelon for our girls. They love it & it cools & hydrates.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I have a fan in the coop blowing air under roosts to circulate the air at night. I also place a pan of cold water in pen that I refill several times a day in hot weather. Their pen has a large shade tree and a raised coop for shade. GC