Keeping my girls hydrated in extreme heat

[IamRainey]

We're facing another week of Extreme Heat Conditions again next week. I'm trying to keep my girls hydrated but they're getting fussy and brain dead.

They've always used a 5 gallon bucket with nipples on the bottom. The hens took to it instantaneously as chicks. Now they won't use it at all. They prefer the tiny 1 quart jars with the screw on moats that I got for my chicks. But, as you can guess, I'm refilling them constantly and the water gets very dirty from all the scratching that goes on in my run.

I also have one small watering reservoir with a drinker cup. Everyone likes that very well but even the hens haven't figured out that they need to tap the yellow "trigger" in the center of the red cup to refill it. So they drink until the 3-tablespoon size reservoir goes dry. ??????

Any suggestions about how to train them to the drinker cup so I could get a 5-gallon bucket with them? Or what will lure them back to the bucket with the nipples?

 

[AlderCreekFarms]

Don't know for sure, but when we moved ours outside we also switched to a 5 gallon bucket and they won't use it much. The water stays hot hot hot so I'm thinking it's just too hot to drink, or it makes them hotter or something. When you said you're using the smaller containers with success but are filling them more, I was thinking, that's probably it! Its cooler water? Maybe? Just a thought. I've seen people give frozen treats like fruit in ice with success as well. I will be trying that this weekend myself.

 

[GoldenChooks]

Get a tub and raise it off of the ground with a cement block or something like that. That will help with the dirt. You can put ice in the water to cool it down and offer some frozen fruit such as watermelon or sliced grapes, I'm sure people have better advice but I hope that helps.

 

[GoldenChooks]

To keep them hydrated, I offer water in large dog bowls in addition to the nipple buckets. They can't resist large containers, which keep cool longer. Here is their favorite, a 'pool' in the shade....
View attachment 1492834

Oh yea, good idea! I just suddenly forgot that when I started typing

 

[Kfults]

It is hot here in SW Louisiana. I switched from 5 gallon bucket style to having multiple pans of water I fill several times a day. Sitting water gets too hot to drink in extreme heat. I find my girls need to wade in the cool water to help cool them down. So some of my pans are shallow enough and wide enough for wading. They do get pretty dirty. I have some smaller deeper pans that stay cleaner and they drink from them. I put in a small kiddie pool and thought they would wade in it, but so far they just drink from it. I have to let the hose run for 5 min before the water isn’t scalding. Once the water is nice and cool I refill all my containers. I also wet down their run with the cool water, make a few puddles- they love that, really helps cool them off.

 

[lazy gardener]

Fermented feed or wet mash helps the birds stay hydrated b/c they are taking in water every time they eat. I'm not convinced that nipple waterers are the best choice in hot weather. Perhaps the birds can not "guzzle" the way they do from an open container. I have some frozen watermelon rind in the freezer that I can pull out on a hot day.

You can also mix up some home made electrolyte solution, but if you do so, be sure to offer both plain water AND they lytes.

 

[snow5164]

I love my 5 gallon waterer with the pan for them to drink from , they get good big drink , and yes it gets dirty ,we clean it once a week, we raised it up on a cut tree stump the same size .

You can add frozen water bottles or ice or electrolytes ,

I don’t drink from a straw and neither do my birds those nipple thing are made to keep the water clean , not thinking at all about how birds drink naturally, get rid of it , they’re useless

 

[blackdog043]

If you put your waterers up so they are back height, it will help keep them cleaner. I would suggest something bigger than chick waterers though.

I use horizontal nipples, my chickens don't seem to have any problems getting enough water from them. When they push the nipple to the side the water keeps flowing for them, it's not like they get a drip at a time. I've watched mine drink for a few seconds, just like an open waterer and walk away. I've offered open rubber bowls when it was real hot and most of them just went back to the nipples, so that's what they get to use all the time. Our temps get to the upper 90's and I haven't lost any chickens. I've never used the cups or vertical nipples and don't ever plan to, since both of them seem to have their own issues. I'll stay with the horizontals, since they work so well for them.

 

[Acre4Me]

For the summer we added an open rectangular container that holds nearly 2 gallons of water. On hot days we dump in lots of ice. It sits mostly in the shade (it gets partial sun for a portion of the morning). Since the water is cool in the am, gets heated up a bit by the sun in the morning, we add ice to the water after noon.

They all hang out under the elevated coop in the shade during the heat of the day. I give the wet feed in the afternoon to help with hydration. They LOVE the wet feed btw.

Anytime we cut or eat melon, the rind goes in the fridge or freezer to later be given to the chickens during the hot afternoons.

Shade is important, and I’ve been thinking of getting shade cloth to add to a couple areas of the fence to help keep them cooler.

 

[IamRainey]

If you're thinking shade cloth I'd definitely recommend it.

I got 20' of heavy shade cloth (I think it was rated at something like 80% reduction) and doubled it to extend the roof of my run for 10'. It made a tremendous difference for the morning as the shade in my chicken yard is on the afternoon side.

I may take it down in the Fall. Just to get rid of whatever's collected on top of it. But I can roll it up and put it away for next Summer. It was an excellent $60 investment!