Keeping the Girls Cool in 90s & 100s temperature...?

[analyticalblonde]

Hi All!

So I have one mister that I am using during the hottest time of the day...usually around 2 PM to 4 or 5 PM...and it is helping.

I also discovered that in my camping trailer I had one of those outdoor mats that you can lay down to stop dirt from getting into the trailer and my husband said it would be a great use to hang up along the west part of the run. It is porous and is long enough to wrap around the west side of the run. Also, I folded it in half so that there would be airflow along the bottom of the run. The mat already had grommets so I used those to attach with 3 zip ties per grommet.

The girls currently have multiple waterers and two kittie litter trays with water in them. I am still preparing at least six 9 oz. Dixie Cups of Hydro-Hen 3 in 1 solution each day that has been frozen to drop into their waterers. I gave them a have a watermelon yesterday afternoon and by 8 PM there was nothing but the rind left!

I have changed over their feed from grower to layer feed plus have introduced oyster shells and adult grit (I still have the chick grit available for them because the grit sizes are so drastic in size). My girls have not started to lay just yet...they are 18 weeks old. I have put dummy eggs into their nesting boxes and I know they have checked them out because I have found poop and feathers in them. Their nesting boxes are lined with Magjo Pet Excelsior Aspen Shaving Nesting Liners.

I just want to say a BIG "Thank You" to everyone!!!! Every bit of advice/suggestions is so greatly appreciated...

 

[Aschuchert]

We live in AZ, hot hot hot. we've frozen water bottles (2 liter), dug a trench, put bottles in and recover with sand. Girls loved digging them up and laying on them - can get up to 2 days before changing them out and great way to minimize water use since they can be refrozen with a quick rinse.
Also would do smaller water bottles frozen as reusable ice cubes for their water container, what I like is the reusable aspect, the large surface area means the ice bottle stays frozen longer and there is less contamination of their water source.

 

[analyticalblonde]

We live in AZ, hot hot hot. we've frozen water bottles (2 liter), dug a trench, put bottles in and recover with sand. Girls loved digging them up and laying on them - can get up to 2 days before changing them out and great way to minimize water use since they can be refrozen with a quick rinse.
Also would do smaller water bottles frozen as reusable ice cubes for their water container, what I like is the reusable aspect, the large surface area means the ice bottle stays frozen longer and there is less contamination of their water source.

Oh...that's a great idea...didn't think about digging up the ground and putting frozen bottles in! Thank you!!!

 

[aart]

we've frozen water bottles (2 liter), dug a trench, put bottles in and recover with sand. Girls loved digging them up and laying on them - can get up to 2 days before changing them out and great way to minimize water use since they can be refrozen with a quick rinse.
Also would do smaller water bottles frozen as reusable ice cubes for their water container, what I like is the reusable aspect,

That's a great idea!

I like reusable too, except the part where I put poopy bottles into my freezer...don't like cleaning or bagging them either. BTDT, gave it up.

 

[Aschuchert]

I keep a bucket of water, do 1 rinse in the bucket and a rinse with the hose.
Then reuse old plastic bags to wrap the bottles before sticking them in freezer.
Yes, yuck to poopy bottles.

 

[Aschuchert]

We moved to bigger property, we gave it up when we had more space for them to spread out.

 

[kubotafoot]

It was said......"I would think one would need multiple misting nozzles in order to ensure coverage of the run"

I can't be completely sure what other folks use, but I do not use a nozzle on my hose. I use a garden misting hose. One that has perforations throughout the run of the hose and I curl it about in the shady part as well as sunny part of the run. They can then choose, mist or not. It's really fun to watch, as some days the hens and roosters run through the hose area....other days they're like....not me! No shower for me today....come on....do I have ta? They will know when they need aide and they really do have a mind of their own to mist or not to mist!

Good luck with your endeavors. Seems like you've gotten a lot of ideas to ponder. Remember.....not everything works for every situation. Pick, try and choose and you'll see if it is going to work for you. Just the thought you want the best for your birds heightens my joy and remember....in life there is no "dumb question." What is dumb often is the not asking!

 

[mosander]

Here in Virginia it has been very hot and humid! Here are cooling tips:
1. Paint the roof of your chicken house WHITE. We have one of those point and it tells you the temperature. It dropped 30 degrees farenheit!
2. Make a swamp cooler. Get an old kiddy swimming pool, put it next to a fence where you have hung a fan. The air temperature drops 20 degrees as the fan blows over the water. (Chickens can't swim but are unlikely to drown in 10 inches of water)
3. We grow cucumbers for our chickens (and us). I slice up one gallon of cucumbers for 54 chickens, chill them the refrigerator. Get a bucket, some "blue" ice. Pack the cukes around the blue ice and add some ice cubes on top. They are like giving them cucumber popcycles.
4. Make sure there is plenty of shade. Hang blankets on fences or pourous material is actually better as the breeze blows through it.
5. Put some sort of fan in the chicken house for air exchange.
6. Put a block of 2" x 4" wood to prop the nest box open for ventilation. CLOSE it at Night.

 

[trudyg]

My coop is up off the ground about 18", so they stay under that most of the day. I also got 8' posts and shade cloth, so have several of those around the pen. I freeze milk jugs of water to put in the 5 gal buckets every morning, it's still fairly cool when I get home at 5 pm. But, most of all, when it's really oppressively hot, I let them out for the day. They always find a place to stay cool--under the tow-trailer or camper, in the tomato vines, under the tractor or inside the well house (cement floor, block walls, condensation on the piping and tank--very nice!). The only problem then is poop everywhere and then flies. Scar likes coming on the porch to look in thru the patio door, pecking to say hello. Not always an option, letting them out of the pen, because hawks learn quickly that lunch is available. I really should fence in the carport where the well house is so they can be in there safely.