Lack of sunshine

[Briars]

I live in Phoenix where it tends to get over 110 for weeks on end during June July August and September...
My yard has one established tree that I plan to place the coop. The only area I can then build a run is along the side of my house that is fully shaded also. I plan to let them out to roam in the yard on the weekends when I'm home but not sure how lack of sun will affect them.

 

[sourland]

They will be fine. With those temperatures, they'll be needing shade far more than sunshine.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

In your area you really need an open air coop. Check with the folks over on the Arizona thread. They have all kinds of idea on how to keep the birds cool.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I'm here in Tucson and I would whole-heartedly encourage you to place your coop in the shadiest part of the yard you have. My girls also free-range around the yard and they spend most of the day moving from shade to shade and avoiding the sun. Even on these recent frigid mornings, they find the shadiest parts of the yard to hang out. The best situation you could have here is one where the sun's rays never hit the coop. CoyoteMagic's advice is spot-on, build an open air coop (you can see mine on my byc page). The cold here really isn't all that much of a problem but the heat is trouble. Also, keep in mind that in our climate they will probably only ever go into the coop to lay eggs and sleep. Be sure to stop in and say hello in our byc AZ thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31227&p=885 And,

 

[Briars]

Perfect! Yes on the open air coop! That was a plan. In the past I had chickens and I only had nesting open boxes in the open air coop. But I didn't have a dog that would eat the chickens so they ran free all the time. So they had their choice of sun or shade. Funny thing was that in the dead heat the hens dug a hole under the nesting boxes to lay. The hole entrance was behind the boxes and I just figured they were going behind the boxes to keep cool. I couldn't figure out why the eggs just stopped till I moved the coop . 120 rotten eggs! YUK!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

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What a find!

 

[perchie.girl]

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I am building an open air coop in the High Desert of San Diego county. I have no trees to speak of so I am covering the top with a silver reflecting tarp. I am going to put horizontal or vertical (still making up my mind) fence boards with about a quarter inch space between them for air flow and shade on the south and east facing walls. We get wind big time so the whole thing has to be as low profile as I can make it and anchored to the ground.

Our temps arent as extreme as yours only 95-105 and the occasional spike to 110-115. But I am considering enclosing the coop a little bit more and putting a small swamp cooler out there. Turn it on when the temps get soo high for the hottest part of the day. The added benefit is they add a little bit of humidity to the air. I have about three now that are laying about in various stages of disrepair so I am hoping to cobble something together from workable parts. The beauty of a swamp cooler is they only cost the same as a 100 wat light bulb.

For chill down spots I used to use bricks soaked in water for my Guinea pigs. I was also thinking of rigging a few cement stepping stones with drip irrigation to keep them damp for. Say setting the stepping stones in a plastic tray and dripping in water in the tray. cement acts like a wick and the stones will be cool to the touch. I think it will be worth a try.

just a few ideas

 

[elmo]

For those of us with extreme heat to contend with, it also helps to pick breeds of chicken that are known for handling the heat. My Serama cross bred bantams manage very well here in North Texas, but I have two d'Uccles that I notice are always the first to start panting on a hot day. A friend of ours nearby with standard size chickens tells me that his big chickens are even more bothered by the heat than his bantams.

 

[Briars]

Yes I had 2 bantams a few years back and they seemed much more comfortable in the high heat days. I also use to wet down the coop and the tarps around the coop when the days were really hot. Freezing milk jugs and placing them in the areas they rested was also a great trick. They would dig holes and lay next to the frozen jugs.

 

[perchie.girl]

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I had Americanas, bantam crosses, Light bramas and barred rocks. All seemed to do fine untill it got around 100 then the Bramas and Barred rocks would stress. The best ones though came from a local mixed bred flock. I purchased about ten from this fellow that was overrun with chickens. My only requirement is they cant be white. Its like a chicken running around with a target on it. The first ones to go are the white ones.

I also scattered about the yard some of those resin tables those cheepo kind that go with the resin chairs. They make little shade spots about the yard. Also this time instead of the open run, I am going to cover it with 50 percent shade cloth. This will serve two purposes Shade and flying preditor protection. And of course ALL water sources will be shaded.