Lessons learned while trying to beat the heat...

[sunnie2u]

I have a small pre-fab coop/run, with three young birds. This week, our temps are ranging from highs of 108-101, Sun - Sat. My coop/run is under trees but gets afternoon sun, so I put up a 10X10 Cool-a-roo shade awning Saturday, and I've been experimenting with one of those free-standing misters from Home Depot, on a timer. But, each time it goes off, my three girls HIDE from the water, under the coop!

This time I was curious to see if the higher temperatures would temp them to be under the mist at all. Nope! The only thing that appeared to benefit from the moisture was flies, as it turned my nice, dry sand run into fly nirvana. So I removed the misting system.

I've got solar powered fans on order, and today at lunch I'll run an extension cord back there for a fan, until those arrive. I'll put a cake pan in the run, full of ice, for dipping feet & beaks, with a couple of frozen water bottles.

Anything else anyone can think of, to keep my girls from melting?

Where did you order your solar fans?

 

[L2fly]

Where did you order your solar fans?

I ordered them on Ebay from a supplier in China (I didn't realize this when I ordered). But they aren't all that powerful. The fans are like large desk fans that would plug into a computer's USB port, and the solar panels are like the ones you'd use to charge a cell phone. And they were over-priced... I could have saved a lot of money just buying a large cell phone solar charger and a desk-top fan separately, I think. But they are better than nothing! I also have a box fan on a long extension cord out there for 100+ days, just have to watch the weather forecast every day and make sure no freak thunderstorms are likely.

 

[lazy gardener]

Not an option for all, but when the temp goes up, I choose to let my flock out to free range. This gives them more options to find a shady damp patch of soil to hunker down in.