Lessons learned while trying to beat the heat...

[L2fly]

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?

 

[SonoranChick]

I appreciate your post, I am going through the same issues in Southern AZ this week. We are having a record breaking heat wave, and temps are expected to climb into the 120's. My chickies are only two weeks old so they are still enjoying the indoor brooder but when the time comes to go out to the big coop, it will still be summer and it will be HOT
I have read about freezing 2-liter bottles of water and placing those in the coop, and I was going to try a fan as well. I like your idea of a pan of ice...even when it melts down it will be cold water so that's good. Sorry to hear that the mister system wasn't doing the job...please update as you find ways to keep it cool! & Good luck!

 

[L2fly]

So I now have a fan, blowing on a frozen 2 liter bottle into the run, and a pan of ice, and some smaller frozen water bottles. Of course, as soon as I turned the fan on, they ran away from it! My chickens are such chickens!!

 

[Stephine]

They will get used to it - anything new will freak them out. Maybe take off the timer fir now nd have it running for a while non stop, so it doesn't scare them over and over. Mine are still not crazy about it, but will move around in the mist now, no problem. See if you can position the mister high enough that they don't get sprayed at but just benefit from the cooled air - 8 feet high is ideal for that I read. If that's impossible just be patient - they'll get used to it...

 

[L2fly]

They seem to like the fan now... and the pans of ice water are hit, I found one of my ladies standing in it, then she would gradually lower herself so her belly hit the top, then stand up again... it was funny to watch! And they all cluster around the pan, even when they aren't in it, so it must help, at least a little.

109 yesterday, today, & tomorrow, 111 on Thursday, yikes!

 

[Grace11]

theres a product called a Miisto. It blows air and has a mister on it. My gals stand in front of it holding their wings out. I had to get a pressure reducer for it because it throws out way too much water...... Ive also just used a regular box fan with a 10 or 12$ mister in front of it, helps a lot. I also put out ice bottles in waterers, Ive seen the gals standing in the waterers, and young chicks will lay down near the ice bottles on the ground.

 

[Stephine]

My girls have finally figured out the pavers in a tub of water heat sink set up - yeah! Now I see them panting hard and walking over to stand on the pavers until they can keep their little beaks closed again and then step off and move around for a while. The frozen water bottle in the nest boxes is a big hit, too. I ordered a new shade cloth for the run - aluminet - and am now feeling a bit more confident for the rest of this heat wave.

 

[Wilson74]

Something I read recently was to put corn in water with one end of a long string and make a hanging frozen treat. This gives them something to play with as they chip away at it to get to the treat inside. 110+ degrees.....may not last long but maybe worth a shot. You can also make a mini air conditioner using your fan and a small cooler with ice. Two holes in the cooler, one to blow air Im With the fan, pushing air across the ice, the other hole directed into the coop or area where the chickens area expelling cold air. Worked great camping, should work for chickens. Also, freeze a huge block of ice instead of ice cubes, it will last longer. Good luck

 

[Stephine]

Something I read recently was to put corn in water with one end of a long string and make a hanging frozen treat. This gives them something to play with as they chip away at it to get to the treat inside. 110+ degrees.....may not last long but maybe worth a shot. You can also make a mini air conditioner using your fan and a small cooler with ice. Two holes in the cooler, one to blow air Im With the fan, pushing air across the ice, the other hole directed into the coop or area where the chickens area expelling cold air. Worked great camping, should work for chickens. Also, freeze a huge block of ice instead of ice cubes, it will last longer. Good luck

Frozen treats are great, but they shouldn't be offered in a way that encourages unnecessary activity. The chickens should be kept calm in the heat and chasing after swinging treats will just warm them up. Just plunk the treats in a dish or two or three to assure easy access for all and add a little cool water.

 

[Wilson74]

That is a really good point I hadn't considered. The extra activity would be counterproductive to keep them cool. The easier the better for frozen treats.