Managing Heat in Florida Flocks

[RudyChristina7]

Hiya! I grew up with chickens and turkeys in Alaska, and I've since moved to Florida. I'm currently planning to build a coop and design a flock of turkeys (tom and hen) and chickens (hen only).

I feel confident with what I've come up with so far, but I've hit a HUGE road block... How do I keep my flock cool in Florida summer? Insulation and heat lamps solved Alaskan winters, but heat is more challenging.

I'm planning a 6x8 walk in coop made primarily from sealed plywood, frame wood, and vinyl floor. I'm not sure what to do for the roof to help keep it cool, or even how to construct it, and I need some day-long cooling solutions. I'll give them cold water, fruit, and hose-downs, but I work full time and need something to sustain them. The run will likely be chain link (is this okay?), And I DEFINITELY want to construct a hard cover for it, but I don't know how to do that, either. Finally... I intend to have hardwire cloth-covered windows, but I don't know much air flow the coop needs, if I needed to lock the flock up during the day for any reason.

Extra credit: any tips on hurricane prepping a coop?

 

[Ribh]

Shade is your friend. I'm sub~tropical & we have had a scorcher of a summer here so build your coop in the coolest part of the yard where it will get plenty of shade & any breezes. You may be able to install a fan or a mister or [not sure what these are called in your part of the world] a whirly~gig thingy on the roof that draws out hot air. Might be expensive. Insulation would help but again how much expense can you afford? I use frozen water bottles in the coop itself on really hot days & nights & my chooks will cuddle up to it for the cold air.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Plenty of shade and ventilation.....
During extreme heat, be sure to provide plenty of cold water and maybe a fan or mister. I like putting fresh fruit and veggies in a bowl of water, freeze it and then give it to my flock to provide them with something cold and to ensure that they stay hydrated.
I put a baby pool in the run with lots of fresh top soil for dust bathing as well.
Good luck with preparing for your upcoming flock!

 

[aart]

I use an occasional dose of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes/vitamins...
....ever since it saved a heat stroked hen.

I need some day-long cooling solutions

This has worked the best of anything I've tried:

Make room in your freezer:

 

[123RedBeard]

Get rid of the idea of plywood walls ... well ... maybe, just one ... 3' over hanging roof on East, South, and West sides ...

For the walls get some "horse panels" ... like "cattle panels" but have consistently spaced wires to create a 4"X4" mesh ... comes 5' tall, and 16' long (easy to cut with bolt cutters) some areas of the country have "sheep" panels ... sames sized except only 4' tall ... usually 3/16" - 1/4" thick "wires" ... then put what ever type of smaller fencing on it depending on your predators ...

Coop in shade of trees will also be good, roof over hang will provide shade, but also keep rain out ...

Either pour concrete footings, or foundation, bolt base to that, and/or put cable to anchors screwed into the ground, simular to the dog stake outs, but heavier duty.

 

[N F C]

I raised my first flock in north central FL. Some of the things that worked well for me:
* Shade, as much as possible. Both natural and man-made
* Box fan set up high in the coop (not to blow directly on the birds but to help with air movement
* Lots & lots of ventilation
* The coop solid outer doors would be replaced with screen doors made of hardware cloth
* Extra waterers and ice blocks in them
* Frozen treats
* Hosing the run floor down several times a day

 

[spook]

We made it through our first summer in Florida heading into our second. I found that the fresh water, frozen foods make the best snacks, also our coop is a carport wired in, open 2 1/2 sides open. We free range and for our bird, we feel they will find the cool spots.

 

[123RedBeard]

@cmom ... she has a bunch of birds in FL ...

-----------------------

This is similar to what "horse panels" I bought at my local feed store, except mine was 4 gauge, not 6 ... about the same price as TCS 10 miles farther away ... 5' X 16' https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/utility-panel-5-ft-x-16-ft

This is the sheep ... only 4' tall X 16' long ... https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/feedlot-panel-sheep-goat-16-ft-l-x-48-in-h

I like the consistent 4" squares ...

 

[cmom]

Yes, I live in Florida and have usually around 200 birds and during hatching time as many as around 500. All of the pens have shade trees and rain/shade tables to get under. We live near Ocala.

 

[Acre4Me]

Open, yet protected comes to mind. So, solid wall(s) to protect from prevailing wind/rain, but open walls with HWC anywhere/everywhere feasible. Roof overhangs to provide shade to any walls. Roof raised a bit to allow airflow under any eaves (rather than closing them in as for a home, but cover the openings with HWC. Some people mention using part or all wire floors for ventilation, but on an elevated coop. If you build with 4 walls, just make sure you have ventilated the upper portion with a lot of HWC openings, open eaves, and open windows (HWC).

Can build shady areas in the run area if you don't have natural shade: pallet leaning against a wall, potted bush/tree/vine, shade cloth on the fence, roof over part or all of the run, etc.

We don't have quite the Florida heat here, but found that our elevated coop is exactly where they all hang out in the hottest part of the day. Our coop is 2.5' above ground. We are putting up a roof over the run too. We used ice in their water and provided them with open water containers so they could easily drink lots of water. The run is chain link, and we are thinking of adding shade cloth or those chain link "privacy" inserts for the side that faces directly south, and is very hot in that area.

With regards to ventilation, if you have electric in the coop, you can install a fan to pull air out of the coop. Chickens are dusty, so a fan intended for dusty environments would lessen the fire hazard and prolong the life of the fan. We added a thermostat for our heat lamp to turn on at certain temps. However the thermostat we picked has two plug-ins, one for a cooling item and one for a heating item. So, if I were to add a ventilation fan, I could have it plugged into the thermostat and it would not turn on until the coop temp reached say 85F (or whatever I programmed in). These thermostats are popular to use for making beer and growing mushrooms (according to the reviews I read), and some people with chickens.

Don't forget to pick breeds that handle hot weather well.

Good Luck!