Managing young chickens in the heat

[J-mama]

Anything they digest will raise their body temperature. There is nothing special about peas and corn that would make them unusually bad or good in that respect.

Normal chicken feed raises their body temperature when they digest it too, but of course starving the chickens (nothing to digest) is not the solution either. Just provide reasonable options, and let the chickens decide how much of what to eat. (Reasonable options would mean constant access to normal chicken food and plain water, in addition to whatever frozen things you feel like offering.)

I agree that any act of digestion will raise body temp, and I, by no means, meant to not feed them. I’ve seen corn (dried mentioned more than fresh or canned), peas and scratch grains consistently and specifically mentioned in several research resources. Grasses, foraging and low sugar choices are better as they won’t raise the body temperature, should I say, "as much" as peas and corn. I was just sharing what I have found in almost everything I have read. I appreciate your input as we all have different experiences and knowledge from which to learn.

 

[NatJ]

I agree that any act of digestion will raise body temp, and I, by no means, meant to not feed them.

I did not think you really meant to let them starve, just trying to make the point that avoiding all things that can "make them hot" is impossible if taken literally.

I’ve seen corn (dried mentioned more than fresh or canned), peas and scratch grains consistently and specifically mentioned in several research resources. Grasses, foraging and low sugar choices are better as they won’t raise the body temperature, should I say, "as much" as peas and corn.

Were those resources dealing with chickens specifically, or with other animals like horses or cattle? I can see it making sense to feed grass instead of grain in hot weather for grazing animals. And I know that corn is considered a "hot" food for horses (but that refers to their behavior, not their body temperature, as any number of internet articles are happy to explain. Corn has more calories than oats for the same volume, so a horse will have too much energy if it is fed corn instead of oats from a same-sized scoop.)

But chicken food usually has a large amount of grain in it, and you can't just switch them over to grass instead. So I don't think the grain-based treats would make much difference to chicken temperature. It is probably healthier for the chickens to eat their normal feed instead of plain corn and scratch grains, but that is because of which nutrients are present, not because of anything to do with temperature.

I was just sharing what I have found in almost everything I have read. I appreciate your input as we all have different experiences and knowledge from which to learn.

If wrong information is being spread around, it is better to figure out what is right so we don't give the wrong advice. (That applies no matter which one of us is right, and is why I'm still trying to figure out a way to know for sure which way it goes.)

 

[J-mama]

I did not think you really meant to let them starve, just trying to make the point that avoiding all things that can "make them hot" is impossible if taken literally.


Were those resources dealing with chickens specifically, or with other animals like horses or cattle? I can see it making sense to feed grass instead of grain in hot weather for grazing animals. And I know that corn is considered a "hot" food for horses (but that refers to their behavior, not their body temperature, as any number of internet articles are happy to explain. Corn has more calories than oats for the same volume, so a horse will have too much energy if it is fed corn instead of oats from a same-sized scoop.)

But chicken food usually has a large amount of grain in it, and you can't just switch them over to grass instead. So I don't think the grain-based treats would make much difference to chicken temperature. It is probably healthier for the chickens to eat their normal feed instead of plain corn and scratch grains, but that is because of which nutrients are present, not because of anything to do with temperature.


If wrong information is being spread around, it is better to figure out what is right so we don't give the wrong advice. (That applies no matter which one of us is right, and is why I'm still trying to figure out a way to know for sure which way it goes.)

Everything I have read is regarding chickens. Some are popular blog sites, others are farm sites and one farm veterinarian site. I hadnt really paid much mind until heat became a…ahem…hot topic this summer. I guess I should have included "I heard that you shouldn’t" vs just stating a fact. Thanks for bringing that to light. Either way, definitely could be researched more. The heat is insane!

 

[NatJ]

Everything I have read is regarding chickens. Some are popular blog sites, others are farm sites and one farm veterinarian site. I hadnt really paid much mind until heat became a…ahem…hot topic this summer. I guess I should have included "I heard that you shouldn’t" vs just stating a fact. Thanks for bringing that to light. Either way, definitely could be researched more. The heat is insane!

Sites like that are hard. Some have very good information, some have lots of wrong information, and many have a mix. It can be quite difficult to find out which information is actually true (because they might all say the same correct thing, or they might all say the same wrong thing!)

And trying to find actual research can lead to wading through stuff like this:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9393371/
Summary: people have tried changing feed in many ways to help chickens in hot weather, and have not yet found anything that makes a big enough difference to be the obvious "right" answer.
That article discusses many previous studies that tried things like higher and lower energy from carbohydrates or fat, or higher and lower protein, providing wet feed vs. dry feed, making the feed into bigger or smaller pieces, feeding at certain times of the day vs. leaving it available all the time, and so forth. Some things helped a little, some were a little harmful, and nothing made big enough changes to be very important.

I did notice that providing wet feed was one of the things that helped a little, and that is easy to do in a backyard setting (although harder in the commercial settings where most studies take place.)