Misting system

[hispoptart]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread where misting systems were discussed as one way to help keep your chickens cooler.
I live in the high desert where temps are reaching 100+ , humidity is very low here at 22% right now, so I know they will help. I'm just not sure where to place them. As you will see in the pictures right now there is some shade but that will be all gone by 1:00 or so. Even where the shade cloth is on the fence, it will not have any shade until about 3:00 or so.
1st pic I could hang them above the co-op attached to the roof line.

Next along the fence where the shade cloth is.

Or along our porch railing above their favorite spot to hangout.

So where do you all think the best place will be?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You definitely need to start with shade cloth. Rig up a frame where you can keep the sun off of them.
You are fortunate to live where evaporative cooling will work.
I go to the 'steals and deals' section of the FarmTek website for remnants of 90% shade cloth at a greatly reduced price.

 

[bluemerle]

I would put it along the porch (they probably hang there because it's the coolest) and then I'd stick two t-posts in the ground at an angle and hang either shade cloth or an old sheet to give them shade for the afternoon. You definitely don't want the sun beating on them at the hottest part of the day.

 

[hispoptart]

You definitely need to start with shade cloth. Rig up a frame where you can keep the sun off of them.
You are fortunate to live where evaporative cooling will work.
I go to the 'steals and deals' section of the FarmTek website for remnants of 90% shade cloth at a greatly reduced price.

Thanks I will go check out that web site, I know they need shade, I feel so bad for them.

 

[hispoptart]

I would put it along the porch (they probably hang there because it's the coolest) and then I'd stick two t-posts in the ground at an angle and hang either shade cloth or an old sheet to give them shade for the afternoon. You definitely don't want the sun beating on them at the hottest part of the day.

Wow, thanks for that idea. It never even occurred to me to do it that way. I've been looking for rolls of shade cloth to go from the roofline over the coop, to the other side of the fence, but that much is pretty expensive. I have more t-posts I can use.Do you think putting the misters above their favorite area scare them away from it? I don't want them to be scared of the coolest place they have.

 

[jthornton]

Anything you do will scare chickens, they don't like change but as soon as they figure out it won't eat them and they can't eat it they won't even wonder about it any more. If you can introduce it with some treats they may not even notice it.

JT

 

[hispoptart]

Anything you do will scare chickens, they don't like change but as soon as they figure out it won't eat them and they can't eat it they won't even wonder about it any more. If you can introduce it with some treats they may not even notice it.

JT

I completely understand that. I went in there today with a trash bag to clean up their droppings I had raked up and you would have sworn a huge monster was coming to get them LOL

 

[hispoptart]

Well the misters I have are not going to work. They are old garden misters that put out to much water. I set them up along the porch rail and the ground below was turning to mud with in 5 mins. So I'm looking at buying some other ones and tomorrow after work I am going to use the others suggestions to set up a shade area for them.

 

[bluemerle]

Wow, thanks for that idea. It never even occurred to me to do it that way. I've been looking for rolls of shade cloth to go from the roofline over the coop, to the other side of the fence, but that much is pretty expensive. I have more t-posts I can use.Do you think putting the misters above their favorite area scare them away from it? I don't want them to be scared of the coolest place they have.

Of course! I used an old gazebo cloth for hanging shade for my ducks - and when combined with the misters, it made even 103 degree weather perfectly tolerable.

Misters do make a faint hiss when they're running, so it might spook them a bit. I agree with @jthornton about the treats. And if the misters make the ground too muddy (even my low-powered ones wet the dirt - but I had ducks, so it was a bonus for them) you can either try increasing the height that you hang them, or make the chickens a little shelter under the misters so they don't get wet. The misters will cool the air around them in a radius, so they'll still be cool without direct water contact.

 

[electrycmonk]

It's fascinating to see several older threads on this topic of misting.
I'm very curious as to the outcomes of the shade cloth at different heights for chickens. With AND w/out misting.