Moving chickens to coop for first time and temps are in the 100's.

[Patricek]

I have hens that are about 6 weeks and fully feathered. For the last couple weeks they have been indoors in the AC.
I can't keep them locked in the coop for the first few days bc I would probably cook them.
I don't know how to do this and I'm afraid the heat will be too much. Help!!! I need direction!

 

[nuthatched]

Don't they have a run? You'll do have to put them away at night. How's their ventilation in the coop?

 

[Patricek]

Their coop will be finished today. Yes, I built it with a lot of ventilation and yes they have a run. I read many articles that said you should lock them in the coop for the first few days to get acclimated. I'm just worried about the drastic change in temp even if I don't lock them in. Do I have to harden them off like seedlings?

 

[townchicks]

I would definitely recommend acclimatizing them to higher temps indoors first. 100 degree temps are hard on all chickens. If you can, is there a place you can put them with the AC blocked off, to get to maybe 90 degrees for a few days? Is your run covered with lots of deep shade? If not do that first. Generally, locking them in the coop is the way to go, but with chickens, you have to be flexible. In your case, you should put them out with access to the coop, but not locked in. You will have to then go out and place them in the coop at night. They will get the idea to go in after a few days to maybe weeks of doing that. When you do put them outside, watch them carefully for signs of overheating. Panting is normal in those temps, as is holding the wings slightly away from the body. They should still be eating, drinking, and moving about normally. If not, bring them back inside. Ways to cool them off in the run include large blocks of ice in a pan of water, frozen water bottles to hang around, fans, and my personal favorite, misters.

 

[Patricek]

I would definitely recommend acclimatizing them to higher temps indoors first. 100 degree temps are hard on all chickens. If you can, is there a place you can put them with the AC blocked off, to get to maybe 90 degrees for a few days? Is your run covered with lots of deep shade? If not do that first. Generally, locking them in the coop is the way to go, but with chickens, you have to be flexible. In your case, you should put them out with access to the coop, but not locked in. You will have to then go out and place them in the coop at night. They will get the idea to go in after a few days to maybe weeks of doing that. When you do put them outside, watch them carefully for signs of overheating. Panting is normal in those temps, as is holding the wings slightly away from the body. They should still be eating, drinking, and moving about normally. If not, bring them back inside. Ways to cool them off in the run include large blocks of ice in a pan of water, frozen water bottles you for that info! It's very helpful.

I would definitely recommend acclimatizing them to higher temps indoors first. 100 degree temps are hard on all chickens. If you can, is there a place you can put them with the AC blocked off, to get to maybe 90 degrees for a few days? Is your run covered with lots of deep shade? If not do that first. Generally, locking them in the coop is the way to go, but with chickens, you have to be flexible. In your case, you should put them out with access to the coop, but not locked in. You will have to then go out and place them in the coop at night. They will get the idea to go in after a few days to maybe weeks of doing that. When you do put them outside, watch them carefully for signs of overheating. Panting is normal in those temps, as is holding the wings slightly away from the body. They should still be eating, drinking, and moving about normally. If not, bring them back inside. Ways to cool them off in the run include large blocks of ice in a pan of water, frozen water bottles to hang around, fans, and my personal favorite, misters.

I would definitely recommend acclimatizing them to higher temps indoors first. 100 degree temps are hard on all chickens. If you can, is there a place you can put them with the AC blocked off, to get to maybe 90 degrees for a few days? Is your run covered with lots of deep shade? If not do that first. Generally, locking them in the coop is the way to go, but with chickens, you have to be flexible. In your case, you should put them out with access to the coop, but not locked in. You will have to then go out and place them in the coop at night. They will get the idea to go in after a few days to maybe weeks of doing that. When you do put them outside, watch them carefully for signs of overheating. Panting is normal in those temps, as is holding the wings slightly away from the body. They should still be eating, drinking, and moving about normally. If not, bring them back inside. Ways to cool them off in the run include large blocks of ice in a pan of water, frozen water bottles to hang around, fans, and my personal favorite, misters.

Thank you! This is very helpful.

 

[Saveria]

I just read a thread yesterday with some folks saying feeding wet feed helps to keep them cool and hydrated. Just add water to your regular feed and then serve, or let it soak it up first.

If you ever get a choice you can get heat-hardy breeds, too. Good luck!

 

[janiedoe]

I would take them out to the run, for a couple of hours each day, and gradually let them spend more time there.
Make sure they have plenty of fresh water. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra waterer with electrolytes too. I often mix a little food in with electrolyte water. Just be sure to empty it and clean the container each day, so they don't eat spoiled food.
A Mister is ok in dry climates, but if your area is humid (as mine is) it isn't a good idea. Lots of shade helps. If you don't have a large tree or other natural shade around your coop& run, you can use shade cloth or screen, on one or more sides of the run and on the windows, to help keep them cool. You can also make them a shallow mud pool to scratch in.
You don't have to lock them in the coop, since you have a run. You may however, have to put them in the coop at night, for a week or more.
I am assuming that your run is secure and covered.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know where the coolest places will be in your coop and run system. That may change as the sun makes its way across the sky. Sunlight and heat can come in from the side as well as overhead, providing shade just overhead is often not enough. Shade on the side of the afternoon sun is usually a good thing in hot climates.

The main reason we want them to sleep in a coop is that they are usually safer from predators in a coop than in the run. It is usually harder to make a run predator proof than a coop. If you consider your run truly predator proof that reason goes away. The coop can provide protection against weather. Southern California isn't known for a lot of really severe weather so weather may not be a high priority for you right now. I don't know enough about your set-up to know if them sleeping in the coop right now should be that high of a priority for you.

Housing them in the coop for a week or more to teach them that it is home so they will return there to sleep doesn't always work anyway. If you want them to sleep in the coop go out at dark after they have settled down and move them into the coop. I don't set mine on the roosts when I do this, I just put them on the coop floor. They will figure out where to sleep. Your immediate goal is to get them to sleep in the coop, they will figure out the roosting om their own. Be consistent each night. I've had broods of 20 catch on really quickly, a couple of times it's taken three weeks for the last few to get the message. If your coop has good ventilation it should cool down pretty quickly after the sun quits hitting it.

It is important that they have plenty of water to drink. Microbes that can diseases can grow in dirty water, especially if they poop in it, but it takes a couple of days for them to reach dangerous levels. If you have open pans of water I'd change them out daily. Just dump the water and refill them. If mine find a pool of clean water on the ground they often scratch in it to muddy it up before they drink. Don't worry about that, the water needs to be relatively fresh but muddy water won't hurt them.

Shade is extremely important so look at your run to see where sunlight is coming from. Shading your coop can help too. You probably don't have bushes in your run but bushes are often a favorite place for chickens in the heat. They not only provide shade but the leaves give off moisture that can cool the air.

You read on here to avoid a wet run. There are good reasons you don't want it to stay wet. In this heat and your climate it's probably not going to stay wet long enough for those harmful microbes to grow but that depends on your run. One thing I do in hot weather is to wet the ground in the shade to give them a cooler place to go. They often like to lay on that damp soil.

Some of my chickens like to stand in water when it is really hot. Not all of them do but some do. If you set out containers of water try to avoid having them in the sun and try to avoid dark colors. It's not always easy to avoid dark colors but you get solar heating if the sun finds a darker color.

Anything more and I'll just be repeating others even more than I have. They have had some good suggestions. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[FredHill]

Relatedly, I live in central coastal Fla. Temps are running in the mid 70°s to high 80°s. Humidity is in the mid 60%s to mid 80%s. (Can't wait for summer, geez.) I plan to get hatchlings soon and put them in a brooder box inside garage, which will stay cooler, but of course also provide heat.
Is there a time by which it wouldn't be feasible to get hatchlings and eventually move them to an outside coop and run? Because it's only going to get hotter and more humid as the weeks go by. Can you suggest heat tolerant breeds? Thank you!

 

[Saveria]

I like this article okay.

https://farmhouseguide.com/best-chicken-breeds-for-hot-climates/

I would not get dominiques if I was in a hot weather climate, though. Any breed that they say does well in cold weather will not do well in a hot climate like CA or FL, IMO.

Also, the McMurray Hatchery catalog does a great job of showing heat tolerant breeds that they carry. You can view it at their website.