My Birds Are Terrified Of The Mister I Set Up

[Chcknjnky]

As we here in Northern California brace for our first wave of triple digits of the season, I thought it would be a good idea to install a mister to help keep the birds cool. I ran all over town and finally had to drive to the next town over just to find the mister that I thought would work best. Today is our first hundred degree day and I set it up feeling pretty happy that the birds would be cool while I was at work. I came home to find them cowering on the opposite side of the coop. I turned off the mister and they slowly went back to the other side. As soon as I turned it back on they ran like it was a fire lol.
Is it just my birds that are scared of this or do others have a similar problem? The location of my coop is under shade the entire day so I'm relatively confident that they'll be okay but just for comfort sake I suppose I wanted to give them a way to cool down. Does anyone else have any ideas for keeping them cool?

 

[MagpieDucks]

I have an oscillating fan set up right outside the pen to keep them cool. Plenty of shade, a clean cool coop, and fresh cold water are a must. You can feed them frozen fruits and veggies (watermelon, peas, etc...) as well.

 

[getaclue]

Chck, just keep doing what you're doing. In my experience, radical changes are met with fear, or disapproval. It's radical, since the mister makes a noise they're not used to. It takes time for them to get used to new things like that. Just keep the mister on, and they will eventually get over their fear.

 

[Chcknjnky]

I have an oscillating fan set up right outside the pen to keep them cool. Plenty of shade, a clean cool coop, and fresh cold water are a must. You can feed them frozen fruits and veggies (watermelon, peas, etc...) as well.

I have a box fan out there now. I haven't thought of frozen fruits and veggies, thanks!

 

[chrissynemetz]

I would give them a few days to decide the mister isn't dangerous. Chickens can be so chicken about new things.

 

[aart]

Agrees that the fear factor will dissipate with some time.

Better than frozen foods....
... is a BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.

Make space in your freezer.