my chickens are hot and phanting , but they do NOT WANT TO LEAVE THE..

[ohiofarmgirl]

you can try hosing down the COOP if not the hens themselves. this will cool it a bit. you can also put a sprinkler on in hen yard - we hose down the grass for ours.

also did you see the hot weather tips about putting frozen bottles of water in there with them??? gatorade in the water? fans are a great way to get the heat out - point the fan OUT of a window door etc and when the day starts to cool reverse it so it blows the cool air in.

make sure you get up EARLY tomorrow and get them out. do they have lots of shady spots to hide under? tall grass? can you put some tables out there they can get under?

can you get ahold of the duck and put in her a kiddie pool or big tub of water? we use those rubbermade ones that you put under the bed - fill with water and its a ducks dream come true

some of the old farm wisdom is to do the best you can then make them deal with it and leave them be.

good luck

 

[gottalovemychickens]

well i just went out and bought a mister bottle / spray bottle and sprayed them down i also put a nice big rubbermaid tray like with ice and water which i think the duck will jump in , and why do you say to get them out early ?? So i can lock them out and keep them in the shade all day ??

UPDATE : As of right now they are still panting and not liking it but in my words well im sorry there is no other way i can get you out of the coop . If i keep trying to chase them in the coop ill end up passing out . So the ramp is down and if they want they can leave the coop but their not leaving at all so idk what to do . I just hope i dont lose any of them today .

NEXT PLAN : Im going to get them while they are still sorta sleeping and take them all out of the coop and lock it up at about 6 AM

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

get them out early so they can chicken around in the coolest part of the day AND so you can lock them out - 'your next' plan sounds good.

dont chase them. providing them food water and shade is the best you can do. they WILL deal with the heat if they have these things.

the hard thing is that you arent to the hottest part of the day....yet. i think it peaks about 4. so keep checking on them. can you put a patio umbrella up to shade the coop?? that might help too.

you're doing a good job. chin up!

 

[gottalovemychickens]

i do have a 20'x18' tarp will that work if i cover it up ???

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

the most amount of shade is the best - they dont need any sun today

 

[LaSombra]

Quote:
yes, a tarp would be good if it still lets air flow through, just providing shade. I put up a canopy over part of my run when I locked my hens out and it did make it a lot cooler out there...

 

[gottalovemychickens]

alright , see the problem im having is the coop is getting to hot , so i went out and bought a new tarp that the sun bounces off of and its rain proof and all this other stuff , so i hope it helps


well we have cooled down 6* from 90* in the past hour and we are looking at high 40's for our low tonight

 

[LaSombra]

Quote:
sounds like a good deal all around then. Good luck!

Mine made it through the heat a few weeks ago when the hottest day was 111'F with 60% humidity. Most days that week were over 100'F. It was very out of the ordinary for here (Pacific NW), but I took the advice on here of shade, frozen milk jugs of ice, foot baths for them to cool off in and lots of watermelon... and I locked them out of the coop. I don't even know how hot it got in there cause the thermometer only goes up to 110'F...

 

[gottalovemychickens]

well i just tried to get them all out this morning at 630MST and only 1 would come out by my hands and 1 of them just slid all the way down the ramp LOL but other then that they do not want to come out

 

[gottalovemychickens]

oh great its supposed to be another hot day and the chickens WILL not come out of the coop , ill just water them down every hour