My Heat Management Trials

[LarryPQ]

Yea it finally hit 100 yesterday, which is kinda late for Phx, but all it means is it will still be 105 while we are trick-or-treating.

YAY for 6 months of torture!

No if my DH would just get his junk out of my side of the garage. The heat is barable unless you don't have covered parking....

 

[mdbokc]

Shade, mister and wading pool.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Do your chickens that are panting have shade or are they in the sun?

As long as it's not over 100, I haven't had a problem with my chickens handling the heat. Mine handle the 90s fine, even with high humidity. I don't see them panting. They always have lots of water and lots of shade. They can walk in their outdoor water bowls if they want to, although I don't see them do that, usually.

I think large areas of shade are a little cooler than tiny areas of shade, too. Our areas of shade are from the trees or a building, so maybe that is blocking more of the heat and providing a cooler shade, than something like a thin tarp. I'm not sure. Whatever the reason, it works for them.

I loved the drier heat in Texas, but once it starts getting above your body temperature, even dry heat gets bad in a hurry. I don't envy the people living where the summers are that hot! I remember being totally wilted when it was 114 degrees. I didn't have ac. I used to lay in the bath tub in water that was straight out of the cold water faucet. It was warm, too, but not as hot as the air. We gals of Irish descent need colder weather!

 

[Red Maple Farms]

When I was in the US Army stationed in Honduras, Central America I saw free range chickens running all over the places in the small villages. Temperatures were regularly over 100 degrees F in afternoon during the dry season, and the chickens seemed fine.

 

[Airilith]

We picked our coop location carefully. It's got trees all around if for lots of natural shade. I just think that they're trying to adjust to the 20+ degree increase from one week to the next. They're not distraught. I'm just a momma of pampered poultry. Haha!

I'll have to look for a mister setup. And you know my chairs going right under if for my comfort as well. Hehe!

 

[LarryPQ]

A chair in a cool area is really just a poop collector!

My chickens started panting and sleeping with their wings out last weekend. 85 degrees and the poor dears need pampering. We are in process of finishing the run---and I may put in a mister system, but I will probably look for a small re-circulaing used fountain on CL instead. Something they can walk or lay in if they want. For me a mister on a timer still just wastes water. A small fountain with a pool would probably have less evaporation --provided I put it in the shade.

This thread kicked me into gear with preparing for summer. I started looking for good shade bushes to plant along the run, and even lowered the shades (I got them free at a garage sale

)

The open-air coop


Big, open nesting boxes:


The movable roosts: (here in the breezeway)


The shades:

I took down the shower curtains a while back (for winter wind & rain) and will put up the regular cheap curtains for the summer. It allows for good airflow, but blocks direct sunlight.

Possble fountain:

You can find fountains all day long on CL---but I may just make one. The DH used to make "fake" concrete boulders & waterfeatures. We still have all the stuff, but I am kinda lazy

 

[elmo]

I had a mini panic attack yesterday when I noticed my two broody hens panting in their nestboxes. Each had already hatched some chicks but were waiting on more to hatch. The run I have them in is open sided, roofed, with removeable partial side panels. I have shade tarp up on the west side, too. But it was still too hot for them by mid afternoon with the sun. We hit the low 90's here in North Texas yesterday.

I took the lids off the storage bins that I'm using as nestboxes to see if that would help. It helped some, but not enough. So I moved the nestboxes with the hens and their broods in them into our chicken tracter parked in full shade in our backyard. That did the trick. One hen was so thirsty she got off her nest and gulped down water. We were able to spot a pipped egg behind her. Once she had satisfied her thirst she jumped back in the now cooler box and settled in again.

I am very glad I have moveable nestboxes. Whew.

 

[Carenm]

Thanks for this thread. My poor chickens are sweltering. It's 96 here and they were all in their coop where it has to be over 100. I have a mister going out in the run, frozen water bottles and watermelon they are not fond of and there they are in the coop?? I tossed their fuzzy butts outside and made them get wet. They seem to be doing better.


Why would they hide in the coop when its hotter in there???

 

[tfalls3]

It's 96 in the shaded part of my girls run today, I've tried the frozen 2L of water, they freak out and stay away from them. Today I made a swamp cooler ( frozen 2L in a bucket with a fan blowing cool air) again crammed in the corner to steer clear. They pant like crazy, they usually love their frozen watermelon but haven't been interested in 2 days. They seem fine as long as they can be free range, but we have a ton of hawks in the area and I can't be outside all day with them. Plus I have 3 kids and a dog who all want to follow them around