my meaties are HOT!!!!

[dustyw]

My cornish xs are 5 weekes old and its really hot and humid here in Ohio. Suppose to get worse as the week gets worse. I found 1 dead bird this morning. I put a fan on them, put ice in there water and emptied the ice maker on the ground were they usually sit. Is there anything else I could do to help them out this week. They seemed to like the fan by standing directly in front of it. I thought abought bringing them in the barn, its usually a little cooler if the doors are all closed, but they will make a mess in there. Any help would be great.

 

[The Resident Nomad]

It started to get up to the 100's here during week 6 and 7 for my Cornish X. I think providing a good amount of shade really helped as well as an occasional "wet down" I'd mist them with water so they could feel the cool water on their skin to lower their temperature.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

i know some people on here were suggesting feeding their flock frozen beriies. get em from the inside!

 

[mstricer]

I don't have my meaties yet I get 11 next Monday and 25 rangers on friday. I plan on putting them in our wooded lot. My question is do you have your meaties in the sun or are they in all shade. I'm hoping that the woods will keep them a little cooler it always seems to be at least 10 degrees cooler. I didn't really think about the heat when I ordered them, only the mess they would create. So do you think the wooded acre would work? Michele

 

[al6517]

Mortality rates are something we as meaty raisers just have to deal with, they aren't very hearty in any kind of extreme weather conditions, the things you are doing is about all you can do. Losses are just a fact of life when dealing with this breed, I lose a few every yr also due to you name it they will die from it.

AL

 

[JohnL11935]

We are seeing temps to the mid-90's. The birds are open-mouth breathing and not too willing to move out of the shade.

Plenty of shade and frequent water changes is what works for me. My birds drink out of troughs I made with 10' pieces of rain gutter. The water source is on a timer that flushes and refills them every four hours throughout the day.

 

[jjparke]

When I had mine I would take water bottles and empty milk jugs,fill them up with water and freeze them. About 3 in the afternoon I would put them out randomly in the pen with the chickens and they would love them. The milk jugs would stay frozen until evening. 2 liter pop bottles worked good too. I also put 2 fans on the pen. One at each end to make the air circulate in the pen.

Keep an eye on their combs too. The darker it gets the more you need to be concerned about heat and dehydration. It's a good indicator.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Yep, in the 100's for the next day or two. I started letting mine free range about a week and a half ago when it got really hot. They don't come out of the woods at all! At least I know they're as cool as they can be. They're into their 6th week now...

 

[rungirl]

I'm in Ohio and having the same problem keeping the broilers cool. I froze half gallon jugs of water and laid them in their pen around the food and water. They like to sit on top of them and they keep them cool. I rotate the jugs with fresh ones from the deep freezer.

I also put ice in the waterer, but that doesn't last very long. Another thing you can do if you have time is take them out and sit with them in the cool grass in the shade... maybe wet the grass down with the hose first.

 

[Charles07]

It's "only" in the 90s here.

All birds are getting their water changed 3 times daily, morning noon and late afternoon.

Well or public main, the water is 25-35 degrees cooler than outside this time of year.