Oh my darling chickies.

[Zirallan]

I suspect I have the opposite problem than most of you. My chicks come from a friend who gave them to my daughter and keeps her flock in a temperature controlled environment. 80 degrees year round. I live in Arizona. The temps are still often in the triple digits. Thus far they've been raised in the house. I want them outside. Eating bugs. Exploring. Continuing to harass my toy poodles in a more suitable environment. Not pooping on my living room floor. On the bright side, they are definitely not afraid of small dogs, they sleep with my cats, and they are rather comfortable around humans so are easy to catch. Well, everyone but Zoomy is. Zoomy has her name for a reason.

I'm really just venting. I haven't had a lot of time in the mornings when it's cool to get them used to the outside. My father had a heart attack so they aren't as tame as they could be due to suddenly having more responsibilities (He will be fine, recovery is gonna take a while though). I just want them to be scratching in dirt and eating bugs instead of sleeping with my cats who are supposed to be catching mice not cuddling with the poultry. It's probably going to be a couple more weeks.

I'm attaching a pic of one of the friendly ones taken this morning in my daughters bedroom.

 

[sourland]

Big enough to be outdoors in a predator protected area.

 

[Zirallan]

I've been told over and over not to put them out in this heat and I've known people who have lost chickens to triple digit heat. Most of my experience with birds comes from parrots and I unfortunately have experience with putting them out in an aviary when it's still too hot killing them even with shade and misters. We've got temps in the high 90s to low 100s for at least a couple more weeks. It's just too hot for an animal that's used to being in an 80 degree house. The sun here is a killer.

It's about 80 now so I stuck them out for a bit in a small pen so I can bring them in easily before it gets super hot. Shade, water, and food available. They're picking at the dead grass and if they're lucky they'll find one of the over abundant lizards we have out there. We live in a downtown area so predators aren't a concern. We have a neighbor who has a hen that regularly jumps the wall and takes herself for walks.

 

[ChattyChickens4Life]

It is risky keeping them in triple digit heat. But I would suggest setting up a portable fan (that's what I do) and placing a bowl of ice water for them to drink and walk in. As always, look for signs of heat exhaustion, but I think they should be ok!

 

[hlhutchinson]

I just want them to be scratching in dirt and eating bugs instead of sleeping with my cats who are supposed to be catching mice not cuddling with the poultry.

I know this is not funny to you know but I hope you will be able to look back on this and laugh, because how many people can say this about their cats and chickens.
Good luck and hang in there

 

[Zirallan]

I know this is not funny to you know but I hope you will be able to look back on this and laugh, because how many people can say this about their cats and chickens.
Good luck and hang in there

I find it hilarious. Not quite so hilarious, my boy poodle went to pee on the fence of the chicken run this morning and peed on a chicken instead. I do not envy her having to clean those feathers.

I'm gonna set up a fan and give them some ice water and keep an eye for signs of too much heat. These are my daughters babies so I'm being really cautious. She thinks they were the best birthday present a 5 year old could get.

 

[hlhutchinson]

I find it hilarious. Not quite so hilarious, my boy poodle went to pee on the fence of the chicken run this morning and peed on a chicken instead. I do not envy her having to clean those feathers.

I'm gonna set up a fan and give them some ice water and keep an eye for signs of too much heat. These are my daughters babies so I'm being really cautious. She thinks they were the best birthday present a 5 year old could get.

lol oh dear now that is just to funny poor chicken. One ok my kids our 6 yr old has taken to them he just loves them if we can't find him we look in the coop and yep he holding chickens

This is an older photo but one of my favorites

 

[Zirallan]

I put the chicks out about 7.30 this morning and got busy and didn't check them as often as I should have when it started getting hot. Despite ice water and a fan they were panting and a bit floppy. Got them inside with plenty of water and they perked up within an hour. I feel bad but you live, you learn, and nobody died. Tomorrow's a new day and another 7.30 adventure outside for my chickies.

 

[theoldchick]

Looks like you are going to have to get you an air-conditioned chicken coop! Seriously, you will have to be careful with those kind of temps. If you use a fan, you might want to invest in a mister fan for the hottest part of the day. The mister fan does make a very moist environment so do not use it inside your coop-use it outside.

This fan saved my horse's life. He came from New York and could not tolerate the southern heat. He was so stressed he stopped sweating. He stayed in front of this fan during the day. He's back in New York and doing much better there.

There are several models of misting fans and some can really put out a mist. Just be aware all that water will create a damp environment-soaking everything within reach. Use it in an area where dampness is not a problem. So you want to provide an area where your chickens can escape the mist when they are cool enough and reenter when the heat is too much for them. For added cooling add a regular fan that can really move the air.

 

[Zirallan]

I have an old shed out there that I might be able to rig up with some air conditioning. That's gonna take a bit though so for now it's out in the mornings and back inside for the afternoon. I'm gonna check the temps and maybe try putting them out over night. I've got them in an area that's got 3 foot high grass and they seem to enjoy it until it gets too hot.