Panting? Overheated?

[sebloc]

Hello
I have seen the majority of our 6 chickens with their mouths open, almost panting in a way. I believe this is being caused by the 90 degree weather we have, and need a way to keep them either cool and/or make it stop. I'm worried one of them might drop dead of heat stroke, as we just moved them from our garage into the coop. They are not free ranging, and the run is not done yet. The chickens are of 10-12 weeks of age. Is there some type of cold treat we can give them? Something to keep them from panting?
Thanks for any help you can provide

 

[crobbins2009]

My chickens do this all the time when the temp is >90 Fahrenheit. I'm pretty sure it is quite normal. I feed mine frozen watermelon, give them cold water, etc on really hot days to help them out. If they aren't walking around panting then they are usually passed out somewhere in the shade. lol

Do they also lift their wings up? Mine do this as well when they are panting!

 

[sebloc]

I have not seen them lift their wings up. I may try giving them some cold water, as the water they have may be luke-warm. They seem to be standing around and not really running around, some sitting. The whole inside pretty much is shaded off (one window has sun pouring through it). I'll try this and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[sebloc]

Hello once again
I filled a quart size waterer from when they were chicks with a couple large sized ice cubes, and filled it with water. A couple at a time went over and drank some, and from the looks of it, they have stopped a lot compared to before. Some of them are still doing it, and my only worries are that the dominant male (we think it may be a male because of its large comb+waddles) is taking up all the room. As long as they start looking better, that's all I'm concerned about. Thanks for the help

 

[beb444]

Those are the first signs of heat-stroke if not treated properly. My chickens were doing this just the other week as well. I give them cantaloupe and watermelon on hot days, as well as put ice in their water and increase the water stations I have. We also bought a mister and have that run, it really cools them off. We also filled up a tray with water and dunked their feet in it and it somewhat worked. Hope that helps

 

[sebloc]

Yes, I was going to try putting a pan with cool water in the coop (we can't have them in the run) but figured it would be too messy and didn't want to risk the bedding getting soaked. I have heard this helps, but they have seemed to stop dramatically after the ice cubed water, so I'll leave it at that for now. I hope to finish the run in the next week and have them out by next Saturday. We just moved the chickens in the coop so I also wonder if it could be a problem of acclimation as well as the heat. Thanks for the suggestions