Poultry dying in 100-plus weather

[rufus]

We have had temperature in excess of 110 just about every day for the last month. My chickens take it in stride. It is important to have lots of water available in the shade so that it doesn't get real hot.

Have multiple water sources so that if one gets knocked over there are others available.

Also, I have a large shallow pan filled with water that the chickens can walk in every once in a while. This seems to cool them off. They really like it.

Also, set the lawn sprinkler off two or three times a day. The chickens really like the damp earth. They like to hang around in the shade of the citrus trees and dig up the soil.

I found a hidden nest with 24 eggs in it. Some of them had started to incubate just with the ambient heat. Most were really rotten though.

Rufus

 

[ninjapoodles]

I got really worried last week. This was the scene the day I had to haul hay:

We've put fans in the runs for the chickens and turkeys--the turkeys definitely seem more bothered. I don't have any meat birds, chicken or turkey, but I do have Orpingtons, Marans, and then Narragansett turkeys, all breeds developed in cooler climes than Arkansas, so I worry. They seem to be doing OK, but they go through water FAST, and do a lot of panting and a lot of "spreading out" on the ground, trying to maximize contact between their skin and the cool earth. I'm seeing a lot of this:

I hate that they have to pant so much to keep cool. We're going to try installing a mister next. They're definitely MUCH more comfortable when they're out free-ranging. They stick to the deep shade, and move slooooowly.

 

[bayouchica]

I've had a time trying to keep my chickens& ducks cool here. I lost one year old hen to the heat.
I've been mixing V&E,freezing milk jugs,using soaker hoses to try to keep them cool. We are sooo ready for some cooler days. Plus we need desperate for a good rain.

 

[verycherry]

They really do seem to enjoy laying in and playing in the dirt that we wet down at the end of the coop and also a shady spot near the barn. I think that's what has gotten them through. I'm going to go wet it down again around noon.

....but I'm also going to hope and pray we get that rain we've been told we'd get today, but the last few have missed us. Except for one small shower, it hasn't rained here in so long it's unreal. Is it global warming? It feels like Arizona out there!

 

[dogzrule5]

Every day that I go home, I'm relieved to find all my chickens still alive. They are so hot though and pant pretty heavily till evening.

They free range and have access to shade but it's still very hot. They have lots of fresh water with electrolytes in them and a fan hung at ground level in the barn.

I've lost chickens to heat like this before though. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the summer.

 

[hooligan]

I hear ya, we are supposed to get a cold front which will bring temps down to the lower 90s and tomorrow is supposed to have a high of 90...plus today we have a 50% chance of rain...which means I won't have to run the MistyMate outside

 

[Smoky73]

Thats so sad for those birds. We have had over 100° weather here for several weeks, my two main coops in the chicken house stayed around 110°
I had to confine the white silkies to the house because they get lost outside and dehydrate in the sun. I gave cold water every day and added Avian Super Pack vitamins to the water- its supposed to be prime for periods of stress in extreme weather.

Only in the low 80's this week, which is a nice change. It rained like gangbusters last night, need to go out and make sure no one was caught outside. I know I had all the windows open in the coop, but, I figure it will dry out pretty quickly if the rain made it inside.

 

[penelope77]

i've lost four rabbits to heat this week and they had frozen bottles. my birds, lgd, chickens, ducks and goats are all under the house. my hubby left a little hole for them to get under there for the summer when he was fixing it. very nice since he said he was gonna seal in the ducks!! he was just messing with me. but i pointed out that aside from our one tree on this chunk of land that under the house is the only pace they have to get cool. sure we have shelters but they aren't nearly as cool as under the house. they all have their sections where they sit under there too. same spots everyday. one good thing about the heat though is that the goats aren't getting in to trouble. we finally got rain during the night and it is raining now so the ducks are very happy. i really hope it stays like this all day. we all needed a break from the heat. i can't wait till it cools off. i haven't gotten an egg is three weeks!

 

[gritsar]

Hooligan, we passed the "T" plant yesterday and most of the chickens that were still on the trucks in the receiving sheds looked dead. Keith tells me that the newer commercial houses feel air-conditioned compared to the outside right now, so I imagine it was a double shock for the chickens that were caught yesterday.
Four years and I'm still not acclimated to Arkansas summers and I spent a good part of my growing up in Florida!
The best solution we could come up with for our chickens is to let them free-range throughout the entire daytime hours as opposed to being in their pen with fans blowing. Kitty is spending her days indoors while they free-range. Keith said this was fine as long as she didn't try to sleep on the bed. Well, Keith is asleep and Kitty is asleep at his feet. I'm not going to tell him this when he wakes up. I'm also not gonna tell him that I just saw Zeus attack the shiny new paint job on his truck either. Not my fault Keith waxed it so well the stupid roo can see his reflection.

 

[hooligan]

Those commercial houses are still hot though, they gotta be. I have my ac unit in the living room set to 66 and if I move I break out in a sweat LoL
Well if you see any of those birds that have exaped, don't forget to pick them up for me...you know I'll come and get them

Bridgette is living it up in the house right now and is getting very demanding. She knows who will give her food she isn't supposed to have (Lucas) and will make so much noise when he's there by himself. I can walk in and it all stops LoL The cat keeps sleeping with her but today she pecked him til he got out of her playpen. She hasn't laid an egg in almost 2 wks so maybe she's getting cranky....
For the fellow Arkies, has anyone gotten rain yet>?
Still nothing here