Fire Ant Farm
Get off my lawn
We can have temps almost up to 86F in the "winter" here, so I also take exception to the over-86F-likely-heat-stroke. And yes, panting and wings out is a normal cooling behavior, provided the bird is still walking around acting normal/coordinated.
I have found it can be very breed specific (some really don't do well in heat), and also a hen who has a big fat layer is more susceptible. I have Naked Necks that have panted more early in the heat season than my fully feathered Mediterranean-breed birds (The NNs have bigger bodies, the others more surface area.) By mid to late summer they have adapted, I watch them most now, when it first starts to get really hot.
Because my climate is so hot, and I need chickens who can handle that heat without heroic measures, I limit my interventions to having pans of cool water out, which I will top off with ice to keep cool if they heat up in the afternoon if it's super hot - they like to stand in them. We have low humidity, so I use misters, but ONLY if it's over 95F consistently (about 2 or 3 months here). Other than that, I provide shade and they also find their own.
If one does seem too hot, or particularly miserable, I will pick them up and place their feet and legs in cool (not cold) water. and hold them standing there for a few minutes. I've had them actually completely stop panting after a minute or two of this. (Some learn to do it themselves, others I have had to put them there.) If they are in serious trouble you can dunk them in a 5 gallon bucket (not the head! Just body) of cool (not cold) water. Some recommend having one filled and ready/accessible if it's particularly hot or you are particularly worried about how they are doing. I've never had to do that.
- Ant Farm
I have found it can be very breed specific (some really don't do well in heat), and also a hen who has a big fat layer is more susceptible. I have Naked Necks that have panted more early in the heat season than my fully feathered Mediterranean-breed birds (The NNs have bigger bodies, the others more surface area.) By mid to late summer they have adapted, I watch them most now, when it first starts to get really hot.
Because my climate is so hot, and I need chickens who can handle that heat without heroic measures, I limit my interventions to having pans of cool water out, which I will top off with ice to keep cool if they heat up in the afternoon if it's super hot - they like to stand in them. We have low humidity, so I use misters, but ONLY if it's over 95F consistently (about 2 or 3 months here). Other than that, I provide shade and they also find their own.
If one does seem too hot, or particularly miserable, I will pick them up and place their feet and legs in cool (not cold) water. and hold them standing there for a few minutes. I've had them actually completely stop panting after a minute or two of this. (Some learn to do it themselves, others I have had to put them there.) If they are in serious trouble you can dunk them in a 5 gallon bucket (not the head! Just body) of cool (not cold) water. Some recommend having one filled and ready/accessible if it's particularly hot or you are particularly worried about how they are doing. I've never had to do that.
- Ant Farm
