should chickens be panting at night

[rosemarythyme]

I assume it's around 98 outside as well? If so, then not much you can do. I would consider putting a waterer inside the coop if it gets locked up at night (if you don't already have one) just to make sure they can stay hydrated as soon as they wake up.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here are my articles on hot climate chicken keeping and coop ventilation:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

You should have enough ventilation that the coop is the same temperature and humidity as it is outside.

If you show us photos of your coop, inside and outside, and of it's ventilation we can help you get things setup.

 

[Chicken poppy]

I assume it's around 98 outside as well? If so, then not much you can do. I would consider putting a waterer inside the coop if it gets locked up at night (if you don't already have one) just to make sure they can stay hydrated as soon as they wake up.

I think that should be a absolute must to begin with. Not consider doing so? What if you wake up late? If its hot and you don’t get there fast enough? There goes your chickens. Keeping water inside the coop is just about the easiest thing you can do for them.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Owen mine have been panting as well. It's so hot and dry this summer here. I spray down the dirt in run and they've figured out how much better they feel that they come running. It took a few weeks but now they know that I'm not going to drown them and even come out while I'm finishing up. I have 4 waterers in run for them. I even put electrolyte in 1 waterer for them. I do have a fan blowing air through soffit so they do cool down faster that way.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

It's hot here too, and I notice depending on the day, there's usually a handful that are standing on the roost at night, fluffing out their wings and/or panting, - but not all of them, - and on the nights when I would go back to check later, they have all been settled in as the night starts to cool off a bit.

I have three large HWC windows on the three main sides of the coop, as well as a screen door. If it were hot enough, I could weigh my risks and choose to only close the screen door at first, and wait a few more hours to lock it up tight until cooler, darker nightfall.

Throughout the hottest days, I bring them fresh ice to chill their waterers and make sure they are all topped up. Remember, it's good to dump the water and refill the whole thing fresh when adding ice, because the water may have already become warm, which shoots you in the foot. I can also put a frozen gallon water bottle in there in the late afternoon, wrapped in a towel just to help from it sweating. But I always step right in there to check on them, and the fact is, it's not any hotter inside their coop than outside, and on hot, sunny mornings, it actually feels cooler! As long as you are doing everything you can reasonably do to set them up comfortably and keep them hydrated, the panting and fluffing may just be a normal, unavoidable response to the stupid summer heat.