SOS!!!

[Bawkbok]

Cold water, changed 2-3 times during the heat of the day. We always have frozen water bottles and hard freezer packs we place inside the waterer to also keep the water cold.

We hose off the run - once the water running through the hose cools off - they like to lick the water off the screen for some reason.

Fans and more fans, in and around the run and coop at all times.

Watermelon, every day - it hydrates and they love it. We have not seen a problem with diarrhea as a result of eating too much. They take what they want and walk away.

Shade -- seems like common sense but cannot be over stated. If you do not have trees, you must provide a canopy or tarp cover of some kind.

Bucket of water for emergencies if you have to dunk them (feet, legs and belly) if they seem like they are really stressing. We had 104 heat index today with zero breeze and the fans were blowing around hot air. They were suffering. A quick dunk for everyone and life was good again. Panting ceased almost immediately.

 

[GuineaMania]

Everyone here has great ideas, I also find that watering down areas for them to dustbathe and sit in is very helpful! I would add that some people swear by misters (idk if that would make your set up too messy), so maybe. My flock loves watermelon too! People also put ice behind fans so that they blow cold air.

 

[MROO]

Let me know if they help! I actually have two more things i didnt remember when i postet this afternoon.
Some chickens like frozen watermelon, its similar to the water with berries, good for dehydration and cools them down. I personally prefer the berries tho, because they last longer and you dont have to hold the bowl, which might be the case with the watermelon.
And to cool the coop you could try hanging wet towels over the (opened) windows in the evening and also spraying the roof with water (the same way youd do it on the trees in the run) that doesnt always work, but i thinks its worth a try

No need to hold a bowl for watermelon ... just cut it half and set it in the run. They'll likely eat "the bowl" as well!

 

[Naya]

No need to hold a bowl for watermelon ... just cut it half and set it in the run. They'll likely eat "the bowl" as well!

Yeah, that makes sense. My chickens are already pretty old and cant do that really well anymore, but youre right, for younger chickens thats a great activity!

 

[D Uccle Uncle]

Echoing above comments, enough cannot be said about overhead shade covering as much of the run as possible. The most heat transfer occurs when the sun is overhead; the afternoon sun is not "hotter" than the morning sun, though people often comment about putting up shade to block "the hot afternoon sun."

And as someone said about spraying down the dust bathing area with water, my birds have dug a few divots in the ground under trees. I make sure to fill the divots with water at least once per day. The water seeps into the soil making a cool little rest spot.

 

[dearmeghann]

Misters never really worked for us because it's already so humid. It feels great for the humans, haha! We get a lot of overhead sun, and what everyone said is so true - shade and deep, dense shade is so important. Plus airflow!

Our birds don't free range if we're not there. We have two coops and two different types of runs (one with a hard roof and one with a tarped roof). They've been moving around the different areas depending on the day. They prefer the smaller coop's enclosure to dust bathe, and that's because it gets the most dense shade. The hard roof run has a ceiling fan (just put it up yesterday) and a tower fan that oscillates. We tried to do solar fans, but they can't keep up. We have solar exhaust fans in the coop, and they're decent.

We just put up shade clothes on the hard roof run, it gets direct sun inside in the mornings. I'm not sure if that's helping yet, we'll see when I get home.

Our water routine has been fun this week! Every waterer gets it's own huge chuck of ice. The metal waterer seems to do the best with keeping the water cool - it's also the one in the hard roof run. We give them more ice when we get home from work.

They also receive a frozen Tupperware of veggies and berries to snack on. It lasts longer than putting the frozen berries in their water.

This summer, I've been testing out the brick water trays. I've put fresh water and a bunch of ice to hopefully help cool off the bricks before the hottest part of the day. They're doing okay with it, I wish they would use it more often!

Bucket of water for emergencies if you have to dunk them (feet, legs and belly) if they seem like they are really stressing. We had 104 heat index today with zero breeze and the fans were blowing around hot air. They were suffering. A quick dunk for everyone and life was good again. Panting ceased almost immediately.

How long do you dunk them? It stresses me out when they're suffering right next to their solution!

 

[chicks-with-chicks]

Also in the Raleigh area and it has certainly been hot! Definitely happy to have some rain today to cool things off.
We have a flock of ~50 with two fans to circulate air in the coop. We built the run under trees for the shade, but the humidity here can make the heat so extreme at times. I think the thing that's helped our flock cool off the most during these sweltering NC summers is the misting system we installed around the run. Found a kit on Amazon for around $20 and it has been a lifesaver. Very easy to put together, took an hour tops (mostly because it was our first time) and honestly I like to use it to cool off when I'm filling waterers and checking on the girls. It does require a water source to run, but we run as needed and honestly haven't noticed a big increase in our bill. Our girls especially love standing in the little puddles underneath the nozzles and I think it really helps them stay cool.
We'll also occasionally give treats like frozen watermelon and blueberries, which is always a big hit. This is our 4th season here and have yet to lose one to the heat, praying mother nature is kind to us this season and it stays that way. Stay cool!