Suggestions for keeping them cool

[pixiedouglas]

The temperatures here are starting to get high and this summer we'll have plenty of 100+ days. We have a raised coop which the run goes all the way around. During the hottest part of the day right now the chicks all go under the coop in the shade and sleep. They're 8-11 weeks in age. I do have some heavy feathered breeds, I'm concerned about heat for the Cochin, the Faverolles, and the Buff Orps in particular. We're planning to build another shade structure inside the run. Basically a two by four stand with a sheet of wood or maybe tin roofing running at an angle down to the ground so they can either get under it or sit on top if they want. The coop door is open all day and when they start laying the next boxes are inside there. They are on the east side to minimize the hottest sun during the day. We do have trees planted, but they won't provide any shade yet this summer they are too young still. We put ice in their water the last two days when it got to around 90 and I have a tin pie pan I put ice in so the water melts and they can either drink it or go stand in it. I did see them drinking from both after we added the ice.

I let them out in the yard with me when I get home in the evening and the first thing they did all week was run to my flower bed which is against the back of the house. The potting soil is cooler there than their sand and they all dust bathed in my flower bed. I didn't have the heart to run them off, not sure I'll be growing much there this year! So at night when they all go in to sleep I wet down the earth under the coop and in one corner of the run so the dirt would be cooler hopefully the next day if they wanted to roll in it. Not sure if that helped or not!

Is there anything else I can do to help them stay cool?

 

[Zaxby's2]

You sound like you have the right set up, but you can also gently spray them with a water hose every once in a while(they won't like it, but it will keep them alive

). It's not a necessity, but they sure do enjoy cold food on a hot day! I like to give my chickens tomatoes. They love it! Oh, and I also give my chickens ice, but I just crunch it up and give it to them for them to eat. Hope this helps!

 

[BooBear]

Access to water and shade is the best 2 things.
Make sure the coop is airy with lots of ventilation.
Tin can heat up. What about using tarp to create shade?
Watermelon makes a fun treat too.
Some folks even use a fan to create cross breeze for them.

Mine have a roomy open air style coop made with our overly hot summer temps in mind. Our property is shady so the chickens have lots of places to hang out in.

Oh, add some bushy bushes too in the yard for natural cover and shade.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

You can always just move to Seattle where it always rains and their is never a concern about it getting too hot

 

[onthespot]

Shading the ground on the sunny side, several feet out from the coop/run will cut down the heat in the run itself, as it is reflected quite a bit from the hot dirt, and bounces off the upper surface and is again reflected down into the run area.

Misters

Wet the ground in the shade

Freeze gallons jugs of water and leave them around where they can lie against them

Watermelon

Fan

Wet shavings a few times a day in the shade, and a fan

Make sure their water is not warm

A low wading pool. I use the 4" top off of a plastic tote, rinse and refill every day. They will drink out of it, but they will also wade in it and cool off.

 

[cobrien]

insulating the roof of your coop and the top of the shade structure can help a lot. they will peck at foam and fiberglass so make sure they cant get at it.

 

[jollyscrapmom]

Last summer on our hottest days, I scattered frozen peas in the run for our chickens. They went crazy over that treat!

 

[pixiedouglas]

all great ideas! thanks!