Surprise! Keeping chicks cool in hot weather ideas?!?!?

[Cojaem]

I know it's January, please bare with me

, I like to be prepared! Just started my very own flock of six buff orpingtons about 3 months ago! I realize this probably isn't the best breed for where I live but I'm already in love

and I don't care who knows! I live in central FL, so there is always the possibility of a hot day here and there this time of year but I'm mainly just wondering about the summer. It gets hot here. Like *hawt* hot. Humid and gross and nasty. A lot of days there isn't a breeze either. Does anyone have any suggestions with keeping my chicks comfortable? I've heard from a friend that a shallow container with ice water they can stand in is good. True or false? Any other ideas?

Thanks a bunch!

Connor

 

[aart]

It's good to think ahead......I've used the ice water on the feet, some take to it readily, some do not.
Deep all day shade where they can dig into the dirt outside and massive ventilation in the coop are going to help the most...and always lots of cool (not too cold) water to drink.

Use the advanced search and do some reading(alot of reading)
I'll get you started:
advanced search>titles only> hot weather

 

[henless]

I'm from Texas, and it gets hot and humid here too!

I have my chickens in an open air coop which allows for plenty of air flow, when there is some. On those really hot days, I usually turn on the box fan. They really like it.




I will also put frozen water bottles in the waterer to keep it cool. Since we have finished the outside run, it will keep all of the coop shaded even late in the day. I also plant runner beans at the end of the coop which helps to shade it from the South.



I will also spray the deep litter in the coop to help cool things off, keep the dust down and help with the deep litter composting.

The main thing is to have plenty of air flow. A fan really helps with this, even hot blowing air feels better than hot stagnant air. Texas is brutal in the summer.

 

[aldarita]

Henless, you got it just right!!!! Texas summers are brutal. This coming summer will be my fourth one and things get rather busy at this time. Keeping the chickies as cool as we can is a lot of work: changing the water often because the frozen bottles melt in a short time, mixing the sand in their sand boxes every day to cool the hot sand from the top, giving them cold watermelon to hydrate them better, cleaning up the poop around because they drink lots of water to cool themselves and that causes very watery poop, you get a mess in the roosting boxes and run. I don't want to scare you cojaem, I just want you to be prepared to what is coming. Now look at the bright side, we do not have to worry about winter because our winters are mild compared to the ones up north, our chickies do just fine in our cold weather.
On the other hand, we love our chickens and do whatever it takes to keep them healthy and happy.
Aart recommendation is great, there is a lot of info in BYC regarding this topic and you will get lots of tips from everybody in our situation.
Good luck with your chickens!

 

[dana0710]

I'm in east texas and we have hot and humid covered! Lol we have a nipple watering system attached to one of those orange, round water coolers. I save big juice bottles and freeze them with water and throw one in the cooler. It keeps the water cool for a couple of days. I also freeze fruit that I'm not willing to eat, but hasn't gone bad and I will throw a handful of it in the run or freeze it in a block of ice. I save all watermelon rind and freeze it. We have a fan in the run that blows into the coop and I also try to spray the run down a couple of times a day. I'm thinking about getting a mister and putting it on a timer to accomplish this. I have kept shallow tubs of cool water for the chickens to stand in. They will have no part of it, so I dug a small shallow hole in the run that I fill with water and they walk through that.