Temperature extremes

[RobP]

I am new to this and just starting out. I was planning a coop and run and realized that the area where I have the most room for this is pretty wide open to the elements. I live in southern NH so it can get pretty cold in the winter but I am also concerned with the summer. There is almost no shade in the area I was planning for the coop and run. In the summer months it can get well into the 90s with the sun beating directly on this area for most of the day. Should I rethink this plan or are chickens pretty tolerant to heat? I know I need to keep them inside and at a controlled temperature until they are grown but I'm worried about the temperature extremes once they are grown. Thanks and I look forward to learning and sharing with all of you.

 

[ericatdallas]

Disclosure: I'm new to this too and it's my wife's chickens. I just help out.

We live in upstate New York and our coop is in the middle of a field. We don't run a heater either. I think they'll be fine as long as you let them feather out . They survived the winter with no problems and no external heat source.

Our coop wall is --- wood siding, tar paper, OSB. The chickens huddle together in the nesting boxes.

The temperatures don't get very hot over here but last year the chickens liked to hang out under the trees. We also have an overgrown grape trellis that provide a lot of shade and apparently the chickens found a lot of snacks under there and it kept them cool.

So we let our chickens free range. Completely. To the point where they've crossed the street into our neighbor's yard. However, this year we plan to fence them in because we're sick of poop everywhere and we're adding ducks.

One of the things I'm doing is adding a couple of apple trees around their coop. This will provide shade in future years. I'm also going to build a trellis for the grapes for them to hang out at (replicate what we have in another part of the yard but probably better maintained).

At the end of the day, chickens will do what they have to do to survive. Just provide them some shelter and some outside shade with good air flow and you should be fine.

Adding trees might help in the winter too since it may also break the wind.

 

[RobP]

Thanks, ericatdallas! I think I'm going to need to find some way to provide some additional shade. Maybe extend the roof of the coop over at least part of the run to keep the sun off the front of the coop and provide a shady area in the run. Fruit trees and grapes are a good idea too though.

 

[adkhunter1590]

Just put a roof over the run somehow to give them some shade. They will be fine in your areas temps. I'm also from NY and go from -20 to almost 100 in summer. Provide as much shade as you can by either building it or planting it. Winter time they don't need any extra heat. Just make sure they have good ventilation and no drafts at roost level.

Planting trees will help a lot with shade and wind break. Plus it's always nice to have some good looking trees to spruce up your property!


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[aart]

Heat is harder for them to deal with than cold is.
Building your coop a couple feet(so you can get under if you need to) off the ground can provide great shade and cool earth to dig into.