Temperatures are rising!! How do you keep your chickens cool in the coop, run, and or brooders?!?!

[NeedToKnowItAll]

It hit 98 degrees yesterday and today it will be even hotter. It's only May!!! We have set up misters, we have fans, we have tarps running all across the runs for shade, I give frozen fruit and vegetables, and I make sure they have cool fresh water (often with ice added) several times a day.... AND THEY STILL SEEM LIKE THEY ARE ABOUT TO PASS PUT FROM HEAT EXHAUSTION!! We have several breeds, white leghorns, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers, and Golden Comets... the Orpingtons seem to be taking it the worse. They will NOT go under the mister no matter what treats I lay there, and I read this morning that misters weren't healthy anyways. Its crazy bc the research I did while building pur run said misters were essential for hot weather areas . I've also read small kiddie pools with water could cause drowning. So how do you keep your chickens cool?!? Our brooder is on our covered, screened in porch and I have 3 fans running and constantly change their water so it is fresh and cool and when it's not raining they are in their "playpen" outdoors under shade with the fans running too so their not so cooped up. Still the babies seem like they're TOO hot! I give them the same treatment as the ones in the run and coop as far as mister, frozen fruit, etc. GIVE ME ALL THE HACKS, IDEAS, AND HELP PLEASE!!! Picture of some of our babies happy to out in the yard!

 

[theoldchick]

I put frozen water bottles in the water buckets. That way my chickens can dip their wattles in the water to help cool them down. You can create puddles for them to stand in but that can get messy. If you live in a hot climate be sure to pick breeds who are heat tolerant; ones with big wattles and large combs.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Here's my article on Hot Climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

VENTILATION is #1 -- lots and lots and lots of airflow in both coop and run. The usual guideline is 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen but I find that I need either deep shade or at least 2-3 times that recommendation to keep a coop under 100F on a 90F day.

I recommend an Open Air coop for people in hot climate if possible.

After that, shade. If you don't have any natural shade and your coop is small enough you can stick a cheap picnic pavilion over it:

Plenty of cool, fresh water, obviously.

Less obviously, access to dirt where they can dig into the ground to find cool layers beneath the surface.

 

[NeedToKnowItAll]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters.

Here's my article on Hot Climate chicken-keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

VENTILATION is #1 -- lots and lots and lots of airflow in both coop and run. The usual guideline is 1 square foot of ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen but I find that I need either deep shade or at least 2-3 times that recommendation to keep a coop under 100F on a 90F day.

I recommend an Open Air coop for people in hot climate if possible.

After that, shade. If you don't have any natural shade and your coop is small enough you can stick a cheap picnic pavilion over it:

Plenty of cool, fresh water, obviously.

Less obviously, access to dirt where they can dig into the ground to find cool layers beneath the surface.

South-eastern North Carolina. Very humid and very hot from May to about mid-October. Highs can reach 110 with humidity 70%-96%. It's miserable. The minute you step outside you are soaked with sweat. That's what worries me is chickens don't sweat. The only way anyone stands the heat around here is in the water or in the ac. I just set out little pools with about 2 inches of water in them and a few are having a ball but the others are scared of it. I'm sure they'll get use to it in time. Misters are on they have dirt baths everywhere in the shade. Fans blowing and their run is entirely open fence except the tarps on top. I may change out the tarps for something more breathable tomorrow, just need to find something to replace them with.

 

[3KillerBs]

South-eastern North Carolina.

from Moore County in the Sandhills.

Having the right breeds helps. As a general rule, big single combs and clean legs -- though Brahmas are weirdly heat-tolerant up to a point.

I found that my Silver-Laced Wyandotte doesn't take heat as well as the Australorps. I've ordered more, this time from Ideal, whose breeding flocks are in Texas and so, hopefully, pre-selected for heat-tolerance.

They do acclimate, but giving them a shady, breezy place to dig into the ground and rest during the hottest part of the take helps tremendously. I make a point of not disturbing them to collect eggs or even bring treats during the afternoon. I don't want to make them walk around instead of hang out in the cool.

 

[Lor]

It sounds like you're doing everything you can.

 

[Bridget B]

We live in Phoenix Arizona. Our coop and run were designed with the heat in mind from the start. The coop is super ventilated. I have most the north facing coop wall made to be opened during the hot part of the day. Above the walls and below the roof it is open all the way around. The run is open air completely. We purchased a box fan and set it up at the end of the 17 foot long run and placed a mister that sits on the ground in the run at that end. The mister and the fan cool that end of the run by near 20 degrees during our miserable hot days. Last summer we had a couple of 118 degree days and this set up saved our birds. It has been over 100 degrees a number of days this year so far. My birds are not panting and do not hold their wings out yet. When it gets really hot they will move closer to the mister and get some mist on them. That is what saved them last year.

 

[3KillerBs]

When it gets really hot they will move closer to the mister and get some mist on them. That is what saved them last year.

I've heard that those work wonderfully well in dry heat!

 

[rayrose]

Shade, shade and more shade. Although tarps may provide
shade, they hold in the heat and can actually become ovens.

 

[janiedoe]

South-eastern North Carolina. Very humid and very hot from May to about mid-October. Highs can reach 110 with humidity 70%-96%. It's miserable. The minute you step outside you are soaked with sweat. That's what worries me is chickens don't sweat. The only way anyone stands the heat around here is in the water or in the ac. I just set out little pools with about 2 inches of water in them and a few are having a ball but the others are scared of it. I'm sure they'll get use to it in time. Misters are on they have dirt baths everywhere in the shade. Fans blowing and their run is entirely open fence except the tarps on top. I may change out the tarps for something more breathable tomorrow, just need to find something to replace them with.

I do not use a mister. I am in a very humid, hot climate. Think of it as getting your clothes damp, on a hot humid day. You can't cool off, because your clothes are too warm and wet. It just feels hotter.
I make mud in the shade. Sometimes I sprinkle mealworms in it. The chickens start digging around in the mud and some just stand there. They seem to cool off easier that way.