The heat of the day

[marctrejo]

Yes i am kinda new. Been raising chicken for about a couple of years. I wanted to ask anyone out thr. What is a good way to keep my chickens cool in this ridiculous texas heat besides buying thr own window unit. I have a box fan and thr coop is a big dog kenel with chain link so thr is plenty of ventilation. I have tarps blocking the sun at the worse of the day. Thanks for any suggestons

 

[DesertBird]

I'm in AZ, and I tend to go out about every hour and a half and use the hose and gently mist down the entire pen they're in and I freeze water bottles every night and put about 1 per every chicken in there, or just where they all tend to gather (mine like to go under an eggplant plant). If they're more spread out, it might be harder to do. Are your chickens outside the kennel roaming throughout the day, or are they in the dog kennel 24/7? And how many do you have?

 

[EffietheSilkie]

Hi,
Like the post above I also use frozen water bottles, but that only works if your chickens are close together or smart enough to lay on them ( most chickens aren't but a few are). I also have a fan on my flock. If that doesn't work consider putting misters in the top of the coop(these can be on a timer for the heat of the day or you could manually turn them on when needed). If you don't want to put the time or money into misters you could spray them down every few hours, but that of course takes a lot of commitment.
Hope this helps! I know heat is a commen problem that can be difficult to deal with

 

[EffietheSilkie]

(Sorry I forgot to include this in my last post) It also really helps to give them cold fruits and vegetables. My favorite to use is frozen grapes! Or cold corn also works great. Although you probably need another method of cooling in addition to this it can help start cooling them down!

 

[DesertBird]

Hi,
Like the post above I also use frozen water bottles, but that only works if your chickens are close together or smart enough to lay on them ( most chickens aren't but a few are). I also have a fan on my flock. If that doesn't work consider putting misters in the top of the coop(these can be on a timer for the heat of the day or you could manually turn them on when needed). If you don't want to put the time or money into misters you could spray them down every few hours, but that of course takes a lot of commitment.
Hope this helps! I know heat is a commen problem that can be difficult to deal with

Sorry to ask this here on Marctrejo's thread/question, but considering you both use fans, is that bad for them? Or for chicks/ducklings? I'd read somewhere a fan can be harmful by stirring up dust and whatnot, but that seems to be not the case now. lol

And to follow up the original question, I forgot to mention that I also add a frozen water bottle (with the cap off) into their waterers. It does take up a bit of the room for the immediate water, but it keeps the water cool throughout the day and as the ice melts, it's kind of a refill. lol

 

[EffietheSilkie]

Sorry to ask this here on Marctrejo's thread/question, but considering you both use fans, is that bad for them? Or for chicks/ducklings? I'd read somewhere a fan can be harmful by stirring up dust and whatnot, but that seems to be not the case now. lol

And to follow up the original question, I forgot to mention that I also add a frozen water bottle (with the cap off) into their waterers. It does take up a bit of the room for the immediate water, but it keeps the water cool throughout the day and as the ice melts, it's kind of a refill. lol

I'm not super sure if the fan is harmful to them at all, but I have never had a problem with it, and the chickens really seem to enjoy it. Some of them are even smart enough to sit in front of the fan when hot. But some of them do sometimes seem to get annoyed with the wind blowing in there face but I just have part of the cage that the fan doesn't blow on. Another tip is I have the fan hanging on the side of the cage so it isn't directly in the dirt blowing dust.

 

[DesertBird]

I'm not super sure if the fan is harmful to them at all, but I have never had a problem with it, and the chickens really seem to enjoy it. Some of them are even smart enough to sit in front of the fan when hot. But some of them do sometimes seem to get annoyed with the wind blowing in there face but I just have part of the cage that the fan doesn't blow on. Another tip is I have the fan hanging on the side of the cage so it isn't directly in the dirt blowing dust.

Alright, thanks. We raise our chicks or ducklings in an outdoor patio that's protected from any other bugs, birds, etc. but not from the heat. lol We usually just put a frozen water bottle in for 'em with a towel over it. Good to know a gently blowing fan might help, too.

 

[marctrejo]

I'm in AZ, and I tend to go out about every hour and a half and use the hose and gently mist down the entire pen they're in and I freeze water bottles every night and put about 1 per every chicken in there, or just where they all tend to gather (mine like to go under an eggplant plant). If they're more spread out, it might be harder to do. Are your chickens outside the kennel roaming throughout the day, or are they in the dog kennel 24/7? And how many do you have?

 

[marctrejo]

Thr in the dog kennel 24/7. Until i build my run

 

[DesertBird]

Thr in the dog kennel 24/7. Until i build my run

How many are in there, and how big is it? How old are they all? Is it in direct sun on dirt, direct sun in grass, etc.?