Too hot help

[faithfulchris]

I lost one of my girls the other night. I’ve been putting them up in their coop and closing the door because they were squawking all night and I thought they were feeling unsafe in their pen. I would put ice bottles up there to hopefully cool down the temperature but when I opened it up yesterday morning two came out and one was laying there. I’m heartbroken. So last night I brought the two girls left into the house to sleep. They seem fine and stopped breathing with her mouths open. But we are going to start hitting temps of 111°. Should I just keep them inside for a few of the hottest hours of the day? They’re locked in a crate with a perch, water and food.
They’re outside pen has plenty of shade, plenty of ventilation, a mister, frozen water bottles, ice water. I’m just wondering if there’s other things I can do to cool them down besides frozen treats, water bottles and a mister? I was thinking about getting a swamp cooler but not sure if that will work outside? everybody at the feed store and other owners that I know around me keeps saying that They’ll adjust and be fine and then I wake up to one dead. I can’t lose another one. I need to figure out something. I need help please.

 

[faithfulchris]

What type of chickens are they? Some types tolerate high temperature more than others. Same with cold temperatures. How old are they ? Sounds like you are doing everything you can. Putting their feet in cold water also helps. If you feel more comfortable with them inside then do it. We lost two of our first 15. One just failed to thrive. and one had a bad leg. You get attached to them for sure. I freeze watermelon, berries and various seeds and bugs and set pans out. Best of Luck

 

[Lynn Woehrle]

A fan, plenty of water and since your coop can let in the heat---smart to take them in when it's so hot. Sorry for your loss!

 

[Crzy Chi Lady]

There are some chicken breeds that adapt well in the summer. However I always loose at least 1. This year I lost 2. It gets pretty hot here. We have been getting temps up to 113. Sometimes if a bird is slightly not well it can die. From the addition of heat. I wet the ground I let them out in the morning. I exclude basins for them to stand in. You do what you can. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Blarneystone]

Hi Pecky03
So sad for your loss..It looks like you love your girls.. the first thing I would do is get some mouse and snake wire meshing and vermin proof your coop and run..as most predators can dig crawl or fly the roof and the floor of the run is vital to protecting your girls..if you do this you will have no need to lock them in when it’s hot. Make sure they can get off the ground by supplying perches up a bit higher..I’m in Australia and it’s not unusual to experience weeks of 113 degrees. I use fine sand on the ground which is cool for them to walk and doubles as a dust bath, it makes tunnels difficult and cleaning easy.. I use a tots clamshell wading pool sunken a little in the run and just have enough water in it to allow my girls (who love it ) to just stand in it to help them cool off their feet...I had a problem with foxes and the resulting heartbreak led me to go completely over the top. With every nook and cranny sealed I can finally sleep at night knowing the environment I have created for my girls is the closest thing I can get to a safe comfortable home .

 

[Cryss]

Can you post a picture cause it sounds great. I never thought about doing 2 dog kennels. that’s perfect and more reasonably priced. I really do like the swamp cooler though. For $279 it doesn’t make everything damp which now I’m worried about bacteria. Thanks for the idea. And they hate their coop. I have to shop around and get a new one. Not sure why they can’t stand it but they cry all night when I put them in there. And I think they’re afraid of the dark so I might have to research a night or something for them.

And Roo5... I looked up both breeds of birds and I can’t tell the difference. What’s the secret of telling whether they’re New Hampshire or Rhode Island Reds? please tell me I have a few more weeks of stress and then the rest of the year is going to be easy for these girls. We never go below 0. we barely get down to the single digits and just once we had a light dusting of snow.

I used 2 dog kennels to make a run also. Lets see what kind of pictures I can show you.

The first 10X10X6 dog pen with a wind break and snow bloc of plastic sheeting and a coop inside. I didn't know much of what I was doing but I was learning.

Here it is with a second 10X10X6 dog run attached making it 10X30X6! We were also tdying to put a lean-to over a section ft or shade and keep r as in out of the feeders.

So now we are building a 12x8 walk in coop. I'm toying with the idea of another dog run. it would make it 10X50x6 unless I build out the side instead of the end. Then it could be 20X30X6. We shall see. Next year maybe.

My young birds would cry until they were inside and closed up dark. Of course I don't live in triple digit temperatures. Maybe a day or 2 but not usually. Can the be put inside in dark with a good fan? I'd also check for inside hiding predators that are frightening them like mice, snakes, etc. Good luck I hope you get a handle on this.


Ummmm.....not sure how my flowers and my sleeping dog tongue out pics got included! I can't seem to erase them either, so...enjoy?

 

[3006mv]

Try moving coop away from block wall which may retain and emit heat at night. Also vent it by using hardware cloth at openings

 

[ajackalope]

I'm in NJ and a couple of weeks ago it was in the high 90s with the same humidity. My girls go from 6 years old to 3 month old chicks. They're coop is an old goat shed (the previous owners had 2) with a large run attached. We have wooded wetlands behind us. I put the older girls out to free range with a waterer filled with ice water and a large bowl of frozen treat cubes(berries and vegetables in ice cubes.) The little ones I kept in the pen, they're not ready to go out by the woods. In side the coop I put a 5 quart stainless steel dog bowl with blocks of ice in it and I had a fan blow across the ice. Chicken air conditioning. I kept this up round the clock for 2.5 days. The big girls would roost at night in their regular spots but the little ones were huddled around the dog dish. I tried my neighbor's baby pool but none of my girls were interested. Neither we her chickens.

 

[ajackalope]

During the day, a rodent doesn't stand a chance against a chicken, however at night a chicken will actually allow a roden to feed on it, or even kill it without reacting. Hardware cloth on any areas of concern is the only real way to protect your flock.

 

[ajackalope]

My coop is raised up so we put rat poison underneath. I hate doing it but we have the woods behind us and farms all around. My husband does heavy construction so we were able to get some old highway signs. They are on the wood floor of the coop with stall mats on top and 4-6 inches of sand over that. In 6 years I've seen 1 mouse and he was trying to get out.