Too hot?

[nikchick]

We are under a heat advisory until the end of the week. Heat indexes are expected to be in the low 100s for the next few days. I made a post a few days back about putting my 14 3 week old chicks outside. They will be 4 weeks in a day or two. I stopped turning on the light at night because they refuse to go in on their own with it on and instead lay side by side outside the box. I thought I had moved passed temp worries, but with this heatwave, I'm worried they will overheat during the day. Is that too hot for them? My grown chickens have been doing ok. They tend to lay in the shade, but are active once the back yard goes into shade.

 

[Judy]

100 F is about the upper limit that adult chickens can stand, and they need good shade and good breeze to do that, not to mention plenty of water, of course. The water should also be shaded or otherwise kept on the cool side. Baby chickcs might not require as much breeze as adults, but they will definitely suffer over 100 degrees. Try to keep the surface they walk on fairly cool, by being in the shade and not composed of something like sand thata holds heat. Dry leaf litter or straw is good if it is dry.
Grass or weeds of course are good.

 

[Folly's place]

Lots of shade, a shaded coop, cold water to drink, and air flow. I insulated my coop, and at least roof insulation helps in summer heat. There's a fan running to maintain air flow, and ice in the waterers. Frozen/ cold fruits and veggie treats help too. I hose off the coop roof on hot days. It's been cool here, love it! Mary

 

[nikchick]

Our coop has a fenced in raised run that the chicks stay in during the day. We covered one side and the roof with a tarp this morning and I moved a big watered in their with them and I put some cantelop scraps in the freezer to give them as treats.