Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

[21hens-incharge]

Terra cotta is an excellent idea. It would be heavy enough not to get tipped over too.

 

[jeria]

MasAhora, good idea no tipping may start to see some of those go on sale as they make room for back to school. I'm at work all day so unable to check on them.

I also don't need to add more work to hot humid days. Even today in the low 80's and humid I have trouble breathing (asthma) so don't need to add a lot more work to my day. Even today work a bit take a break in the AC. Have to get yard work don't so I can go back to building my coop and run.

I'm saving gallon vinegar bottles to fill with water and freeze to put inside the coop on those days to help cool. I go through lots of it as I use it for cleaning and laundry. Figure non toxic and I don't drink soda. Milk I buy organic in returnable glass bottles thinking gallon milk jugs would also work.

 

[centrarchid]

Today I will be showing 4H kids how not to kill birds through overheating during shipment to and from the summer fair. Emphasis will be on keeping sun off birds and containers that house them, air flow, hydration, and standing on something cool when heat is extreme. With holding food so digestive tract largely empty will also be stressed.

A special note to all. Do not eat plums your 5 your old picks from an ornamental tree. Causes problems later.

 

[aart]

My birds are confined with no great deep shade for last half of the day so I have to be vigilant during heat waves. I do have shade cloths up on run, which helps, but still not deep shade.

I put out large shallow pans(~18 x 18 x 2") of ice cubes late afternoon, they walk in and sit on them and sip the water as it slowly melts...used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.

To help cool down the coop I also have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into and pushes hot air out.

To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see how everyone is moving.

Electrolytes can help. I had hen suffer heat exhaustion/stroke last summer, she was standing stock still and let me walk right up to her(not at all normal for this bird). I determined she could not see out of one eye at all and the other was dicey. I started hydrating her with Qtip soaked in Sav-a-Chik solution held against the side of her beak, had to rub under her beak and the front of her neck to get her to swallow at first. Did this until she got too stressed, about 10 minutes, put her in a cage with a fan nearby to rest. Repeated this about every hour for half the day until she would drink out of a cup held in front of her. She recovered and I also gave the rest of the flock a dose of Sav-a-Chik solution in an open waterer(I use horizontal nipples on waterers), it really seemed to reduce the heat stress so now do that regularly when the heat waves are extreme and days long. Just a half gallons worth every couple days.

 

[ccraft]

Hydration is key with my flock. Giving electrolytes in the water helps. When they are drinking more and eating less they can get out of balance.

I also give mine watermelon.... Not to much mind you. They will tend to load up on it and have reduced protein intake because of that. I give half of a large watermelon for my 32 chickens twice a week during heat waves.
I add electrolytes to two out of every three water dishes. They have the option then to not consume it.

I get home from work, let the dogs out, set the hose to run in the run and get the third dog out. By the time the dogs are done with business the water has made a nice cool pool in the run. Most of my birds are standing in it and a couple actually lay in it.

We get over 100* here for days on end.

Like pedolite or Gatorade?

 

[21hens-incharge]

No. Like the electrolyte powder available in the poultry department at the feed store. SAV-A-CHICK also works.

https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalo...lectrolytes-and-Vitamins-pack-of-3-p1136.aspx

 

[kerbotx]

What do you use for shallow water dishes that the chickens can stand in? My run will be 8x10 and the small kiddie pools I've found would take up a lot of space. Summer can be really hot in MO and my coop in a yard with little shade though it and the run will have a roof topped with white metal roofing.

A cat litter pan works well for me - I've got one prima donna who spends a good portion of the afternoon in one! Also use a Fortex rubber bowl in a shaded area, and 2 old plastic totes - the kind that are wide, but not that deep, that would fit under the bed.

 

[Abriana]

I fill a milk jug with water (not to the top as water expands when it freezes) and freeze it. then i put it outside in the chicken pen and they lay next to it and it gives off cool air. I also dump a bucket of water onto some hard-packed dirt and they like to walk in it. You could put a tarp down in a little depression and pour water into it too, if you want it to last longer than a minute or two. Cold watermelon is also a good idea, and plenty of shade and cold water. You can dump ice cubes in the water to make it really cold.

 

[Abriana]

I use terracotta bowls like the ones for under a large pot plant, large but fairly shallow, seems to do the trick. Metal or black is no good for my hot humid summers, even in shade metal heats up too much

Also as of last summer, I now give them only fermented feed and I keep it quite wet - I think they possibly get hydration with probiotics.

Mostly I try to avoid adding tasks to my day to keep them cool - shade/water/wet feed/cool dirt patches are things I can manage and be away for the day.

Most of my chickens are built for heat, only a few are less heat tolerant varieties (so I have to accept a bit more effort for them as I chose them! Yes I've even laid a small wet towel on the coop floor for them near the pop door -they love it, but I hate the laundry!).

The wet towel idea is a good one, but the laundry....

 

[snow5164]

What do you use for shallow water dishes that the chickens can stand in? My run will be 8x10 and the small kiddie pools I've found would take up a lot of space. Summer can be really hot in MO and my coop in a yard with little shade though it and the run will have a roof topped with white metal roofing.

I use cat litter boxes, cheap , shallow and just the right size for three of my girls