Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

Pics
I have this fear of going out to my coup and finding 6 fried chickens :eek: (ironically 2 of my chickens are named Crispy & Nugget), so I got on here and brainstormed about things to do to keep them cool: in the third pic they are eating frozen fruit ice cubes :D
 

Attachments

  • 20170715_125407.jpg
    20170715_125407.jpg
    355.4 KB · Views: 13
  • 20170714_202222.jpg
    20170714_202222.jpg
    507.5 KB · Views: 13
  • 20170714_134938.jpg
    20170714_134938.jpg
    679.1 KB · Views: 13
  • 20170714_134905.jpg
    20170714_134905.jpg
    709.2 KB · Views: 13
2016-05-22 19.22.10.jpg
2016-07-27 20.23.30.jpg
2017-05-08 17.56.37.jpg
2017-05-08 17.57.17.jpg
2016-05-22 19.22.10.jpg
2016-07-27 20.23.30.jpg
2017-05-08 17.56.37.jpg
2017-05-08 17.57.17.jpg
2016-05-22 19.22.10.jpg 2016-07-27 20.23.30.jpg 2017-05-08 17.56.37.jpg 2017-05-08 17.57.17.jpg I have the advantage of coming home for lunch. I let the chickens out all 70 of them and place a frozen 2 liter recycled soda bottle full of ice in a water dish that is deep enough to float. The second bottle in the middle nest box and the third bottle behind a fan to blow cool air into the coop . The fan has a thermostat that the switch turns fan on when the temp goes above 85. The last bottle is against the automatic bowl water to keep water cool. I have a mist system in the sheep pen I turn on by their trough and the chicken love that area, it has a cover over the trough too. Lotsa shade. At dusk I collect all the bottles and put back in freezer . I have about 12 bottles to rotate.
 

Summer time is a wonderful time, but with the sunshine and long days comes a potential hazard for our flocks: extreme heat. Chickens naturally wear a warm coat of feathers and can overheat easily, therefor it's essential that we provide means for them to cool down, if needed, and regulate their body temperatures. What do you all do to help your flocks beat the heat?
In Southern California it gets into 3 digit temps. I drop in small bottles of frozen water into their large self-waterers each morning to keep their water cool, replacing in afternoon as needed. In the heat of the afternoon hours they are supplied with cool, refreshing watermelon, white grapes, berries, etc. I have a mister that they absolutely "flock" too. In the early morning when I am cleaning the coop and refilling feed and water, I dampen the dirt floor slightly with a hose. I also have heat-resistant tarps attached, that can be lowered or raised on all sides of coop, depending where the sun is blazing at any particular time of day. Finally, I have two circulating fans to help distribute heat and mugginess out of the coop/run.
DSCN0518.JPG
 
For cooling containers you can find all kinds of things at flea markets cheep.Usualy I like to get large heavy white table boles about a dollar or less.
 
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.
try those plastic coasters and sleds that kids use in the winter
 
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.
For water dishes that my chickens can stand in as well as drink out of is, new kitty litter boxes. I buy the smaller shallow ones. They work perfect.
 
We started running a fan now that summer is definitely here (90s almost everyday) and the chickens are now trained to sit right in front of it even when it hasn't been turned on yet! Quite a sight, 7 big girls and 5 chicks all scattered on the sand right in front of where the fan is blowing, letting the wind ruffle their feathers all day... not a bad life :rolleyes:

I also figured out that if I put frozen bottles of water without the caps on into their waterers, the ice not only cools down their water but also refills it as it melts. Duh. :D
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom