Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

[Scrumdidlyump]

try those plastic coasters and sleds that kids use in the winter

Are you trying to instigate sledding chickens?

 

[Audio51]

My biggest issue is the coop. I have 3 broodies right now that do not want to leave the coop and on the hottest day (. this last week it was 105 F outside. It was about 95 F inside the coop. I have a box fan and there are 2 passive roof vents but they are clearly not adequate. I open the human door to the coop and run the fan on high and have a window on order that should arrive in the next couple of days. That will be installed this weekend and we have another heatwave due to hit on Saturday and Sunday. Then I can get a cross breeze going. I live in Paradise and after the Camp Fire in 2018, there are not a lot of trees left to make shade. They have a 10x20 covered run plus about a 1/8th of an acre to roam and there is one corner where a couple of trees survived. They tend to spend a lot of time in that area when it's hot. I do worry a lot in summer. I have never lost a chicken to cold but have to heat in the couple of years before the fire.

 

[3KillerBs]

My biggest issue is the coop. I have 3 broodies right now that do not want to leave the coop and on the hottest day (. this last week it was 105 F outside. It was about 95 F inside the coop. I have a box fan and there are 2 passive roof vents but they are clearly not adequate. I open the human door to the coop and run the fan on high and have a window on order that should arrive in the next couple of days. That will be installed this weekend and we have another heatwave due to hit on Saturday and Sunday. Then I can get a cross breeze going. I live in Paradise and after the Camp Fire in 2018, there are not a lot of trees left to make shade. They have a 10x20 covered run plus about a 1/8th of an acre to roam and there is one corner where a couple of trees survived. They tend to spend a lot of time in that area when it's hot. I do worry a lot in summer. I have never lost a chicken to cold but have to heat in the couple of years before the fire.

Even with 16 square feet of permanent ventilation and 10 square feet of additional ventilation I had to put an old picnic fly up over my Outdoor Brooder to keep it from overheating.

If the outdoor temperature was 105 and the indoor was 95 you are probably doing something right.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/

 

[Stephine]

I wish my chickens weren’t such chickens! If I put frozen water bottles in the nestboxes they won’t go in. If I put frozen water bottles in the run they avoid them like the plague. They won’t stand in water either. So for all the normal hot days (up to 105 or so) I just use the overhead misters and electrolytes, plus a large ice cube in their insulated waterer to keep it nice and cool. Plus a mid afternoon treat of watermelon or frozen blueberries in a bowl of water. On the few days it gets really hot (116 is the record so far) I buy ice at the store, put some pavers in a large shallow tub (I got a concrete mixing pan) and put ice all around them. I put ice in large terracotta pots and set them in the run. Plus all the usual things. Only twice did I have to bathe a chicken in cool water because they were overheating.

 

[aart]

They won’t stand in water either.

Might have to 'convince' them.
I held one of my birds so she was standing in the cool water, she fought a bit, then I swear she heaved a huge sigh of relief and relaxed. She 'taught' the rest of them that it was ok.

 

[Stephine]

Might have to 'convince' them.
I held one of my birds so she was standing in the cool water, she fought a bit, then I swear she heaved a huge sigh of relief and relaxed. She 'taught' the rest of them that it was ok.

Ha! I will try that!

 

[NicholeP85]

View attachment 1054015
Pic by @tnt-ranch ​

Summertime 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, therefore 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?

View attachment 2722125

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Our girls LOVE fresh watermelon! Every time I went into the garden last year they gathered around waiting to see which treat I would give them. Their favorite was watermelon and the runner up were big juicy tomatoes.

 

[PopoMyers]

I gave half their pen a good soaking after 10 this morning. We started a heatwave yesterday, expected to last four days. They were soon scratching in the puddles. GC

I dumped the waterer out right onto their favorite dusting area, and they did the same as yours.

 

[PopoMyers]

I love all these tips and tricks! Hopefully the girls didn't get brain freeze, as I put iced water in their nipple waterer. They seemed to enjoy it. I lost a girl today from heat sickness/exhaustion, I believe, from what another member told me from the clues.

 

[Chicksofmichigan7]

I feed my chickens watermelon and make sure to have lots of shade and cold water.