Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

[PopoMyers]

Today, without extra expense, I used the mist setting on my hose end sprayer, and attached it to the fence, turned the water on a pretty low flow, and let it spray into their run all afternoon until it cooled off. Will do the same again, as we are expecting 106F tomorrow, and 90 on Tuesday before cooling back down into the 80's.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Easy chicken slushie recipe!

 

[aart]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/easy-chicken-slushie-recipe.76812/

Link doesn't work?
Chickens shouldn't drink icy stuff anyway

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

 

[TJAnonymous]

I've tried lots of ways to keep my chickens cool - frozen corn & peas, cold watermelon, kiddie pools with and without ice, mud puddles, etc. They typically aren't interested in any of my efforts. In fact, they will not walk into any standing water whatsoever. They are happy with clean water placed in a shady area and lots of shade to dust bathe in.

When it gets really really hot (like this week), they will dust bath in the center aisle of my barn. Lots of sandy dirt in there and it's completely shaded. If there's any wind, it acts like a wind tunnel too so it's cooler than just being in a shade outside.

I did freeze some electrolyte water in a gallon jug to put in a shady spot. We'll see if they show any interest in it.

I also used to put fans inside their coop however I've had 4 fans in 2 yrs go kaput from doing this.... I'm tired of wasting $$$ on fans. All of my coops are well shaded under giant oak trees. They also have screened windows in addition to open vents all along the roof lines to help encourage ventilation and air movement. So I don't think I'll spend the money on more fans.

 

[OhioStateCluckeyes]

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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?

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

What about pullets? No wattles and no combs to help them. They're 9 weeks. I've got them a kiddie pool that they ignore. Ive given them lots of shade, Ice in their water and i water down the run. anything else?

 

[Stephine]

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You don’t really want to make them work hard in the heat, as that’ll just make them hotter. Better, and less fuss, to just dump a bag of frozen corn (or peas or blueberries) into a bowl filled with an inch or two of water. They’ll stick their heads in the cool water to get at the treats which helps cool them off, and they don’t have to work much for it. Corn is fine, it will not make them hotter as some say. Corn is easily digested and provides energy quickly, which is good to keep warm in the cold AND good to stay nourished in the heat, when the appetite drops.

 

[Stephine]

What about pullets? No wattles and no combs to help them. They're 9 weeks. I've got them a kiddie pool that they ignore. Ive given them lots of shade, Ice in their water and i water down the run. anything else?

If your air is dry and hot try misters. They attach to a garden hose (I have my hose on a timer) and are inexpensive and easy to set up and use.

 

[Stephine]

One thing to keep in mind when thinking about fans: chickens don’t sweat, so air movement per se doesn’t cool them like it does us, or horses, etc. Fans are great for cooling a barn or coop if that structure heats up in the sun, but it will of course not cool it down more than the outside air temperature. If it’s 100 outside, it’ll still be 100 inside. So if you are trying to actually lower the temperature in the coop below the outside temperature, you have to blow the air over a container with ice, or even a wet sheet.

 

[AtlanticSong]

I grow pole beans or climbing flowers up one side of the chicken wire that faces south to provide them with more shade during the hottest months. I try to grow them out a bit (the run has hardware cloth that goes 8” deep and 24” wide outside of the coop to keep away burrowing predators) but once the plants are established, I flop them/train them towards the chicken wire. As long as its high enough so the chickens can’t destroy the plants by pecking them to death, they receive nice shade coverage from it. Each year I can plant something different as well. I suppose you could put a temporary support against the run’s outer wall as well to provide shade from trellised plants.