Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

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.

This has me thinking! My 5 gals live in CT where it gets really hot in the summer. I do everything from a fan, to constant ice water, frozen fruits (sparingly of course). Flooding the run with cold water from the hose will now be a new hot weather treatment. Last summer they were so young and I was nervous to do too much. Now we are experienced and durable! Flooding the run for the win! (When its over 90 degrees or more). I also use a kids plastic sled and fill it with water for them to walk in. The hose flooding the run would probably be so much better. Thanks for the idea.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

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.

Hose down the run and offer cold water often. I use a sled and fill it with water and that takes up a bit of space but in the summer they dont do much but try to keep cool. Maybe try a low sitting plastic tote that they can step into. If i am not home when its super hot, they definitely get a wadding pool of some sort. This year i will hose the run down a lot and rake down to the cool moist soil. Good luck chickens! Summer is here!!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

The sleds are an excellent idea!

I use sleds

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I am really fortunate to have a grapevine that my chicks can be under in the summertime. I also read that you can get an old ice tray and fill it with canned corn and freeze it and give it to your chickens when it get too hot. I have also given the girls a bit of frozen broccoli when it gets really hot. Also a bit of cold watermelon does the trick

Oh man i love that vine!

 

[3KillerBs]

My 5 gals live in CT where it gets really hot in the summer.

When I lived in Massachusetts I *thought* it got "really hot".

Here in NC the 90F day I thought was misery embodied is now considered a cool day from mid-July through mid-September.

Chickens are tough, adaptable livestock animals. Don't stress too hard.

 

[Missylynn90tx]

I've been hanging a wet thin towel over the side of the chicken run so when the wind blows it cools the air. They seem to love it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here we have some bad photos of chickens on a day where we were having an "Excessive Heat Warning" (which has since downgraded to a "Heat Advisory". So, it's "only" about 95 in the shade on the north side of the house where the brooder sits in one of the most sheltered spots on the property.

The 3-week-old babies are hanging out in a sheltered spot need the food and water. I turned their brooder plate off since they don't need it in these temperatures (haven't used it in the daytime since the first week).

The adults are dug in or perching in breezy spots. The photos are bad because I shoved my phone through the nestboxes in order to not rile them up too much with the expectation of treats, etc.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I use a kitty litter tray (the bottom part) to keep water in for the birds to play in. This also works well for dust bath, I dug about 2 inches into the ground so the tray sits right in the hole, that way the birds can't spill it or move it. They seem to love it on these hot days. It's big enough for 1 bird to completely soak in (which they do!). Today we are under heat advisory, heat index up to 110 degrees. Gotta love Iowa!

 

[Stephine]

Hose down the run and offer cold water often. I use a sled and fill it with water and that takes up a bit of space but in the summer they dont do much but try to keep cool. Maybe try a low sitting plastic tote that they can step into. If i am not home when its super hot, they definitely get a wadding pool of some sort. This year i will hose the run down a lot and rake down to the cool moist soil. Good luck chickens! Summer is here!!

Your pictures give me an idea! Next time when the heat is brutal (105+) I will bring out my tub and put the treats in a bowl in the center so they have to step in the tub (and water) to get to them. Maybe that’ll help them learn that standing in water is nice….

 

[Hensintexas]

I’ve been actually wondering if a small wading pool with large bricks in it would work, and only 2-3” of water. Or maybe a “cooling station” with a mister? We get scorching heat here, with several days over 100 already. We built shady places for them, and make lots of water available at all times. Some of the girls would rather hang out in the henhouse, so there’s water in there, too. Any other ideas would be great!