Topic of the Week - Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer

[Chickenpoonumber2]

there is a frozen gallon jug of water in the tote. They seem to really enjoy this spot when it's hot

 

[Clukcluks]

Also try to minimise any hard surfaces eg pathways, concrete, that get full sun all day. These grab and radiate heat far more than grassy patches. Soil/dirt that goes hard and dry like concrete also grabs heat, dig it up a little, scatter leaf/garden litter and a bit of water late evening now and then, it helps some. A few shallow water bowls for wading/standing in is popular with some of my DP birds.

DP birds =

 

[ChicnRitch]

Glad you are managing to keep everyone comfortable! Just two things, because these keep popping up:
1. Fans do not help animals that don’t sweat cool down if they are just moving hot air. In cool air, fans can cool because of windchill alone (more air cooler than skin taking up more heat from the body); in the heat though, what makes us feel better is actually the moving air evaporating the sweat on our skin faster, and cooling us down faster as a result. Chickens don’t sweat and blowing warm air at them will not help. Fans can only be useful if the chickens are in an area where the air is hotter than what your fans blow in (like in an enclosed coop).
2. Sweet food is fine in the heat. It will not make them warm. Easily digested carbs can help chickens in the winter to stay warm, because they provide energy, but they don’t in themselves have a warming effect. Sweet fruit, like watermelon (or corn) in the heat can be a help for chickens because they tend to want to eat less when it’s hot. Carbs deliver energy, not heat.
Hope this helps!

I should have specified that these are swamp coolers... So there's actual cool air being blown around.

 

[bluebeth]

The best place to put a coop is under a tree that looses it's leaves in the winter, that way they get plenty of shade in the summer and sun in the winter. I also asked my vet for cool packs. they get their medications shipped in coolers and they always have tons. I freeze them at night and put them under their favorite perch around noon with a little shavings over the top to prevent heat conduction. Yesterday one of my hens was sitting in it. Silly girl.

 

[Stephine]

I should have specified that these are swamp coolers... So there's actual cool air being blown around.

Yes! That makes a big difference.

 

[AMURPHY227]

These are a few thing I do for our hot south Louisiana summers, to keep my girls comfortable:

I live on 7 acres backed up to 100 acres of woods, and my property has horrible drainage - so free ranging all day everyday isn't an option unfortunately. They only get that in the afternoons when I am home, and on weekends, so I try to make their area perfect for them

1) Frozen Gatorade bottles in waterers:​

I'm in the process of upgrading my waterers to an ice chest/PVC/cup system. But this has worked well for me also every summer-

• Get empty Gatorade/Powerade bottles - or any kind of thick bottle.
• Fill bottles with water and freeze
• Every morning, place frozen bottle in chickens water. This acts as a huge ice block and doesn't melt as fast because of the thickness of the bottle.

I leave for work at 5:30am and get home from work around 4/4:30- their water is still a good temp when I get home.

2) Clay bricks soaked in ice water:​

Chickens cool themselves off through their feet. I've found this to be successful in real time, and immediately stop panting when my girls stand on it. It didn't take them long at all to figure this out:

• Galvanized bowl - I bought this one pictured at Wal Mart for $4. TSC sells a bigger and deeper one for $12 that I will replace this one with soon.​
• Clay bricks - these can be purchased at Wal Mart or Home Depot for a couple of dollars each.​
• Ice - I used to buy a couple of bags of ice every Sunday to use for the whole week on these, but this summer I ordered some silicone molds. I'll post the ones I ordered and use on the brick.​

I place the bricks in the galvanized bowl, then add cold water to the top of the brick, and then ice.
The brick soaks up the cold, and the chickens will go stand on the brick to cool themselves off.

I do empty this and rinse off with the hose everyday, because it gets dirty. And I do not set it out for them if I am giving them any medication or supplements through their drinking water, because they will drink from this also lol

The brick is still cool when I get home from work in the afternoons!
Here are the silicone molds I use this year- and I will be using these in their ice chests when I change out their watering system this weekend!

3) Outdoor fan in chicken run:​

I purchased this fan 2 years ago at Wal Mart. I run it 24/7 on high. During the day I tilt it downward to the ground, and every night when I close up, I tilt it up toward their coop. This also helps with flies and mosquitos, A LOT.
I do NOT have electricity in my coop/run.
I run 100 ft high velocity outdoor extension cord that is connected to a GFCI outlet, and I feel it every single day to make sure it isn't hot - which if it does get to a certain temp it will trip the breaker and switch off.

This fan still works well, I've moved it to my carport and bought another brand with a higher CFM. I don't have a picture of the new one.

4) Fans inside coop:​

I put fans inside my coop - one that faces toward their nesting boxes, and another that is a ventilation fan. I just installed the ventilation fan 2 weeks ago, I will update post later with a picture of that. However, I have the vent fan where it is blowing air into their coop, because I have plenty plenty ventilation on my coop.
So far this has kept the inside of my coop around 85 during the day, on our hottest day so far. I should be able to tilt the vent fan down a little to help even more.
But, here is the little desk fan I have that blows on their nesting boxes. Just cheap little wal mart desk fans, and I dust them out about once a month!

5) Frozen fruit treats:​

I again, use silicone molds for these (now). I did use a muffin pan, and fill the muffin holes with water, and place diced up fruit of choice inside of them, but those took up a lot of room in the freezer.

I now use silicone donut molds I got at Dollar General that are similar to these below, and once they are frozen I can stack them in a corner in my freezer.

Do I do the most to keep my animals comfortable in the summer time? absolutely.