Using A Tarp To Lower Ground Temperature

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Nice! What do you put in your treats?

Mine love frozen watermelon balls, but I’m not keen on being mauled by chickens, so I tend to yeet it toward them

Tiff (@Tiffany Wikk) put milk kefir, water, blueberries, watermelon, & dinner scraps (rice, ham, garden fresh herbs, etc.) in the tray and froze it.

 

[Birdadvocate]

Hello, all!
Today I discovered something that I wanted to share with everyone. With the sudden increase of temperature, my family was trying to figure out how to keep the chickens from overheating.

We have been taking frozen, sealed water bottles out to keep their water cold. We have been giving them little pools of water to stand in. And we have been given them frozen treats as well. But today my dad suggested throwing a tarp over the top of the chicken aviary. The run and coop have regular roofs. The aviary has netting and is under a tree.
I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me sooner, but it was a brilliant idea. It seems like such a small thing to do, yet it made a massive difference.

As we were setting it up, we kept commenting on how much cooler the shaded areas were. I thought maybe it had lowered the temperature by about 10 degrees or so.

Well, I took our soaping thermometer out and couldn't believe the numbers I was reading. Just 30 minutes after we set the tarp up, the ground had cooled by 40-50 degrees! Can you believe it?
It is 94 degrees right now. The ground outside was 130-140 degrees. I knew that ground would be hotter than air, but still, it shocked me how hot it was. The area under the tarp was 95-99 degrees. You can see in the photos that I had barely moved the thermometer. I checked all around to make sure these numbers were consistent. They sure were!
View attachment 3869628
View attachment 3869629

The chickens came back into the aviary and immediately seemed very pleased with the new setup and the cooler temperatures. Plus we had a breeze coming through, so it was actually quite nice.

View attachment 3869630
View attachment 3869631

I figured I would share this with everyone out there that is looking for a way to help their chickens handle the heat. I hope everyone has a nice day.

You are welcome to also share here the things that you have learned about keeping chickens cool in hot weather!

Great article

Can you be more specific on material. Some materials absorb heat.

I'm very interested in what you used. We live in Scottsdale, AZ and our ground temperatures can get to 180 degrees F at corners.

This might help take some stress off some of our plants near walls. Also, considering for our vegetable garden next year.

It's got so hot out here we had to make sunshade covers for our cypress trees in summer (See Photo.

I've also went to Wal-Mart site you suggested and pulled this up (See Photo).

Was this what you used?

 

[Muffett]

Hello, all!
Today I discovered something that I wanted to share with everyone. With the sudden increase of temperature, my family was trying to figure out how to keep the chickens from overheating.

We have been taking frozen, sealed water bottles out to keep their water cold. We have been giving them little pools of water to stand in. And we have been given them frozen treats as well. But today my dad suggested throwing a tarp over the top of the chicken aviary. The run and coop have regular roofs. The aviary has netting and is under a tree.
I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me sooner, but it was a brilliant idea. It seems like such a small thing to do, yet it made a massive difference.

As we were setting it up, we kept commenting on how much cooler the shaded areas were. I thought maybe it had lowered the temperature by about 10 degrees or so.

Well, I took our soaping thermometer out and couldn't believe the numbers I was reading. Just 30 minutes after we set the tarp up, the ground had cooled by 40-50 degrees! Can you believe it?
It is 94 degrees right now. The ground outside was 130-140 degrees. I knew that ground would be hotter than air, but still, it shocked me how hot it was. The area under the tarp was 95-99 degrees. You can see in the photos that I had barely moved the thermometer. I checked all around to make sure these numbers were consistent. They sure were!
View attachment 3869628
View attachment 3869629

The chickens came back into the aviary and immediately seemed very pleased with the new setup and the cooler temperatures. Plus we had a breeze coming through, so it was actually quite nice.

View attachment 3869630
View attachment 3869631

I figured I would share this with everyone out there that is looking for a way to help their chickens handle the heat. I hope everyone has a nice day.

You are welcome to also share here the things that you have learned about keeping chickens cool in hot weather!

When my husband built our chicken run he put a tarp permanently on the top and it’s great for them. Always shade and dry. I, too, run water over so they have it to stand in and peck. They love mud for some reason.

 

[Muffett]

Great article

Can you be more specific on material. Some materials absorb heat.

I'm very interested in what you used. We live in Scottsdale, AZ and our ground temperatures can get to 180 degrees F at corners.

This might help take some stress off some of our plants near walls. Also, considering for our vegetable garden next year.

It's got so hot out here we had to make sunshade covers for our cypress trees in summer (See Photo.

I've also went to Wal-Mart site you suggested and pulled this up (See Photo).

Was this what you used?

My husband used a silver tarp. Heavy duty.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Great article

Can you be more specific on material. Some materials absorb heat.

We just used a regular tarp over our chicken Aviary. It got so hot that it warped our PVC pipe framing for the roof. It was just a quick solution to protect the chickens during our sudden rise of temperature -- not meant to be long term.

I just came in from putting up Privacy Screen Fencing like Ms. WyorpRock suggested. This will hopefully be our long term solution for the chickens.

I'm very interested in what you used. We live in Scottsdale, AZ and our ground temperatures can get to 180 degrees F at corners.

This might help take some stress off some of our plants near walls. Also, considering for our vegetable garden next year.

Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of what materials are best to use for a garden in your heat.

I've also went to Wal-Mart site you suggested and pulled this up (See Photo).

Was this what you used?

I actually haven't gotten any tarps or shade cloths from walmart. We ordered our new Privacy Screen Fencing from Amazon.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

I hope it works out for you.
Take photos of it all when you get it put up

I have photos!

We got the Privacy Screen Fencing today! It was 6'x50'. We ordered beige because we thought it would attract less sunlight.

We cut it in half, folded the edge, and stapled the fold together to keep from ripping.

Then we zip-tied the grommets together in the middle.

My dad said he had, "been thinking about the way suspension bridges work." (He's awesome!) He re-enforced the PVC pipes with my sister. This way it could safely support the screen. We are hoping it will hold up well now.

Then we used ladders and ropes to pull the screen over the top.

The sun was going down so it is a bit dim of a picture. I will get some better pictures tomorrow, as well as some ground temperature readings.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

All that yard where my chicken coop and run are located used to be a forest/wetland years ago. I did not have to section off that area of the chicken run where the "junk" trees are growing. The chickens just let them grow as they pushed up through the compost litter. Maybe they did not taste good, I suspect.

I don't know what kind of trees they are. I call them "junk" trees because they grow about as fast as weeds. "Real" trees usually take years and years to grow that much. (Edit: I consulted a Minnesota Tree guide online and it led me to the Boxelder tree. Fast growing and good for wildlife habitat. Not good for lumber.)

Here is the picture again of those trees in the chicken run. Maybe someone could help me identify them...?

View attachment 3874416

Anyways, it makes for a nice mini-forest for my chicken run so I only trim those trees and/or thin them out if I get too many. On the hotter days, all the chickens are under those trees chilling out. It might be an option for others who live in northern climates where half the year is under snow. You could not leave a tarp or shade cloth up over our winters due to the snow load.

Thank you for the information about the trees! That is very helpful to know! It looks like Boxelders may grow in our location too. I will have to look into something like that.

 

[Birdadvocate]

I have photos!

We got the Privacy Screen Fencing today! It was 6'x50'. We ordered beige because we thought it would attract less sunlight.
View attachment 3875230


We cut it in half, folded the edge, and stapled the fold together to keep from ripping.
View attachment 3875235

Then we zip-tied the grommets together in the middle.
View attachment 3875231
View attachment 3875239

My dad said he had, "been thinking about the way suspension bridges work." (He's awesome!) He re-enforced the PVC pipes with my sister. This way it could safely support the screen. We are hoping it will hold up well now.
View attachment 3875241

Then we used ladders and ropes to pull the screen over the top.
View attachment 3875244

The sun was going down so it is a bit dim of a picture. I will get some better pictures tomorrow, as well as some ground temperature readings.

Thank you

This is the same stuff I use on our cypress trees in the summer that I had in photo. Gro

Hadn't thought about using on ground to cool things down.

You're a genius.

I have photos!

We got the Privacy Screen Fencing today! It was 6'x50'. We ordered beige because we thought it would attract less sunlight.
View attachment 3875230


We cut it in half, folded the edge, and stapled the fold together to keep from ripping.
View attachment 3875235

Then we zip-tied the grommets together in the middle.
View attachment 3875231
View attachment 3875239

My dad said he had, "been thinking about the way suspension bridges work." (He's awesome!) He re-enforced the PVC pipes with my sister. This way it could safely support the screen. We are hoping it will hold up well now.
View attachment 3875241

Then we used ladders and ropes to pull the screen over the top.
View attachment 3875244

The sun was going down so it is a bit dim of a picture. I will get some better pictures tomorrow, as well as some ground temperature readings.

Thank you so much

This is same stuff I use to protect our cypress trees tn summer grommets and all. Just buy it at Home Depot.

I'll try it for ground cover. I'm going to buy one of the fancy thermometers to measure temp as well. What can I say. Gave me a reason to buy a new and useful tool.

I use an old fashion glass thermometer but concerned it might be showing higher temperatures in direct sunlight.

Again thanks for sharing

You're a genius.

 

[Grumpy Lady]

I also use sand in my chicken run. My run is shaded with a tin roof, but open on all four sides, and there is a hedge of lilacs growing behind that are taller than the roof and shade the whole area. But it can still get hot. The chickens have a dirt (not sand) and fireplace ash dust bathing area as well. By accident I found that if one portion of the chicken run sand gets wetted/watered it can keep that area of sand cooler and they enjoy digging and laying in that portion on hot days. We have very low humidity, so shade and wet sand help here, where in other places it may not be as helpful. My girls also enjoy frozen apples or melon hanging from a chain as entertainment and treats.

 

[Elspeth Dinsmore]

Thank you

This is the same stuff I use on our cypress trees in the summer that I had in photo. Gro

Hadn't thought about using on ground to cool things down. I'll try it for ground cover.

Good morning, @Birdadvocate!

^^^ Just to clarify in case there is any confusion, we didn't actually leave the cloth on the grass. We were just laying it there in order to staple the ends and zip-tie the grommets together. It is raised above the Aviary currently.

I'm going to buy one of the fancy thermometers to measure temp as well. What can I say. Gave me a reason to buy a new and useful tool.

It is super useful! We already had the thermometer because my sister and I make soap with my momma once a year. My sister and I loved to run around and check temperatures everywhere because it was so fun. I hope you enjoy your new and useful tool.

I use an old fashion glass thermometer but concerned it might be showing higher temperatures in direct sunlight.

I have some glass thermometers as well! I have several old weather stations hanging on my wall.

Again thanks for sharing

You're a genius.

Aw, that's very sweet of you! My whole family worked together to get this set up. A lot of people here had good ideas that helped us!