Were anyone els's chickens panting today??

[SilverStar]

It was soo hot today and still is. My poor chickens have been panting since 8:00am. We have a big box fan set up in their coop. They have plenty of water, i even put some ice cubes in it. I sprayed down their run and the outside of the coop with a hose. I have tried eveythink i can think of so far to help my chickens stay cool. Does anyone have any other ideas that may work? Please, please, please! Thanks!!

 

[Polish Chickens]

Do they have water to drink? Also it would be good to put something over their run like a shade

 

[jbowen9]

Have you ever tried one of those outdoor misting fans it might be something to think about i know lowe's carries them

 

[ruth]

For the first time in a month, mine were NOT panting and even ventured out of the coop. It's been high 90s with high humidity for a month and mine had gotten to where they would not leave the coop it was so hot. The coop is a 100 year old coop/hen house and it stays naturally cooler but I also added a fan recently because the flies and gnats were getting so bad in there since no one was going out. My birds have total run of the farm so to see them all staying in the coop is very odd. In any event, we had a cold spell come through today - it rained and temps dropped and had a nice cool, almost cold, breeze blowing all day. Thank you Lord. Everyone felt frisky again and went outside to forage. The coop got a clean sweep of flies and gnats.

The only other thing you can do other than fans and cool drinking water is to use shallow pans of cool water that they can stand in. Mine love to stand around in the cool water as if waiting for their pedicures.

 

[selinagil]

Mine weren't panting today--only because it rained and was cloudy!! You could buy some shade cloth at a landscape store or even a tarp to put over the wire. I've started planting morning glory in the spring and climbing roses on my run to shade it during the summer.

 

[crazy hen quartet]

Mine have been panting (and holding their wings out) all month. It has been over 100 for the last 10 days! I worry about them, but then I know plenty of folks have chickens here in AZ and they seem to do fine.

My girls are in a shaded run, they have lots of water to stand around in (and they LOVE to stand in it!) and I am looking into a fan just cause I know that moving air helps them cool down.

During the hottest part of the day I let them out and they all run over to a big bushy area up against the house - I spray it down with water to act like a swamp cooler and they lay around under there all day.

If anyone else has tips - or warning signs to look out for - I'd love to hear them.

 

[SilverStar]

Quote:
That sounds like a good idea. I think i will try it. hopefully the misting fans are not to expensive. Thanks!

 

[mayapooh]

I've only noticed mine panting the last few days, but tonight they were panting even after the sun went down, it was so hot today. I may start hosing them off in the mornings, since this is just the start of the hot weather.

 

[cmom]

My birds have shade, also their run is covered. They spend the hottest time of the day in the shade mostly in their run. I put their coop under a tree so it is shaded too.