What can I do to make my coop colder

[Bryce Thomas]

I am already :Having large tarps up against the sunny sides that cover up 89% of the coop, also overhead tarps that cover half the coop, I always have fresh and clean water that I change and replace daily with really cold water

What else can I do? I only have silkies, I have noticed them panting more and I know all it takes is 1 heat wave for my babies to no longer be here : (

 

[Percheron chick]

Pictures?
Easiest solution is to remove all or parts of the wall and replace it with hardware cloth.

 

[Mellowmalt]

a tarp will protect from the sun but it will also get very hot at the same time and it will act like a windbarrier which can prevent heat escaping.
So the best thing would be to have more air running through the run. If you have a wall and a tarp, then heat will build up fast. You mainly want to protect the sides, if it gets really hot you want to be able to remove the roof so hot air can escape. I realize you most likely have a tarp as rain cover so have a rain cover but angle it so hot air doesn't build up underneath it, the rain cover does not need to cover the whole run.
If that still does not help you can get additional tarp but you want to get white tarp. You place this over your existing tarp, ideally leaving a 5cm gap of air between the two. Teh white tarp will reflect a lot more sunlight thus reflect more heat away.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I am already :Having large tarps up against the sunny sides that cover up 89% of the coop, also overhead tarps that cover half the coop, I always have fresh and clean water that I change and replace daily with really cold water

What else can I do? I only have silkies, I have noticed them panting more and I know all it takes is 1 heat wave for my babies to no longer be here : (

My chickens love to eat frozen fruit. I put some fruit or veggies in water then freeze it till it is solid then give it to them. I also put ice cubes and spray their run with cold water.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

We sometimes use misters above the coop to cool it off. Also what part of the world are you in?

 

[Bryce Thomas]

We sometimes use misters above the coop to cool it off. Also what part of the world are you in?

Gilbert, AZ

I always love gardening and plant trees to combat climate change but as climate change continues to yield record breaking temps out here in the desert I'm just pushing the clock till a heatwave breaks and I have to accept that i might loose some of my birds

 

[getaclue]

Fans, and misters. Make a framework as tall as you can above the coop(s)/run(s), and put the tarps on top of the framework. That way the tarps provide shade, and protection from rain, without collecting heat down low, where the chickens are. Frozen water bottles floated in their water buckets helps. Freeze water in gallon jugs. Cut slits towards the top of the jugs. Set them at an angle in the run area, so they drip on the ground as they melt, creating a cool water spot. You can rinse them off, refill them, and freeze them again. Just make sure the slits are at the top, so you can refill them. Put peas, and fruits in an ice cube tray, and freeze. Toss some of them out in the run. They will learn to peck at the ice to get the goodies.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

Gilbert, AZ

I always love gardening and plant trees to combat climate change but as climate change continues to yield record breaking temps out here in the desert I'm just pushing the clock till a heatwave breaks and I have to accept that i might loose some of my birds

We used to live in Gilbert but now we are east of Tucson. It got HOT HOT HOT!!