Worried Im soon going to have 50 baked chicken dinners...

[crystalchik]

I live in the heart of Florida, my coop has an aluminum roof and no shade. I think you already see my dilema. It can reach well over 100*F in the sun here on a normal day, and today we are under a heat advisory predicting temps of about 112 and higher. Im so worried my chickens (silkies esp) are going to start having heat strokes. I have a fan set up in the coop, but it literally feels like heater...just blowing hot hair. It is just as hot out side as it is in the coop, so moving them is not going to help. I go out during the hottest point of the day between 1-2pm, and hose down the roof of the coop and spray down all the chickens. This works great for a while, then it becomes like a sauna. There is no air movement out here, at all. Just baking heat. I dont know what else to do for them. They are taking it relatively well, but I wish I could provide some relief. Does anyone have an idea of a cooling system I could build for them? If I could afford it I would set up an window ac unit for them. Thanks for any tips you can give us!

 

[dixiebeast]

We are also having heat issues and although my peeps have shade I am using frozen 2 liter bottles placed in the runs...its cute to go out and see them all lounging around and on the bottles... seems to be a big help..I take up the bottles in the eve when it cools some and put them back in freeze untill about 11ish when it starts getting to our high heat of the day! Good luck

 

[crystalchik]

Thats a very good idea! I will definitely try that. I think Im going to need a lot though! lol Thanks!!

 

[terrilhb]

You could also try putting out something like cat litter pans with cool water for them to stand in. I also give mine frozen treats when it is really hot. I also went and bought some tarps and put them over part of my runs so there is shade at the hottest part of the day. Also wetting their runs down helps some. Good luck. I have a shed like yours here in Ga. Hope all works out well for you. Oh 1 more thing. Can you run a garden hose with a sprinkler that has a mister on it. And let it run for awhile.

 

[moetrout]

What about a sprinkler on a timer so it could rewater the coup roof and run area say 5 minutes every hour?

 

[Capvin]

Weare also in Central Florida and we know it is HOT. There are numerous things you can do to make your chicks more comfortable. The most important is to provide them with cool, fresh water at all times. That means changing the water several times during the day. We also keep a shallow pan filled with water and sometimes they walk in it and sometimes they just drink from it. I freeze platic soda bottles with water and put them in or around the water pan. We have a ceiling fan in their run and a fan in the coop. That helps to keep air moving. We feed them cold or frozen watermelon almost every day and they love it and it assures that they are getting liquids. Also provide them with some cold, plain yogurt mixed with a bit of their feed and some mashed fruit. Most importantly we have a misting system set up in one part of 6their run. It has 6 mist heads and the chicks can go in it or dig in the soft, damp sand to keep cool. Without the mist system they would not fare as well as they do. The system in available at Lowes or Home Depot. Get it and you will find a big difference as the temps in the part where the mist goes is much cooler then the rest of the run. Your chicks may seem not to like it at first but leave it on and they will not only get used to it, but they will be in it for most of the day. I turn mine on around mid morning and leave it on for the entire day. It is misting so it does not use a lot of water.

Don

 

[boogiedog]

On super hot days I will toss out a mixed frozen veggies - you can usually get them on sale at the store. Frozen peas and diced carrots seem to be a favorite.

 

[Jeffross1968]

Short term, make sure they have cold water. Long term, do what we did, and move from FL to the mountains

 

[cindylo]

In another thread I saw where someone instaled an window air conditioner in the coop. That sounds like a winner to me with the temperatures you're having. We haven't even had one day yet this summer where the temperature has topped 100. I wiah I could send you all out some fresh cool air. (Even with temps in the 90's I baby the girls with ice cild watermelon and strawberries.)

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

You got to do something with the roof, if they only had shade - can you build another roof between the tin,make a crawlspace, insulate it then vent the heat out? I lived in florida so I know how brutal it is, How about a window a/c unit, If you could only give them shade and get them out of the hot box I think they'll survive.