Your chickens do not like summer heat.....

[Three Stents]

depending on where you live. I have a solar exhaust fan and a solar intake fan for the coop and water misters for the run. Also, I have to paint the metal corrugated run covering with white elastomeric paint. Please don't wait till the hot weather gets here to ask about how to keep your flock cool. Kinda the opposite of when the cold weather was here for a lot of you. Please be proactive instead of reactive, Now go do the right thing, before the heat gets here.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Alternatively, you can get breeds that are more resilient in the heat. I have never used fans because they would be a pain to clean with all the chicken dander flying around. I lived in Utah and just provided lots of deep shade and the occasional ice block and only ever had hear problems with my first Salmon Faverolles when I kept their waterer in the un-shaded coop.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Dirt, shade, & lots of cool water is all what I use make sure my birds stay cool. Occasionally I'll give vitamins, & electrolytes water.
If it's needed, I give them a dip in cool water.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

If it's needed, I give them a dip in cool water.

MC,
Ha Ha, How did your chickens take to being dunked in water? I bet that ruffled their feathers!

 

[MysteryChicken]

MC,
Ha Ha, How did your chickens take to being dunked in water? I bet that ruffled their feathers!

Some like it, some may fuss, others tolerate it. It depends on the individual bird. But they're happy once out, & soggy.

 

[Nonafel]

Shade, dirt/dust bath, ice treats and cooler water to drink. Your chickens will be fine.

 

[MarlaMac]

My daily summer routine in the middle of Texas is comprised of ice in their waterers along with refrigerated water. I change it 2 - 3 times a day depending upon the heat factor. They have lots of shade - either trees they have dug the underbrush out of or our decks. About 5pm I water the backyard where the shade will be until they go to roost and move their food and water to the back. Then from about 7 until the go to roost, provide a "river" of water for them in the shade outside the coop/run. I tried misters, but my birds hate them and in the Texas humidity, I think it does more harm than good. But they do like walking in the wet grass and the evening "river".

If the heat gets into the 90s, they get watermelon or other melons as an afternoon treat.

The coop has large, secure openings that allow whatever breeze might be available in. I do have fans in the coop and run them if the overnight temps stay above 80. Texas heat is brutal sometimes.

They don't like the heat, but I haven't lost one to the heat yet.

 

[Weetamoo93]

I'm in South Mississippi where it gets hot and muggy most summer days. The kind that's hard to cool off because sweat doesn't work when it can't evaporate (and it won't).

I make sure my birds have access to layered shade. Their favorite places to rest are under bushes that are under trees. I'm working on getting more bushes around their coop to help shade that along with some tall deciduous shrubs.

 

[Three Stents]

think about putting some fruit trees/bushes in the ground....when the fruit drops.....

 

[Weetamoo93]

think about putting some fruit trees/bushes in the ground....when the fruit drops.....

Already on it. Their food forest is in the works. Some are already established, others newly planted. They love foraging for the fruits and the bugs they attract

They got black nightshade, elderberry, beauty berry, black cherry, huckleberry, blueberry, persimmon, crab apple, and chickasaw plum.