HELP!!!!!

[897tgigvib]

What Cane says sounds good.

Oh, I hope they'll be alright!!!

Have a tab open to google for info too. Save them!

 

[digitS']

. . . . Worst case - you can hose down the birds too. They won't like it, but it will help.

Nothin' madder than a wet hen!

Don't do like my brother and I did. It is one of my earliest memories - I wasn't 5 until we left that place so, it wasn't my fault! I was just a little kid! My brother must have done it!

Grandma had given both of us little bantam hens. It was a real hot day there in Redding. That's not far from where Marshall lives. Brother decides that they might like a swim in the irrigation ditch!

They were off so merrily ♪ ♫! Almost immediately, we realized that they seemed to be able to do nothing but float! We went running off down the irrigation ditch try to get ahead of them . . . finally, brother got down quick enuf to catch the last one in, mine. We never saw his little banty again . . . .

Mine lived to be 7. I made a note in the bible when she passed away.

Steve

 

[dewdropsinwv]

I saved 3 or 4 ice packs from when my daughter was taking growth hormones... they had to ship the medication in coolers with ice packs....glad I saved them!!!!! took 2 out and put it in their water containers!!!! Had a little water left in one of my gallon jugs and dumped it on goldilox, lol she just looked at me like, why did you do that... he he he.... Going to hook up the hose and water down the roof of the coop later... it doesn't seem quite as hot now.... at least out side. They have shade, just not trees.

 

[897tgigvib]

Whew!

 

[dewdropsinwv]

It's going to be hot like this the rest of the week. Guess I'll just have to make sure they have plenty of fresh water and hose down the run for them. Monty said it wont do any good to hose down the roof of the coop because it has black shingles and it will evaporate too quickly. I'll just have to be on my toes this week.

 

[bj taylor]

you can't use it inside the coop, but I use a cheap mister in the run. it makes a big difference for them. in the coop is the hardest sometimes. I have as much of the coop open as possible. instead of wood walls I had hardware cloth walls. I have two fans running at night. battling the heat is hard.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

I keep the door open as far as I can get it open. I think I need more ventilation for them, it was still warm in there when I closed them up for the night.... I'm sure I'll figure something out. When I let them out in the morning they stay out in the run most of the day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I came in late in this thread, but I agree with the others. Give them something to wade in that has cool water in it. Keep it out of the sun and the ice should be a help. I would not worry about them getting frostbite or anything like that if it is cold. Mine walk around in snow or water right at the freezing point in winter. No problems.

Let me throw out something on that wading pool. Will the chickens scratch holes in it? Id get something with a fairly tough bottom. The wading pool is worth a shot but you might look for something else shallow with a fairly hard bottom theyd have more trouble destroying.

Mine stand around in the water dishes. I have five scattered around. I had two die last year in the 110+ weather we had. When I started wetting down the run, they were a lot better off. I just ran a hose or carried buckets of water to get the run floor damp/wet in the shade.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i've found that watermelon and any melons in general are a good way to help keep them hydrated. they won't touch water if it gets to close to their body temp. if you can fill to about 3/4 full gallon water jugs and freeze them. leave the caps off the jugs so when they freeze they don't split. i tend to use over sized dog dishes for water bowls in my coop and keep plenty of them around. i will stick one of these frozen jugs in the middle of each dish around the yard. as the jug warms during the day it will end up with some condensation on the outside and the chickens will try to catch it in their beaks or enjoy the cold water in the dish. i also put any extra jugs around the coop in areas that stay shaded so they can lay beside them during the day.

giving them anything that is frozen also works. try making them a nice frozen treat with fruits and veggies in a block mold of ice.

if anything gets misted inside my coop i would have to change the shavings more often because moisture could break down any feed that gets mixed into the shavings, which will start to ferment and cause ammonia. if i mist anything it would be the ground outside and most of my girls run from it when they know i'm not doing it to be mean. :/

something i've seen at my local feed store is one of those large shallow feeding tubs made of recycled rubber, i think it is for horses or larger animals. it's also good in the winter time since it will not crack. btw, since this will eventually come up! winter time you can use an aquarium air pump with an air stone to disrupt the surface water and keep it from freezing

 

[Smart Red]

It is super hot here today..... my chickens are panting..... I am looking for ways to help them cool off. ANY suggestions are appreciated. I was thinking about putting some frozen lunch ice packs in their water containers.... will this help????

I have a fan in the coop - as much or more for the rabbit as the chickens. It pulls air from a low shady area outside the pop door, in, up, and out the window. It does NOT blow on the chickens. I would think that would blow too much chicken dust and dander around and cause respiratory problems. The fan has made a big difference. I have also added fencing to my pop door so I can safely leave it open all the time - even at night - and I let the main door open for them to get in and out during the day. If it seems like rain, I can unscrew the fencing on the pop door to keep the rain out and away from the litter.

Very cold or frozen fruit snacks such as watermelon, berries, bananas, etc. make nice treats and a few ice cubes in their water will help. My chickens are free range so they can find shady spots. Be sure to have some places in the run for them to find shade. A bit of a wet puddle can cool them off as well. They also like to rest in my garden shed near the garage door. With two doors open there is always a breeze through it and it's shady.