Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Your Chickens Cool In Summer?

[aart]

At night if over 60f or so outside

That's nice and cool here.

 

[topochico225]

if over 60f or so

That's a frigid day down here!

 

[Regina Larsen]

That's a frigid day down here!

@aart as well - im in a humid east coast area so 60s can still be a bit sticky. We are lucky we dont get a lot of temp extremes here, the ocean mediates it. I can imagine in harsher heat its def a concern keeping them cool enough since they cannot pant (EDIT:i meant perspire here ) like everyone else (including us lol).

 

[JacinLarkwell]

@aart as well - im in a humid east coast area so 60s can still be a bit sticky. We are lucky we dont get a lot of temp extremes here, the ocean mediates it. I can imagine in harsher heat its def a concern keeping them cool enough since they cannot pant like everyone else (including us lol).

Chickens can and do pant

 

[Doo]

I live in the Pacific Islands. I have my chickens in the backyard where they roam free in the shades of the banana trees and other shrubs in the mornings and they love to sand bath . When its too hot during the day I keep them in the coop with plenty of water and vegetables when no sign of afternoon rain I let them out again in the cool of the evening.

 

[Regina Larsen]

Chickens can and do pant

Yup! Quite right ... lol ... i meant to say 'perspire'. Obvi ive had my nightcap already

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Yup! Quite right ... lol ... i meant to say 'perspire'. Obvi ive had my nightcap already

I dunno , I've pulled some pretty damp birds out of boxes for fair check in. To be fair those birds almost always had issues other than being damp thpugh, and I can promise they weren't damp from just having been washed.

 

[eveliens]

I let mine free-range in the yard to where ever suits them best. They have access to a garden with a lots of tomatoes and watermelons, which they help themselves to often (the watermelons are duds that are busted open for them and set on the compost pile - the tomatoes they just eat off the bush). Most of the time they are either under the tomato bush (there are small waterers under there that get turned on during the hottest part of the day for the tomatoes - the chickens like the damp ground because it is cool) or by the porch where the concrete/condensation drips is cool and damp. I put them up at night where they have a choice to roost in the run or the coop - they usually prefer to roost in the run at night then move into the coop when it gets cooler in the early morning. The quail are confined to a run and I have 3/4ths of the pen shaded with lots of loose sand and ventilated little huts. I give them dampened spots to sit in mid-day. They won't go for fruit but, sometimes I'll give frozen peas/corn, which both the quail and chickens love. It gets pretty hot here but the birds usually pretty comfortable up to 100F. If it gets over 110F I bring the animals into the house.

 

[Regina Larsen]

I dunno , I've pulled some pretty damp birds out of boxes for fair check in. To be fair those birds almost always had issues other than being damp thpugh, and I can promise they weren't damp from just having been washed.

Thats super interesting. Condensation from breathing in a small space maybe?

 

[BDutch]

I dunno , I've pulled some pretty damp birds out of boxes for fair check in. To be fair those birds almost always had issues other than being damp thpugh, and I can promise they weren't damp from just having been washed.

You probably need more natural ventilation. Open up a serious part of a coop wall under the roof and add hardware cloth.