High temperatures can be deadly to chickens. At the point when the thermometer rises, chickens adapt by holding out their wings and gasping.
Egg-laying efficiency diminishes. These adapting systems fall flat and your hens will succumb to warmth stroke. You’ll know your hens are battling with heat when they are gasping with completely open mouths and are slow.
They quit eating and drinking. On the off chance that you see that, they’re in impending threat.
Be that as it may, don’t give up, a good amount of research can help them adapt to warm.
There are things you can accomplish with the goal that you don’t need to bring your hens into your aerated and cooled front room!
1. Cold Crisp Water
Cool, crisp water is the most essential thing to give your chickens. On the off chance that your waterer is in the sun, or over the yard and in the coop, your hens won’t utilize that gadget and they won’t get inspired enough to drink.
Put a waterer in the shade where they hang out. And on the off chance that it’s hot to the point that even that water is too warm to drink, you can chill it by adding ice.
2. Frozen Vegetables
Watermelon and cucumbers are particularly great, you don’t need to cut them up. Abandon them entirely with the goal that it will last. Frozen pieces of vegetables and organic products are additionally useful for pecking at.
This is a decent time to wipe out your cooler.
If you, however, are keen on having different kinds of fun treats for your chickens you can also improvise and make them yourself.
There are many healthy recipes for your chickens that can be good for them on both cold winter nights and hot summer days.
At the point when the temperature ascends into the high 90s and the humidity gets to the point that it feels hard to inhale, dump a receptacle of ice blocks into the pen, this should keep them cool and also give them a little exercise and let them blow off some steam. The chickens drink the water as the ice softens and this kind of makes the whole block of ice thing dual-purpose.
3. Provide them with shade
Your chicken’s must-have shade.
It may sound a bit weird but the shade is one of the top 3 things a good and quality coop and run combination needs. Making sure that your chickens get enough room in the shady spots prevents bullying and heat strokes.
A good idea is to have something mobile as extra for the very hot summer days we mentioned above so that your chickens will have more room to move freely.
Your chickens should have constant access to a dust bathing area because it can help them maintain proper hygiene.
Regular water baths can be very helpful trough out the summer.
4. Ventilation
Ventilation is mandatory.
A vent that hauls hot air up and out can chill the coop off by 15 degrees. On the off chance that your coop didn’t accompany one, you can purchase a unit and install it.
Windows that can be opened provide wind current. Indeed, even little coops ought to have windows and vents so that hot, clammy air isn’t caught close to the rooftop where the chickens perch.
5. Choose chicken breeds wisely
Remember that you can always get a breed of chicken that can fit the weather conditions you live in.
Different breeds have adapted to different kinds of environment so if you dig a little bit on the chicken breeds part of the internet you will find the breed that fits you well.
How do you handle the summers with your chickens? Share your experience with us in the comments below.
References:
https://extension.arizona.edu/managing-extreme-summer-temps-backyard-chickens
I live in Colorado and we are having a heat wave, however, our humidity does not get high. I give the girls cold corn on the cob, watermelon and fill the “bath” part of a birdbath so they can walk in it and cool their feet. Luckily the chicken pen has sun and shade. When it gets really hot I let them free range and they are good at finding a cool place, usually in the horse stall because I keep a fan on the horses.