I have an old sheet over the run part of the chicken tractor and had the hose on a tiny spray going on the sheet. It made a huge difference in temperature. I didn't have a way to attached the misters I have, but I also used a fan with an extension cord. I also put pie plates of water for them to walk in, they mostly drank from them, but it did the job. Thanks Bri for the information.

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Those are all great ideas, Silvia. Thanks for sharing!

I have sprinklers on top of my coops. I also feed frozen watermelon they love it.

I live in Florida, lots of heat and humidity. My irls LOVE it when I spray down part of their run in the hot part of the day. They have a good time scratching around, looking for bugs. I might look into a mister.

I live in the deep south and I would like to suggest HEAVY SHADE. I'm talking actual Dark Places in their area I just find so many chicken coops including this one there is no heavy shade. The misters are a great idea for sure. I feed my chickens grapes every evening before they get locked down in the coop and that shuts that heavy panting completely off at least for a while. I'm glad to know that we're all loving our chickens enough to do things to keep them comfortable through this horrific heat. We have a fan blowing in their co-op and another fan blowing under their co-op.. We really do have to consider these birds in this heat. I enjoyed your video very much thank you.

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

So true, Judy. That's one of the problems where I live - there is no shade. I put up shade cloths on the run walls and have a roof over the run, but it's not the heavy shade you're referring to you. When I let my flock free range, they all run out to this area where there's an apple tree and a lot of thick bushes around it, the only shade in sight, and that deep shade makes a big difference!

Good job with the music! It usually takes away from the 'production.' But not this time. I did order a fan and will install it today. Thanks for the ideas. 👍

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Winnie. Just tried music the first time with my last video (on broody hens) - trying to use it to set moods and aid the story, rather than just as background noise. Thanks for the feedback!

That's certainly much less labor intensive than what I've had to do with my Runner ducklings during our heat wave; they've grown accustomed to getting showers from the nozzle on my hose every hour or so! Never thought I'd grow up to be a duck showerer!

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

It's amazing how well our birds have us trained...

@msmaj4895

Жыл бұрын

Aww...we are beautifully empathic and consistently kind to animals, a holy gift from God! ❤

If you can’t afford misters or that’s not practical for you I make mud pits and they love them

I did this too. I like the idea (comments) of soaking a sheet covering the pen with cool misting water. I actually bought a portable air conditioner for the barn; not yet installed. The hole saw bit arrived today. Will update!

I have misters in my run. It was 114 degrees here last week and my chickens weren’t even panting. I did leave them on most of the day in that crazy heat but if it’s in the low hundreds I put them on a timer of 15 to 30 minutes every two hours and it’s enough to keep them cool. They also have sand in their run, which helps. Total lifesaver,literally. Highly recommend!

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing that, Angie. So glad to hear they've made a HUGE difference for your birds too!

@andreahughes6288

9 ай бұрын

I've noticed your feeders on on the ground, but if you hang the feeders from the inside rafters in your coup by a long rope at about 10 inches off the ground so your chickens can still reach the food and this will keep the mice and rats from eating all your chicken feed. Also you can hang the feeders from a post outside in your chicken yard.

I love my misters. I lost 4 chickens in a heat wave and got misters. Life saving ❤ I just use a water bucket and batteries last all day. Got them from lowes

I attempted to use misters directly on my run and it really made a wet mess. So, I put up a pop-up canopy over their run and used clothes pins to attach it to the very edges of the canopy. Because I have only one hose from the irrigation system, and I have their auto waterer on that, I bought a hose splitter. So nice with independent valve on/off. I have a box fan giving breeze when there is none. ALSO: I use frozen, lidded icecream buckets full of ice stacked in columns (4) in front of the fans inside the run and it also helps. I do this inside their coop for nights when it wont get below 90°. My birds are winter hardy dual purpose birds, so really anything over 90° is really stressful and dangerous for them.

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Great ideas and so true about the temp being dangerous for them.

This is my first year with chickens and I'm so worried about them as it's not even summer and they are already panting:( your videos have been incredibly informative, thank you!

@my2cents49

Жыл бұрын

You can add splash buckets for them to play in. My chickens had like 4 long buckets with water about 5 inches deep around the yard and run, under shade of course. They drank out of one and used the rest for cooling off.

This video made my day 😊

Thank you Thank you Thank you! Great idea and HAPPY Thanksgiving to you and your family and feathered flock. :) A Michigan Mom

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Happy Thanksgiving to you all as well! :)

Bird baths?

I wondered about a mister. When they are panting it’s distressing that they are too hot. I wondered about fans too. I’m raising chicks and heard fans don’t help chicks. At some point they can be cooled by fans but as babies, don’t. So when does the change happen? Is is feathers?

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Fans will cool down chicks too, but really young chicks typically don't need fans because they like it warm. You could use fans on chicks that are overheating (panting, etc.) - just make sure they can easily get out of the breeze of the fan and have somewhere to warm up (like their brooder plate - and make sure the brooder plate is OUTSIDE the breeze of the fan). They don't thermoregulate as well as older chicks or adults and so you absolutely need to make sure they don't stay too cold. And you're right that when their feathering changes around 6 weeks, they are better able to handle the cold.

Fans seem to work better for me. The humidity is already sky high so adding more humidity is not something that I would do. But my girls enjoy a half of a watermelon and a fan on all daylight hours. I am in the middle of building a coop and run for my little girls and I intend to add solar fans and a large dust bath for them. By the way I live in coastal Alabama, so yeah, we are the humidity capital. 😆

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

I bet it's beautiful where you're at, but I don't think I'd last 5 minutes there. I'm a huge baby in the heat. :)

You should mention what state you are in. Even vague hint would have helped understand your video better. I wondered what area you were talking about.

@thefeatherbrain

Жыл бұрын

Horseshoe Bend in SE Idaho

I cooked mine so they don't suffer the heat 😋

@user-bt2uy9zv1c

10 күн бұрын

Pathetic....