Keeping hens cool in extreme heat. What do you do???

joanne76 · **Joined:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:37 pm **Posts:** 5

Well yesterday it was 43c at my place when i got home at 5pm. 4 of my hens where hot but sitting in shaddy spots, 1 hen was in the hutch and she was just about dead. She was so hot it was unimaginable. I plunged her into the dogs water bowl and it instantly turned into a hot bath. I filled a tub with cold water and put her in and out of the water over a 1 hour period. She cooled down in time and started to come alive again. I gave her subcutanious fluids and kept her in the airconditioned house all night. This morning she was dead : (

Does anyone have any tips to keeping chooks cool? Could you put the sprinkler on so it lightly hits them????
I couldnt bare to lose more girls this way and i think it would be a terrible way to die.

Jo

Raf · **Posted:** Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:00 pm

Hello Jo, yes put a mist spray kit on the roof of your chook pen. You can pick them up from bunnings for under $20 and they don't use a lot of water as all the head only put out a fine mist, the chooks will love you for it.

Raf

joanne76 · **Joined:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 1:37 pm **Posts:** 5

Hey Raf that is a fantastic idea. I will make a trip to Bunnings tomorrow and get one.
I cant allow any more of my girls to die unnecesarily

TinaL · **Joined:** Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:41 am **Posts:** 1

My husband set up the same watering sprays last year and so far I have had no deaths this summer. It only took him 3 hours and 4 beers and it works perfectly. Tina

rainbow · **Posted:** Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:01 pm

Hi Jo, I was worried for my chooks too, here in Adelaide we seem to get a lot of consecutive days above 35 degrees in summer. What we have done for our girls is put some 70% shade cloth about 30 cm above the coop, it allows air flow and the cloth keeps the coop cool. The chooks go into the pen on very hot days and dig themselves a hole to sit in into the deep litter (straw) where below there is cement, they seemed ok. I figure if they go in there it must be working. Sorry about your chookie.

chickenshed · **Joined:** Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:13 pm **Posts:** 2

I just use a simple fan sprinkler on the roofs and use a tap timer to turn them off after 15 Minutes

coops · **Posted:** Wed Dec 23, 2009 5:06 am

The polly pipe mist sprays are excellent I have it on all my bird cages

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

We are lucky enough to have bore water so using it isn't a problem (no water restrictions I mean) I have one of those little sprinklers which I put on for the hens/ducks when its really hot, its been 40 here a couple of times but mostly mid 30's and it seems to work well. I've also managed to grow grass in the bottom part of the pen by sprinkling and that really seems to help too.

Those misting kits from Bunnings sound like a great idea though.

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