Heat help

[Wegs813]

I am in Minnesota and we have had extremely warm weather. My birds are outside in a tractor and just over 6 weeks old. Today was 96 degrees and guess what...we lost 13 out of 97 birds. Tomorrow will be in the 100's with heat index. What are some ideas to prevent that kind of loss tomorrow? They had cold water today, and we put the sprinkler on mist in their area.

 

[fair weather chicken]

people are probably getting tired of hearing about how i use the salatin method but you can't beat success. anyway try propping the back end up to create some air flow if that isn't enough try a fan. we did this last year for our layers and it seemed to help. we have 90's + and 70% humidity the next few days we are in lower mi

 

[chickenfeverforever]

Are you making sure they are getting plenty of electrolytes and Vitmamins in their water? I am sure that will help alot. Also, do you have enough shade for them in the tractor? What about a far? I know TSC sells large black barn fans. You could hook one up and blow into the tractor. Also, what about a little shallow pond that you could fill with some water for them to cool off. These are just thoughts.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

they like to dunk their feet in low flat pans of cool water. And 97 birds in the heat need PLENTY of room to spread out.

 

[secuono]

Mine aren't in a tractor, but adding a fan helped a ton.
Can you put up a shade tarp over the tractor area?

 

[UncleHoot]

I lost a few to the heat one year (and I'm hoping I don't lose any today and tomorrow). I found that simply moving the water into the shade helps quite a bit. For whatever reason, they become so afraid of the sun that they won't even walk to the waterer.

I also had someone suggest freezing some 2 litre bottles filled with water, then setting them outside with the chickens. I've dumped ice cubes out there before. They will actually sit on the ice cubes. It's kinda funny.

 

[chickenfeverforever]

Quote:
Exactly!!! I use the water bottle technique with my Angora rabbits. They do not tolerate heat well. You know what I also use for my rabbits which would work well for meaties????

Get a large tile if you have one or buy a few from lowes or Home depot. The largest you can fit in your freezer. Rinse it in water and put the tile in the freezer. Those tiles will keep cool for a long while and they meaties can really lay nicely on them.

 

[brandislee]

Quote:
I must live close to you, I've been dealing with the same thing, although no losses yet (but I'm holding my breath- we're five days from processing...). I bought a cheap box fan at walmart and ran a LOOOONG outdoor extension cord to the tractor. My birds are in a lot of shade, and I also make sure they have COLD water all day long. This last was a loosing battle, so I ran to the gas station (our ice maker is broken, and making ice would have taken too long) and bought two twenty lb bags of ice, and filled their water bottles to the top with ice. I'm thinking about putting a pan of ice out for them to lay on, too. I just checked my thermometer and it's 102 out, and climbing.

I was also thinking about putting a mister in front of the fan, but with just a week left before processing that didn't seem like a worthwhile investment, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time driving around in the heat to find one that would suit my purposes.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

love the tile idea