Bawkbok
In the Brooder
Hi all, we are newbies at this - 3 months now. We live in the south and it's been in the 90s for weeks now and only in the low 80s at night. This coop is supposed to stay cool at night but when the door opens at dawn our girls are panting. The ambient air is much cooler than in the coop. We keep it impeccably clean every day and use triple heated pine shavings in the layer to cut down on dust - which by the way they no longer use since they quit laying two weeks ago with the heat stress. We are concerned with the high humidity and how to keep them cooler by adding a small fan inside the roost area. We contacted Omlet and they suggested not to leave the auto door open and to add a small fan. They offered no suggestions on products and said to reach out to others. They don't offer any such product. The roost area is obviously small (can only house 4 birds, we have 2). We've searched google endlessly and cannot find a SMALL fan to install somehow and placing a fan on the ground outside the run with an extension cord running to the house (ugh) freaks them out and is noisy. Does anyone have this problem or suggestions on what we can do to keep air movement in the roost at night? It is effective at keeping them dry, no humidity or moisture builds up in the roost which is probably why they said to leave the doors closed, but dang, I don't know how we're going to make it through the summer, targeted to be hotter and dryer than normal. As first time chicken momma, I could be overly worried but our EEs shouldn't be stressed or panting first thing in the morning. They are pullets, approx. 6 months old. We're still working on the picture thing - new to this site too. Thanks for your help.
