Official BYC Poll: Have you ever had issues with heat stress in your flock?

[Mimishummingbird]

I am a new chicken mom my girls will be 19 weeks Wednesday. It got up to 99 degrees this week so I have been putting frozen ice bottles around their runs, ice bottle in their water with vitamins & electrolytes. I also have a Bundt pan I add Mel worms to & freezing so when they start to pant I put it in their run & they peck & try to get the mealworms which keeps them cooled off, I also have misters and a fan on the daily. I do this on repeat every day, so in the evenings I grap all the water bottles and Bundt pan and wash off really well & put back into my freezer for the next day. I also mist the smaller run with a hand mister and that helps, they don’t like it on their feet but seem very happy once it’s done and they can lay down. I also have allot of shade cloth around their runs and an easy up above over their coop as we are limited with shade. It seems to be working for us but it is a heck of allot of work.

What age do ya all recommend switching to Layer feed?

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

What age do ya all recommend switching to Layer feed?

Chick feed needs to be fed to chickens that are under five months old. Either five or six months is the typical laying time for pullets. If you give layer feed to non-laying pullets, they have a very big chance of getting vent issues. But never suddenly switch over to layer feed; suddenly switching feed can cause health issues. Do it slowly instead. Start giving them a bit of layer feed mixed into their chick feed at around four months old, and slowly increase the amount of it. By the time the pullets begin laying, they should be eating all layer feed.

 

[CCsGarden]

Can heat cause hens to lay soft eggs or no eggs at all?

Some of mine only like to lay in winter,spring and autumn because its not so hot.
Our temperatures right now are anywhere from 90-117F each day with humidity.

 

[micstrachan]

We’re in a 10-day heatwave and I’m doing my usual tricks… misters, fans, cold watermelon, etc. I haven’t been icing their water, but have in the past.

I am very fortunate that we usually have dry air - I bought the chickens an evaporative cooler and it has been helping. Humidity is on the rise, however, so I don’t expect it to work as well.

 

[igorsMistress]

I am a new chicken mom my girls will be 19 weeks Wednesday. It got up to 99 degrees this week so I have been putting frozen ice bottles around their runs, ice bottle in their water with vitamins & electrolytes. I also have a Bundt pan I add Mel worms to & freezing so when they start to pant I put it in their run & they peck & try to get the mealworms which keeps them cooled off, I also have misters and a fan on the daily. I do this on repeat every day, so in the evenings I grap all the water bottles and Bundt pan and wash off really well & put back into my freezer for the next day. I also mist the smaller run with a hand mister and that helps, they don’t like it on their feet but seem very happy once it’s done and they can lay down. I also have allot of shade cloth around their runs and an easy up above over their coop as we are limited with shade. It seems to be working for us but it is a heck of allot of work.

What age do ya all recommend switching to Layer feed?

You don't ever have to switch if you don't want to. As long as you provide oyster shell around five to six months it's fine. Even with layer feed, provide the oyster shell as sometimes girls need more than what's in the feed.

 

[igorsMistress]

I have lost a few birds to the heat, one this year and some in other years. Our daytime highs can get to 115+ for days with overnight lows in the 90's; not a lot of opportunity to cool off. To prevent it I provide electrolytes in wet feed about 4 days a week, ice in pools throughout the day, lots of shade and I wet down the favorite bathing areas each morning. Treats are cold.

To assist with heat stress I bring the chicken inside, provide a cool tub of water to stand in and/or cool compresses under the wings. This year I had to syringe some electrolytes into one of my EE girls, but she didn't make it despite my efforts. I have found that those who struggle now will also struggle later and eventually they succumb.

 

[joyce_huang]

I had a straightly a whole week of middle 90s in my area. I let my hens free ranges in tree shades, put multiple water at different spots, occasionally put ice in the water. I feed then fresh vegs and corns from refrigerator. I also spread water on ground where they frequent in the night right before a real hot day. They lift their wings, open their months to cool themselves. So far they are healthy. No sign of stress.

 

[Sylvester017]

Given my area's long, hot, and humid summers and mild winters, I don't have big fluffy breeds like Orpingtons or Brahmas. I've started to move towards breeds with big combs since noticing how much more the breeds with small pea combs suffer in the heat. Their coop has a ton of ventilation and both the coop and run have lots of shade. I also have a big 5-gallon bucket drinker so that I don't have to remember to fill their water too often.

Yes, excellent! I would like to add to that at least TWO water sources or more in case one waterer breaks or leaks dry there should be backup.

Someone years ago on BYC mentioned their water source broke and that educated me to have several waterers available around the yard.

We have two Rubbermaid insulated coolers with spigots removed and Brite Tap chicken nozzles installed. Ice in the cooler keeps water cold all day.

The smallest Rubbermaid cooler to accommodate the Brite Tap is 2-gallon. Very very easy to install. Wish there was a 1-gallon but 2-gal is the smallest size with a spigot

.

We've had two of these Rubbermaid coolers for over 10 years. The first Brite Tap nozzles were nipple water attachments which I like better than the new model but the new model works good too. We have the old discontinued Model 1 as well as the new Model 2. Years ago we bought the cooler and Brite Tap thru chickenwaterer.com but I believe the Rubbermaid cooler itself has to be purchased separately now.

https://www.chickenwaterer.com/BriteTap-Chicken-Poultry-Waterer-p/upc-858728004141.htm

BriteTap Model 2 Chicken Waterer

BriteTap Model 2 Chicken Waterer

Another thing we do for the chickens is run a sprinkler on low for the chickens to cool their feet. When we saw a Leghorn years ago standing in a bowl of drinking water we switched to Brite Tap to keep drinking water clean/cold and started using slow running water for chickens to play in or stand in during heatwaves.

 

[Sylvester017]

Another thing we like is a wire coop floor for more ventilation especially nice while hens are in the nest boxes to lay their eggs. Building a patio roof over the coop/run keeps cooler in summer and keeps out rain in winter. The wire floor swaps out for a solid floor tray in winter.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think it is most important to look at where your shade is at at 10:00 am. At noon, 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00. What can be very shady at 10:00, can be blazing hot at 2:00.

Enough water. enough said

Thanks Sylvester017 - I think I am going to get that set up.