It's getting warmer and I was wondering if any of you had any interesting methods of keeping your hens cool in the summer. I thought of a mister but not sure if it would make their bedding too moist and mushy. Are they ok with just shade? Any thoughts are appreciated.
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I hung a bamboo roll up shade on one side of the coop, when I wet it, the breeze that comes through is substantially cooler. I just thought I'd share. You do have to keep rewetting it, but I'm trying to figure out a way to maybe set a timer with a sprinkler to wet it, or maybe set a jug up top with a pin hole or 2 in it to keep a constant stream of moisture....any ideas again would be appreciated.
This is our first summer with our girls, so we are new to this too. Unfortunately, our girls' coop is in one of the sunniest spots of the yard. We are trying everything possible to keep them cool.
The sides of their coop facing South and West have wood panels on top to provide shade. We also stood up a few straw bales on the outside of the coop, to block the sun and, hopefully, provide some insulation from the intense heat. Soon we'll put in a mister system on the sunniest side of their coop. Two umbrellas provide some extra shade (they only cost $15 each at IKEA). And we planted two grapes on the South side of their coop, which will hopefully by next summer provide shade - apparently the evaporation of moisture from their leaves also provides an evaporative cooling effect (my husband learned that from Myron in his class). Last but not least, we also use the frozen soda bottles Rachel recommends (great idea, Rachel). Another idea we are playing with is to cover the top of their coop with shade cloth which is supposed to lower temperature by a few degrees. I guess every little bit helps.
Good luck to all of you getting your chickens safely through the summer!
Thanks Maren! I like your coop. Now that mine is built I keep seeing cute ideas that I wish I would have used. I hung a wet sheet on one side of the coop this morning to create an evaporative cooling effect. I hope it helped. I'm sure it dried out pretty fast. On the days I'm not working I'll definitely re-wet it throughout the day. I want to paint the roof white to reflect the heat. I doubt it will help a bunch but every little bit counts.
I want my girls to be comfortable, not just survive, so I will do the mister & I will also do the frozen bottles. I used to do that when I had rabbits. Thanks for all the ideas, keep them coming!
They like the ground being damp, so you can wet down the dirt where they spend their time. I also put out frozen water bottles underneath the bushes for them to get up against if they get too hot. I don't start doing any of this before it gets to 100 though.
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The sides of their coop facing South and West have wood panels on top to provide shade. We also stood up a few straw bales on the outside of the coop, to block the sun and, hopefully, provide some insulation from the intense heat. Soon we'll put in a mister system on the sunniest side of their coop. Two umbrellas provide some extra shade (they only cost $15 each at IKEA). And we planted two grapes on the South side of their coop, which will hopefully by next summer provide shade - apparently the evaporation of moisture from their leaves also provides an evaporative cooling effect (my husband learned that from Myron in his class). Last but not least, we also use the frozen soda bottles Rachel recommends (great idea, Rachel). Another idea we are playing with is to cover the top of their coop with shade cloth which is supposed to lower temperature by a few degrees. I guess every little bit helps.
Good luck to all of you getting your chickens safely through the summer!
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