During summer, I focus on cool chickens. Here in Tennesse, it’s hot from May through October. And by “hot”, I mean, “HOT.” As in, you sweat just sitting on the back porch in the shade kind of hot. Although we can retreat into the air conditioning to cool down, our chickens can’t. And when the temperature starts to soar past 85 degrees F, they really start to suffer.
No matter where you live, it’s important that you take steps to keep chickens cool in hot weather. Although some chicken breeds tolerate heat, leaving most hens to fend for themselves in summer could cause physical damage, even death.
How Heat Can Stress Chickens
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More chickens die from heat stress than they do from exposure to the cold. Why? A chicken’s body temperature hovers around 104 degrees F. So, it’s easy for them to overheat during hot weather. However, their higher body temperature makes it easier for them to stay warm on a frigid day.
Exposure to prolonged bouts of hot temperatures can cause heat stress in chickens. And, this stress can damage them physically, which is why it’s so important to keep your chickens cool in hot weather.
Heat stress can cause a decrease in egg production. Some hens may stop laying entirely during prolonged bouts of hot weather. It can also cause organ damage, and even death due to dehydration and organ failure. Older birds are at a higher risk of mortality than younger ones.
Signs of Heat Stress In Chickens
Chickens under heat stress show a lot of symptoms, and it’s important to know what these are so you can take immediate steps to help when you spot a bird in distress.
1. Panting and Rapid Breathing
Overheated chickens will start to pant or breathe rapidly like a dog, trying to cool down. Chickens don’t have sweat glands, and they rely on their respiratory track to release heat. Panting and rapid breathing are usually the first signs of heat stress.
2. Outstretched Wings
Chickens will try to cool off by stretching out their wings and fluffing their feathers. They do this to get circulating air under their feathers, which can help lower their body tempature.
3. Thin Shelled Eggs
Heat stressed hens will often lay thin shelled eggs. This is because hens won’t eat as much as they normally do in hot weather, and this decreases their calcium consumption. When calcium is low, egg shells become thin or even disappear.
Heat stressed chickens may stop laying entirely due to dehydration and stress. Eggs are mainly water, and when dehydration sets in there isn’t enough water for an egg.
4. Lethargy
An overheated hen won’t have the energy to do much other than keep cool. She’ll be lethargic, not moving much or even laying on the ground with her eyes closed.
5. Pale Comb and Wattles
A heat stressed chicken will have a very pale comb and wattle.
6. Changes In Eating and Drinking Patterns
When chickens get hot they start drinking a lot of water to stay hydrated. This, in turn, often leads to diarrhea.
They’ll also eat less during hot weather, which is another factor that influences their egg production and egg quality. Food digestion creates heat in the body, so hens will naturally avoid eating when they’re overheated.
7. Disorientation or Seizures
When you see a hen staggering around the yard or run, or having a seizure, it’s a real emergency. Her heat stress has turned into heat stroke, and she could be close to death. You must do whatever it takes to cool her off immediately, or she could die.
Treating Heat Stroke
Chickens experiencing severe lethargy, disorientation, or seizures have progressed into heat stroke. And, this is a true emergency. Their organs are shutting down, and they’re likely severely dehydration. You need to get them into an air conditioned environment immediately or they will die.
Prepare Ice Bath
To help them cool off, prepare a cooling bath for them to soak in. Put ice and cold water into a dish tub or bathtub, and let them soak at least 5 to 10 minutes.
Give Electrolyte Formula
While they soak, prepare an electrolyte solution for them to drink. You can use Sav-a-Chick electrolyte formula. This is a great item to keep on-hand in your chicken first-aid kit because it allows you to quickly whip up a glass of electrolytes in an emergency.
You can also make your own electrolyte formula. Lisa Steele over at Fresh Eggs Daily has a great electrolyte recipe, as does Jill Winger at The Prairie Homestead. More often than not, I use Jill Winger’s formulation because I like using molasses instead of sugar, but that’s just my preference.
Chances are, your chicken won’t drink by herself. Use a dropper or syringe to drip water into her mouth every 10 to 15 minutes.
Keep In Sick Bay Overnight
Keep your chicken in an air conditioned sick bay overnight to let her rest and recover away from the rest of the flock. Give her fruits like watermelon, cantelope, strawberries, or peaches…all of these are high in water and natural sugars. You should also give her protein-rich foods like grubs, Greek yogurt, or scrambled eggs.
Make sure she’s drinking throughout the evening. If she’s not, try putting her treats in a dish of water so that she gets some water down while eating the treats.
Before releasing her back to the flock, make sure she’s strong enough to walk normally, and that she’s eating and drinking well on her own. She might need another day or two in sick bay to fully recover.
How to Cool Chickens In Hot Weather
There are many ways to keep chickens cool in summer.
1. Make Sure They Have Fresh Water
Hens that don’t have access to fresh water will die quickly in the heat. Make sure your hens always have plenty of fresh, clean water to drink. Keep in mind that water will evaporate quickly in hot weather, so you might need to check water levels several times a day, especially if you have a larger flock drinking a lot of water. You can keep their water cooler by adding ice cubes or even putting a frozen bottle of water in the tank.
You can also add powdered electrolytes to your chicken’s water. This will help balance their system out from drinking so much. If you don’t have powdered electrolytes, diluted Pedialite or Gatoraid will work.
2. Cool Chickens with Shade
If you have free range chickens, chances are they already know the best shady spots. However, if your hens are in an enclosed run, you need to make sure they have good shade during the day.
According to Poultry DVM, shade can reduce the outside temperature by 10 degrees F or more. You can provide shade in the following ways:
- Standing umbrella
- Shade sail
- Shade tree
- Curtains
- Canopy
- Pergola
- Trimmed tree branches
Also, make sure that the shade you provide is big enough to accommodate all the chickens in your flock at once.
3. Install Fans
Another way to keep your chickens cool in summer is to install fans in the coop. Fans will circulate the air, which will help cool the hens down when they stretch out their wings.
You should also do what you can to increase air flow in the coop. Remove any panels or objects that could be block the breeze, and trim any trees or bushes around the coop so that you have maximum air flow. Tall grass also blocks air flow. Trimmed grass and small bushes will help absorb heat and keep the coop cool.
4. Set Up a Wading Pool to Keep Chickens Cool
If you raise ducklings, chances are you have a little wading pool. If not, consider getting one for your hens.
During hot weather, hens will stand in water to cool down. Their feet act much like their comb and wattles in that they help the hen stay cool. So, a wading pool filled with a couple inches of water can provide them with a nice respite on a hot day. You can also get creative with water misters and even a children’s splash pad.
5. Ice and Frozen Treats Can Keep Chickens Cool
When chickens are stressed from the heat you can keep them cool by giving them ice cubes and frozen treats. Frozen fruits like watermelon, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and other melons are delicious and will help lower their body temperature. You can also try frozen sweet peas.
Keep in mind that when it’s hot out you shouldn’t give your hens scratch. The corn is harder to digest than regular chicken feed, and it will raise their body temperature during digestion.
You can also try this brilliant strategy from Backyard Chicken Farmer: freeze gallon jugs of water, and then put them in the coop on hot nights. Your hens might enjoy laying down next to these little “air conditioners.”
6. Try Herbal and Vitamin Treatments
Some herbs might help your hens cope and recover from heat stress. According to Poultry DVM, you may try the following:
- Boldo Leaf Extract: 1 gram extract to 4 L water
- Moringa Oleifera Seed Powder: .3% added to feed
- Lemon Verbena Powder: .5 to 1% added to feed
- Vitamin C: 250 mg added to feed
- Vitamin E: 200 IU kg-1 added to diet
- Ginseng Extract: Added to feed
- Curcumin (Turmeric): Added to feed
- Milk Thistle Extract: Dietary supplementation at the rate of 15 g/kg
7. Keep the Coop Clean
During summer it’s important that you keep the coop as clean as possible. As manure decomposes it produces heat, so keeping bedding clean and fresh will help keep the coop cooler.
Last Word
On our homestead, we’re blessed to have a spring and a creek, and it’s a relatively short walk for the girls to go down and get their toes wet. The spring is popular when it’s hot because the water is ice cold from bubbling up through the ground, and it’s heavily shaded.
Because of that, we didn’t have to do much to keep our chickens cool in extreme heat other than make sure water was available in and near the coop. However, this year we’ve doubled our flock size, and once I get their chicken run built they won’t be free ranging. So, we’ll have to use many of these strategies to keep them cool on hot summer days.
I’d love to hear from you. What do you do to keep your chickens cool in summer?