15 May 2023
Chickens can begin to overheat between 75-80 degrees fahrenheit. They cannot sweat so you may have to help them stay cool during the hot summer days. Luckily, there are many different ways to keep your chickens cool all summer long!
If your chickens are panting, holding their wings away from their body, and being lethargic then they need your help! My first summer with chickens I had no idea how to help them. I didn't know what to do and I definitely didn't know there were things to avoid.
It seems so simple, but easily gets overlooked. Your coop should go in the shadiest part of your yard. If you don’t have natural shade, make some! You can purchase shade cloth. Buy a pop up canopy. Or plant some young trees that will eventually provide shade for years to come!
A necessity year round for chickens, but especially in the summer! Chickens don't bathe in water, they bathe in dust. You can make a dust bath with regular potting soil and add whatever you like to personalize it.
You can freeze berries, chunks of melon, and other fruits and veggies to give as a nice cool treat
Mist the ground with a hose or misting system to cool down their area. Cover the dirt, grass, tress, and roof of the coop/enclosed run. As the water evaporates it will continue cooling the area down.
Chickens usually don’t like being completely wet. But they do enjoy stepping into a puddle of cool water on a hot day. They will also dunk their heads and combs on a really hot day. You can use anything shallow and keep the water below their feather line.
Freeze some different fruits, veggies, and herbs in a big chunk of ice and give it to your ladies to peck at throughout the day. BONUS: Use mint! It has a calming affect on chickens and can help reduce heat stress.
Another one that seems simple but is necessary to keep chickens cool in the summer. Provide fresh cold water every morning when temperatures are high. Midday you can add a block of ice to keep the water cool through the hottest part of the day. Use a Tupperware, fill it with water, and freeze overnight. The big block will last much longer than ice cubes!
Make sure you have plenty of ventilation. If it’s too warm in your coop at the end of the day you may want to consider installing some windows you can open up for more ventilation during the summer!
You can put their feed in the freezer for a couple hours and they will love it! Keeps them cool and you don’t have to put too much effort into it.
If your chicken is showing signs of extreme heat stress (panting heavy, not laying, not eating/drinking, wings far away from body, lethargic) then you can dunk a chicken. Not literally!! Get enough water in a tub or bucket to immerse your chicken up to the base of her neck. Use cool/room temperature water, not freezing cold water. Gently lower her into the water for about 15-30 seconds or as long as she’ll allow.
Your chickens respond to you and expend excess energy when you're around. So keep your time with them to a minimum so they don't need to use the extra energy. In the morning get them set up for the hot day. Then check on them throughout the day and keep your time short.
Corn and scratch are high in carbohydrates and take more energy to process. This creates heat within your chicken, which is great in the winter months but should be avoided in the summer. Focus on water heavy treats like lettuce, watermelon, grass, weeds, etc.
Your coop is enclosed and will be far hotter than outdoor spaces. Be sure your chickens have a roomy outdoor space to spread out and beat the heat during the day.
Deep Bedding is great when it's not 80 degrees. From Fall to Spring I'll use the deep bedding method to keep my coop fresh and my chickens warm. Once Summer hits I clean out all the accumulated bedding and put in a small layer of shavings about 2 inches thick. I will add shavings each week for three weeks and then clean it out completely every month to keep the bedding fresh and the coop cool.