How can I cool off the babies?

[Deleted]

Man, it's so HOT right now. It's 109 and still climbing.

The little keets (10 of them now) are all stuffed in a corner, panting. It's pitiful to watch. At least they're next to the water, so they do occasionally get a drink, but their little mouths are open and pointed up and they're panting like crazy.

I've got the big door of the coop open, plus both the windows, so there's some breeze in there, but I have them surrounded by cardboard because they're so small I'm afraid they'll get throught the chicken wire divider. Rich just went out and mounted a clip on fan to one of the beams (one of those little "personal size" fans) to move the air in the keets' area a bit. Is there anything else I can do to make them more comfortable, or should I just get over it and quit worrying?

Oh, I also have a sprinkler on low out in the chicken run, to try and cool the air in the immediate area, and give the chickens some wet dirt and puddles to play in.

Have I forgotten anything?

~Lannie

[bergere]

Ice in a bucket or pail. That is what I have done in the past. Works for bunny's too.

Just fill it up, make sure they can't jump in. It will stay cool around the pail and if they are too hot they can snuggle next to it to cool off.

[Deleted]

You know, that was the first thing I thought of doing, but Rich said it wouldn't cool the air enough to do any good. But if they sat right next to it... I'm off to fill a pail with ice!

Thanks!

~Lannie

[Deleted]

Mission accomplished! I filled an old 5-quart ice cream bucket with ice (how did I ever live without an icemaker?) and set it out there next to them. With the fan blowing over the ice, it should cool it off a few degrees at least.

The fan by itself had actually helped some. Just now when I went out, only a few of them were still panting, and several of them were chasing flies, so I'm not worried they're going to keel over from heat stroke now. ;D

~Lannie

[bergere]

Glad it worked Lannie!

Have to agree with you there,, and icemaker is a wonderful thing to have.
I remember as a child, only way to cool off was buying big blocks of ice and have a fan blow over it. Kind'a messy but it worked!

[Deleted]

I always freeze water bottles for the same thing. I can't run a fan out to my barn but the bottles seem to keep the air cooler at least.

[Deleted]

I have wired electricity in the chicken coop because I have the bestest homesteading hubby in the whole world! ;D Actually, there was one outlet and one light switch in the barn, so he worked from that and hard-wired the barn and the chicken coop for lights, heaters, extra outlets, etc. It really is nice!

Today it's not as hot (only 96 right now), but the humidity is back. I'm dripping sweat already, and all I've done so far is make breakfast and do the dishes. At least it's cool down here in the basement.

It killed me to do it, after yesterday's heat, but I had to turn the babies' heat lamp on last night. It got down to 67, so it would have been too chilly for them without it. I left the extractor fan on in the main part of the coop so the bigger chickens wouldn't be too hot last night. Everybody was just fine this morning.

The babies must have been up all night, though, because this morning their feeder was half-empty. For such little things, they can sure pack away the groceries! Maybe they'll get big enough in the next week that I can take down the cardboard and just leave the chicken wire (1") divider. When the babies are peeping or squawking, a couple of the Brahmas have been showing concern. One of them has been calling to them, and even jumped up on the top of their hanging feeder so she could get a look at them over the cardboard. They're only 3 1/2 months old now, but would they be showing "motherly concern" yet? I'm hoping that by having them in the same coop, separated by only some chicken wire, that they'll get used to each other and I can let the babies out in the run at 5 or 6 weeks old. I certainly can't keep them in their part of the coop until they're full grown.

~Lannie