Hot Weather....
My birds are confined with no great deep shade for last half of the day so I have to be vigilant during heat waves.
I do have shade cloths up on run, which helps, but still not deep shade.
To help cool down the coop I have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into coop and pushes hot air out. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/window-fan-mount.75608/
To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see if everyone is moving well.
Lethargy is a red flag.
Deep all day shade is best but....I don't have much of that.
This has worked very well to keep heat stress/stroke at bay:
I give a dose of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes/vitamins about once a week during heat waves.
It really seems to help....started this after they saved a heat stroked hen once.
Can mix up a smaller amount, just wrap the packet tight and store in a dry cool place.
Always have plain water available too.
BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.
Shown is a plastic sled, any shallow sturdy tray will work, needs to not tip when they stand on the edge.
Tray should be washed off daily, I just squirt them off with a garden hose.
Much more useful to the chickens than frozen foods and treats.
Used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.
Make space in your freezer!
Cold Weather....
Extreme cold temps can interfere with hydration too.
If a bird is not dehydrated, they won't eat well...it can go downhill fast.
I watch for lethargy, toss some treats out in coop or run and watch behaviors.
Any bird that doesn't go for treats needs some attention.
I mix a batch of SAC solution, then soak it up in some rolled oats, to avoid any wattle dippage of an open waterer.
Takes a couple hours to get it all soaked up, but well worth the time.
Soaked oats are then arranged around the edge of a large (14"dia) pan, they can all nibble from the edge.
Have done this every few days during extreme cold(<10°F), and I believe it's really helped them, they all stayed mobile.
Gives me a good chance to assess mobility, any bird that doesn't go for the oats gets watched very carefully,
and may be brought to a warmer place for a couple hours to 'reset'.
@BantyChooks taught me about 'cold reset'. I bring bird into the slightly warmer garage for just a couple-few hours. Makes sure she eats, give her a dose of electrolytes, see what's coming out the other end, and just observe. Then take them back out to coop, has 'saved' a few here, it's pretty amazing how they bounce back.
Tho I haven't had to do this since preemptively dosing with the soaked oats.
Top of waterer just set in the pan to keep them from walking thru it.
My birds are confined with no great deep shade for last half of the day so I have to be vigilant during heat waves.
I do have shade cloths up on run, which helps, but still not deep shade.
To help cool down the coop I have a box fan in the east window of coop, where it's shady most the day, and turn it on late afternoon...blows cooler air into coop and pushes hot air out. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/window-fan-mount.75608/
To determine heat stress levels I go by activity level, if panting and wing holding seems extreme, I throw out a few treats to see if everyone is moving well.
Lethargy is a red flag.
Deep all day shade is best but....I don't have much of that.
This has worked very well to keep heat stress/stroke at bay:
I give a dose of Sav-A-Chick electrolytes/vitamins about once a week during heat waves.
It really seems to help....started this after they saved a heat stroked hen once.
Can mix up a smaller amount, just wrap the packet tight and store in a dry cool place.
Always have plain water available too.
BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.
Shown is a plastic sled, any shallow sturdy tray will work, needs to not tip when they stand on the edge.
Tray should be washed off daily, I just squirt them off with a garden hose.
Much more useful to the chickens than frozen foods and treats.
Used to add water but they would gorge on too much too fast, I have seen a chicken suffer from an 'ice cream headache'.
Make space in your freezer!
Cold Weather....
Extreme cold temps can interfere with hydration too.
If a bird is not dehydrated, they won't eat well...it can go downhill fast.
I watch for lethargy, toss some treats out in coop or run and watch behaviors.
Any bird that doesn't go for treats needs some attention.
I mix a batch of SAC solution, then soak it up in some rolled oats, to avoid any wattle dippage of an open waterer.
Takes a couple hours to get it all soaked up, but well worth the time.
Soaked oats are then arranged around the edge of a large (14"dia) pan, they can all nibble from the edge.
Have done this every few days during extreme cold(<10°F), and I believe it's really helped them, they all stayed mobile.
Gives me a good chance to assess mobility, any bird that doesn't go for the oats gets watched very carefully,
and may be brought to a warmer place for a couple hours to 'reset'.
@BantyChooks taught me about 'cold reset'. I bring bird into the slightly warmer garage for just a couple-few hours. Makes sure she eats, give her a dose of electrolytes, see what's coming out the other end, and just observe. Then take them back out to coop, has 'saved' a few here, it's pretty amazing how they bounce back.
Tho I haven't had to do this since preemptively dosing with the soaked oats.
Top of waterer just set in the pan to keep them from walking thru it.
