Thank you from a Northern chicken owner who fell into that exact focus of cold hardy birds, as if I haven't lived through hot humid summers for decades.
This was a wonderful article with great information that I've used immediately and with great success. I am especially grateful for the electrolytes recipe!
I live in Texas and get frustrated sometimes with all the info out there regarding protecting our flocks from the cold. This is not my problem! Even when purchasing chickens, there's all kinds of info about how cold hardy a particular breed is but you oftentimes really have to research to find out if a particular breed is heat tolerant. When building my new coop, it was difficult to find info on how to build to provide the best protection from the Texas heat.
With that said, this is excellent information and I've used ALL of it to try to get my girls through the Texas summers. Article is well-written and recommendations are spot-on!
I did not see a true misting system put up here just the single mister ones. Here is a link to Lowes that has a one similar to the one I bought and mounted on a 10 ft 1 inch piece of PVC that I hang on the lower edge of my elevated chicken tractor. It works great for the girls. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Arctic-Cove-3-8-in-x-12-ft-Professional-Misting-Kit-MAC3812K/204768005
Some folks mount them inside their coop , but I find that too wet for chickens. I may have to mount it and take a picture to post here later. View attachment 1404565View attachment 1404571
Misting away on the shady side where their water is. Tarp overhead for extra shade. It has really helped in the 100 degree plus summers here in Oklahoma.
This was VERY helpful! I would love to use misters to cool them down, but they hate it! I have used a box fan before. They were very unsure what it was, but they did like the air!
Thanks so much for writing this!
I appreciate the tips to keep my girls cool along with the details of what to look for to determine if they need extra help. Being a new chicken mom this information is very helpful. Thanks!