The Virginia summer heat and humidity is no joke for our chickens!!!
As chicken keepers, we need to know about ways to help our chickens make it through the summer heat safely! For those of you new to chickens, they have much more trouble in our Virginia summer heat than they do in the cold of winter, and during heat waves, they will need our help. Coops that are sitting in the sun all day and/or are not well-ventilated are especially dangerous, esp. when the chickens go in to sleep and produce even more heat in there.
Here are some helpful articles on the subject. Notice some say "Ice water!" ...some say "No ice water!"...I say "Lots of water that your chickens will want to drink!":
Strategies to avoid heat stress:
Hot Weather Care for Chickens, by Terry Golson
Beat the Heat: Helping Chickens Survive High Temps, by Kathy Shea Mormino
Help Your Backyard Chickens Survive the Summer Heat, by Lisa Steele
Recognizing and treating heat exhaustion:
Chicken Heat Stress, Dehydration, and Homemade Electrolyte Solution, by Kathy Shea Mormino
Heat Exhaustion in Chickens, by Cath Andrews
About Heat Stress and Keeping Your Flock Cooled Down!, by Liz Hessen
As chicken keepers, we need to know about ways to help our chickens make it through the summer heat safely! For those of you new to chickens, they have much more trouble in our Virginia summer heat than they do in the cold of winter, and during heat waves, they will need our help. Coops that are sitting in the sun all day and/or are not well-ventilated are especially dangerous, esp. when the chickens go in to sleep and produce even more heat in there.
Here are some helpful articles on the subject. Notice some say "Ice water!" ...some say "No ice water!"...I say "Lots of water that your chickens will want to drink!":
Strategies to avoid heat stress:
Hot Weather Care for Chickens, by Terry Golson
Beat the Heat: Helping Chickens Survive High Temps, by Kathy Shea Mormino
Help Your Backyard Chickens Survive the Summer Heat, by Lisa Steele
Recognizing and treating heat exhaustion:
Chicken Heat Stress, Dehydration, and Homemade Electrolyte Solution, by Kathy Shea Mormino
Heat Exhaustion in Chickens, by Cath Andrews
About Heat Stress and Keeping Your Flock Cooled Down!, by Liz Hessen