How to keep your chickens cool when temperatures rise.

Don't just rely on weather forecasts. Watch for changes in your flock's behaviour: if you see panting through open beaks, pale combs and wings held well away from their body, it's time to take action.

If you're unsure of the symptoms to look for when your chickens are trying to keep cool during summer heat, take a look at this page. It lists the ten most common signs of heat exhaustion and potential heat stroke.

6 simple steps to keeping chickens cool in summer.

In this article we'll look at six quick and easy steps you can take now to make sure that, when temperatures rise, your chickens will be safe. 

The steps are simple and generally use things you'll have around the house, but even so you'll need to make sure you do have the right tools in hand now.

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1. Make sure they have plenty of cold drinking water.

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One of my "Chicken Chat" videos is all about how to keep chickens hydrated in the heat of the summer months.

It offers five simple, inexpensive tips to make sure your flock is kept safe when temperatures soar.

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It may seem very obvious, but chickens drink a lot when it's hot - between four and five times the amount they would normally need. It's their main means of keeping cool.

So make sure your flock has a constant supply of cold, clean water during hot weather, even if that means changing it several times each day.

• If you use metal containers, remember that they'll heat up quickly in the sun. Make sure they'll be in the shade all day.

• Think about changing the way you provide water for your flock in the heat. There are more effective ways to keep it cool than using only one or two large containers.

• Offer a series of smaller, more shallow dishes. Use whatever you have - bowls, basins, pots - anything that holds water and is "food safe". Avoid using plastic that's not labelled food safe - chemicals can leach into the water.

• Your chickens need to conserve energy, so don't make them go hunting for water. Put the containers in different places around the run, particularly wherever they go to keep cool. 

• Using a large ice block in a shallow dish will melt slowly in the heat and the water it provides will be cool.

• Do not use Apple Cider Vinegar when it's hot. Apples are fine, and can actually help chickens deal with heat stress. Apple Cider Vinegar, on the other hand, is great for many things but heat is not one of them. It raises the chicken's metabolism which in turn raises their temperature - exactly what you need to avoid.

2. Promote summer health by using electrolytes.

If your chickens are showing signs of overheating, using electrolytes in their drinking water is a good way to rehydrate them quickly.

The easiest way to think of electrolytes is as a chicken form of Gatorade - without the added flavouring and colouring. 

Added to drinking water they can restore the minerals and vitamins lost when chickens are dehydrated. But it's also important not to overdo it - chickens cannot take a lot of salt.

Looking for a simple home made electrolyte recipe? You've found it!

3. Show your flock some love with juicy fruit.

Summer fruits are plentiful in the shops (and on our trees!) now, and make a good treat for chickens particularly if they're chilled.

• One of the very best is watermelon because it contains such a high percentage of water. It's fat free, has almost no salt and contains multi-vitamins and antioxidants. The perfect summer food for your flock!

• Buy a large one, cut into pieces and freeze. It will melt slowly in the heat. Chickens love the sweet taste and, as they're eating the flesh they're also ingesting the liquid. 

• This article about chickens eating watermelon discusses which part of the fruit is best for chickens (you may be surprised!), and provides two healthy recipes so your flock gets the best nutritional value.

• Other juicy treats like pears and strawberries are also a good summer delight, but beware of feeding too much. It can make for "interesting" poop!

• Figs are a particular favourite for my chickens - they even have their own fig tree!

4. Freeze to breeze through summer with a healthy flock!

Some summer veggies are also a good idea to help keep your chickens hydrated during the heat. Freezing them into a tasty summer salad is even more of an insurance against heat stroke!

Again, the chickens consume the water as they peck at the ice block to get to the veg.

It's really not rocket science.

• Take some watery veggies - tomatoes are a good one (no, the tomato is not poisonous to chickens, only the tomato vine) as are cucumber, sweetcorn (not cracked corn - that will raise your flock's temperature, not lower it), lettuce (tends to go limp with freezing but they still like it!), shredded carrot, courgettes (US zucchini)...

• Add water.

• Freeze.

For more ideas about this, take a look at my article about a frozen treat my chickens love.

5. Promote chicken care in summer with a dust bath.

It's a sad fact that warmer weather attracts lice and mites to chicken coops. And those pesky beasts can not just irritate but suck the life out of chickens at a time when they need all their energy to beat the heat.

• Dust bathing is a good way to both get rid of mites, and help your flock cool off in the heat. 

• Although I provide dust bathing areas in the form of a children's sand pit, old tyres and wooden blocks, my flock usually make their own space, here under their fig tree.

• The green pipe on the lower left of this photo is a home made sprinkler system - an old hose pipe with pinholes made at intervals! - which they like to make use of when temperatures are very high.

• Make sure your summer dust baths are placed in the shade. 

• For more detail about dust baths, why they're important and how to make them, take a look at my article, here.

6. Keep your coop cool!

Ventilation.

Making sure the ventilation in your chicken house is adequate is especially important in the summer months.

There should be a good flow of air from vents above chicken head-height. If you don't have them and you have electricity in your coop, try using a fan to blow some cooler air. Something like this is perfect.

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Leave the coop door(s) open during the day so that the coop has some air circulating. 

Bedding.

Deep litter is a great method for keeping coops warm in the winter, and many people use it all year round.

However, I've found that sand is a better option if the temperatures are high. It keeps far cooler, is proven to lower the incidence of disease, helps keep feet healthy and is an instant dust bath!^{(1, 2, 3)} 

As an added bonus, flies are far less attracted to it - as long as you remove poop each day, of course.

Use a "construction sand", also known as "river sand" or "washed sand". Play sand is too fine and can cause respiratory problems. 

If you've taken these steps to keep your chickens cool, you can now spend your time just enjoying the warm weather with them!

Here are some other articles you'll find useful for summer chicken care.

Sources.

A lot of "facts" you'll find on the internet are often people's individual views, based on inaccurate information repeated from poor quality sources.

The information I provide in this article and others is based not just on my own experience, but on evidenced facts from scientific, peer-reviewed research and books from highly respected and experienced poultry keepers such as Gail Damerow.

Some of the trusted sources I have used in this article are these.

1. S. F. Bilgili et al: "Sand as litter for rearing broiler chickens". Pub. Journal of Applied Poultry Science, 1999.

2. B.D. Bowers et al: "Sand litter temperatures during brooding". Pub. Oxford University Press, 2003.

3. V. A. Toroc et al: "Influence of different litter materials on cecal microbiota colonization in broiler chickens. Pub. Oxford University Press - Poultry Science, 2009.