Cool white roof

Doc and I, with help from some likely youths, constructed a coop for the chicks. It has wire walls and shade cloth to keep the chicks cool. But with Texas temps going over 100, more thermal control was needed.

We tried a mister. It has worked well, but the soil, dry from 5 inches of rain in 7 months, has gone into stinky decomposition overdrive. And still the birds are slow roasting in the coop....

But my nephew arrived for a visit. Free labor, hooray!

We moved Jailbird Vo and the chicks into the adult pen. Buffy gave them a warm welcome.

Say hello to my little friend

Once the red chicks outnumbered the adults, things got calmer. The chicks liberated the mister and the adults withdrew to the coop to sulk about today's youth and their lack of respect.

Chicks in the mist

With the chicks squared away, we set to work on the roof. The nephew and I mounted ladders and braved the entangling poultry net of doom.

Only a fool would put a poultry net over of roof before painting it. Sadly, I am that fool.

There must be a better way

We used up a can of gummy white primer, sealing holes, covering metal, and sometimes painting the net. An hour on the ladders was all we could stand, so we declared victory and hastened to the house for iced tea.

Not as bad as I feared

We put the chicks back and fed them treats. Oh the chickeny joy!

The white roof cut the coop temperature by 5-10 degrees. Now the hot chicks are cool. Aaaaaaaay!

Hot Chicks

The Texas heat has been living up to its reputation. I have tried passive cooling for the chickens, but as the temps go over 100, I have to take action.

Enter the Mister. This doodad attaches to a hose and allows the water to slowly escape as a fine mist, purportedly reducing the temperature by 20 degrees.

Even a little pressure makes a cooling mist

To entice the chicks into soaking range, Doc and I placed chick pellets near the mister. The moist pellets were a big hit. The chicks consumed them with relish (the attitude, not the condiment).

Moist pellets are our favorite!

Some of the chicks loved it. Some were less than thrilled.

I feel pretty

You will pay dearly for this indignity

To entice the adults into the misting area, we removed the barrier between the chicken runs. Mr. Big was the first to arrive. Oreo took the opportunity to say "Hi Dad".

Oreo, Mr. Big, and mist rainbow

Rather than rely on the wind, I set up a second mister in the adult run. The adults were a little less sanguine about the mist, but much happier with the damp soil.

Mr. Big and Buffy mud bathing 

The mister was a big success! It used very little water and made a cool spot in the chicken runs. When the sun got to be too much for me, I went to stand in the mist too.

I am going to save this memory for winter....

How to Beat the Heat, Chicken Chillers

Texas gets a little warm in the summer. While Doc and I are inside enjoying the air conditioned splendor of the Humble Abode, the chickens are outside getting a head start on roasting.

Frugal farmer that I am, I prefer to use failsafe passive methods to protect the flock. The first protection I added was a shade cloth to cover overly-sunny locations.

Shade cloth on the gate

 The cheesy PVC tractor got a shade cloth as soon as I tried to use it in the daylight. I eventually abandoned the tractor because I only had one water source in there. More about water below.

Shade cloth over tractor

I found silver-sided tarps that were just the right size to attach from the big coop to the run fence. With some wildly improvised PVC pipe and a lot of baling twine, the tarps kept out the rain and sun.

Elegant awning for only $10

Chickens pant a lot in hot weather and need to replace the water lost. To help them with their organic active cooling system, I provide multiple water stations in the main run.

De, Robin, and water, water, water

The black livestock dish was a wise investment. One chicken is smart enough to wade in there. The rest prefer to drink from the plastic waterer or the galvanized metal waterer.

Oreo demonstrates hands-free drinking technique

The chickens need water at all times, even at night. I sometimes have to replace fouled water three times in a day. I guess poo-water is the chicken version of lemonade. Oh yeah!










The flock also appreciates getting hosed down with cool refreshing water. Well actually, that is not true. They hate it with a fiery passion. Mr. Big hates it less than the others, but Buffy fairly smokes with rage when I reach for the hose.

Mr. Big fixin' to chill out

When my nephew shows up for his hopefully-annual recreational hard labor, I plan to have him paint the metal roof of the new coop. A coat of white paint on there will cut the coop temperature by 10 degrees.

Other people have made suggestions which I have not yet tried:

• Install a mister system
• Plant shade vines
• Freeze bottles of water and set them in the run or in the water dish
• Provide frozen fruit or frozen vegetable treats
• Install a coop fan

What methods do you use to beat the heat?


Update: Tried freezing bottles of water. The adult chickens were not interested. The chicks initially ran in terror, then stepped closer for a look, and then finally lounged on and around it. Ah, the wisdom of youth!