How to keep your chickens cool in EXTREME desert heat!! (cheaply too)
Like 3 Dislike 0 Published on 29 Jul 2012
This is my first year having chickens in the summer here in Phoenix and chickens don't tolerate heat too well. Bad combination in Phoenix. We've had a few 110 and 115 degree days so far. My 3 hens were panting like dogs so I put up a hose fed mister in the coop for them and they loved that but the dirt floor of their run was getting soaked and stinking pretty bad so I had to come up with an alternative. First I got rid of they hay which was holding moisture and starting to compost right there in the coop! Hence the bad smell. I thought about a solution and the mortar mixing tray I had laying around came to mind. Bingo! throw a few adobe fire bricks(light weight) in the tray and fill up to the top of the bricks. The chickens who don't like deep water will stand on top of the bricks with no problems and still get the benefit of the cooler-than-air water without having to stand in it! Their toes will hang over into the water too. The bricks wick up the water even if the water level goes down and stay wet. Damn I'm smart LOL! I call it my "Chicken Chiller". You'll need to change the water out daily as they will soil it and they'll drink it too so be ready for that. I've had no health issues with them so far. You may want to throw a little vinegar in the tub before adding water as a precaution for bacteria build up. Very Important that you keep the water tub in the shade so the water doesn't get burning hot and hurt your chickens.