Over 90 Degrees? You'd Better Do These! - Ideas to Keep Your Backyard Chickens Cool This Hot Summer 

I laugh, not laugh. My neighbor has chickens. They spend their time either behind our house in the shade and woods or the neighbor across the road from them in their shaded yard. We feed the squirrels, birds , wild turkeys and deer , corn, cracked corn and wild bird seed and suet cakes. The chickens go to town in the morning when I put it out ,then hang for awhile in the woods scratching. we always had water bowls out and keep them fresh every day, but last fall I bought a bird bath that is short and close to the ground THAT has been a great pick up. I may go get another. The chickens drink out of it, the birds take their baths in it, and the squirrels drink and will just lay flat in it. I now have to clean it and freshen it twice a day. I never thought of myself as a chicken person, but I just love em. they are so funny. they have become the neighborhood chickens.

I have a heated water bucket that I got for Winter use, that is obviously insulated. When it's going to be hot, I freeze a large plastic bowl of water in the refrigerator. A single big chunk of ice will last all day in the insulated bucket, and they have nice cold water to drink.

Call me crazy but it's been brutal hot /humid this summer so I emptied out my spare vedroom..which never gets used anyway, and created an avery.. Lined floor with heavy plastic , old carpet to hold it down , and a couple bags of wood shavings. Extremely aborbant , keeps them clean , constant temperature etc..cut a window in the door and used chicken wire so I can look in . Actually I think this will work better for us going forward especially in the winter. They are free to roam around and I can just walk in and get the eggs from best box and sit wither for visits,

I live in zone 9, triple digit temps. Live in a wind tunnel area. We have shade cloth, a mister, lots of gallon water dispensers to keep the gross algae in control. We have multiple spaces filled with cool shallow water. We give frozen blueberries in their water, cold cucumbers, papayas and tomatoes. We have 4 different fans moving the air through their 10 x 30 ft barn / chicken house. Great video!

Cactus pieces used for cooking. Nopalitos at Fiesta in the produce section I put these in the fresh water. The properties of the juice in the water helps keep them cool also.

Just an idea, when it is extremely hot out, i water shaded areas with plenty of water by the side of the house that doesn't get direct sunlight, they absolutely love it, and you can tell they cool down fast, but i water different areas at least 4 times a day. Plus frozen watermelon that they cant get enough of.

If you lay down a nice layer of straw bedding or hay, the bare earth they're living on will be cleaner and cooler, and they'll have a blast picking out all the seeds and unseen insects. My mother kept chickens; your enthusiasm for them reminds me of hers. Your point about feeding them corn in the heat is spot on; when I was a kid, we gave our horses corn as feed only in the winter-time, specifically to keep their body heat up. Makes sense that it works that way on other animals. Good video!

The most helpful thing I have gotten for my chickens during severe heat is a mister. just a little metal thing that goes on the end of the garden hose. It makes a nice cool area and a mud puddle and they absolutely love it. If the temperature starts hitting high 90s or 100°, then I turn it on for a few hours in the afternoon in the shade. They love it.

I can’t believe you’re out with the girls in flip flops; my chickens love to peck my toes 😄

Your energy and breadth of knowledge/experience is phenomenal! I am considering chickens and I have learned so much by watching this one video than hundreds. Thank You!

I am making big ice cubes with veggies in them. They like it it seems. Plus freezing watermelon scraps as well

We have a few meat chickens that is our intention to breed. We lost 3 of them in the last few days due to 100° temps. Our run in the yard chickens are doing d Great but I guess because of the weight of these meat birds, they are more sensitive to the heat. We have moved our roo and 3 remaining hens the garage which has A/C and heat. They can live a happy life now. I wish I had seen your video sooner, although I was doing those things, it never occurred to me I could lose my girls.

Over 90 degrees do these! Love it thanks. It was 95 here today and they were all panting. I was worried about them today. These are going to help my babies. Thanks chicken Mama Shade Water extra water Kiddie pool (queen of the rock) Ice bottles Fans Peet Moss/Mulch Mister on a timer (5 min/hour)

Thank you for the info. Anyone who has Chickens knows how dirty a pool can get. It's normal.

Thanks for the tips. With heat and free ranging, we add "water stops" and frozen treats. We try to entice them into the woods to enjoy the shade. You'll have to come up to Minnesota and we can give you a few cans loaded with winter! Just open the can and pour out the cold Minnesota weather!! Cheers!

I'm in East Texas and it's really hot today

We lost our rooster last week and I'm pretty sure it was the heat. Great ideas! Thank you!

Great video!!!!

Thanks for these tips, love your setup.

These are some great tips! Thank you for sharing.

Great ideas!

I'm putting the peat moss down, a whole big big bag I have just sitting under a bench,!! Wow thanks chicken mama❤❤ so helpful

Very informative, thank you!

I have always added 1 tbs of apple cider vinegar to every one of there waters daily and Ive never had a sick chicken or had one die in 5 yrs...I give them garden treats house scrap veggies fruit and meal worms thats it.

Wow great video. Thanks!

Love this video! So informative! Thank you! ❤

A lot of good information.

Great ideas

Best info video I've heard. Thank you

Thank you for this video. I did not know all this I am new with chickens!

Hands down most informative video, I learned so much! Thank you!!!!

Thank you ! Lots of great tips that I will be using.

Thanks for the video. I'm in south Texas too.

Super content! Really informative and your delivery is at a pace that works for me. Straight to the point and no time-wasting. Even if you hadn’t said it, I could tell you’re a fellow teacher by the way you sum up and give your listeners little ways to memorise the key points. So good. Easy “subscribe” for me. I’m getting chickens this summer and trying to learn as much as I can in advance!

Super informative video. Thanks for sharing. Love your chicken voice!

Jaaa you need to catch your breath 😂, wow tons of information thank you so much for your advice and knowledge on keeping healthy chickens. God bless and happy chickening 😄.

Thank you so much for all these great tips These

This is such an informative vodeo tyfs, helps so much.

Your chicken area is beautiful. Looks like a botanical garden. Great job on all you've done.

We're new to chickens, we've only had our girls (6) for about a month and we already love them! I'm going to order 1 of these tarps. Thanks for the good information and easy ideas to keep them healthy and happy.

Your tips were a major help for me today, thank you for posting.

I don't have chickens yet domestically but this is a great caretaker guide. Thank you!

Thank you so much

Thanks for the advice

Omgoodness ity I have been feeding my 3 silkies grubs, watermelon and scratch. Yikes Thank you for your precise info

To my understanding chickens descended from jungle fowl. I have had chickens for 16 years, survived TX with 100 plus days over 100 degrees and never had to do anything but provide shade, water and places to dust bathe. Ours free range. If you have them confined maybe they couldn’t find a cool spot.

They're so cute, and talking to you. It's adorable.

Thank you for all this info! We just had our first 90+ (95 actually!) day in PA this year. I tried everything but cooling their feet is a great idea!!!

Really fantastic video! Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I assumed you cleaned your pool about 15 minutes ago lol. I cleaned mine and within about 20 minutes it looks like I didn't!

This video was very informative. I will stop giving black sunflower seed and the black larva grub worms as treets when the temperature here in NC get in the 90's.

Good video

Thanks for the helpful tips, I just bought my Ladies a pool today & put up Shower Curtains on side Walls of my Run today.

absolutely awesome video, thank you so very very much, you are a great teacher

Hi Sarah I also live in SA TX, I do similar things for my chickens including having a misting system Bc it gets way to hot here. Thanks for the tips! Love your channel.

Good job. THANKS for covering the frozen veggies. I hate it when people say to feed frozen corn in the heat.

Thank you for the information. Just started my flock up here in north Texas, we are expecting 90 temp the next few days, summer is gong to be brutal. I've already added a small pool and came net above the coop. Now I need to block the evening sun.

Thank you so much for this video and the one 4 years ago. I will heed every detail. It's usually well over 100, averaged 120 in the afternoons, and higher, up to 132 since I've lived where I live. We Vie with Death Valley. Will be talking to two Neighbors also. A third neighbor puts hers in her attached garage in the summer but I only have a carport. I will be checking on those chicken diapers!

2/3 of our coop has a military grade canvas over it. Also have 6' high privacy fencing all around the coop.

I had no idea about the corn and their temps going up! Thank you!!

I put out too full waters they hang out in coop or smaller shaded run .A big tree shades them.Inl was thinking a small pool but the mosquitos are insane in Texas .They have a dust bath or they dug a hole in sand and lay in it Winter I need to winterize the coop and run when it goes below 50 that's gonna be fun.

Thank you soooo much!

Nope no judgement on the pool ,I have chuckens I definitly get it 😏I appreciate the video ,your knowledge is fantastic and there is always something to learn. Btw your whole coop and run are very nice ,homey.Thank you for sharing ❤️‍🔥💝🐥🐔

And i notice you are getting so slim... baby plus gardening suits you well. I really enjoy all your gardening and cooking adventures.

Thank you Sarah, I’m in Fort Worth, Texas and I feel the heat too. Thank you for the great tips!👏🏻👏🏻

Thank you for this video. I'm in Eastern Oklahoma and it gets hot and humid up here. Your video reminded me I needed to get some bottles frozen and ready for the heat this weekend. Didn't know about the peat moss/mulch idea I am going to look into that for their run areas. I may look into the mister on a timer idea. Just have to figure out how to set it all up for 2 coops and with extension cords since I don't have electric out there.

I'm going to try to make an ice chest swamp cooler. I'm thinking about putting ice in the water in the ice chest to keep them cool when it gets hot out. An ice chest, a computer case fan (or a solar green house fan), on top of a drilled or cut hole in the top, then a plumbing elbow to direct the cool air, with a slit cut in the back of the ice chest for the intake. I love your direct and to the point videos! Lotsa info in a short period of time, and time is precious. Greatly appreciated! I may make a swing with a 2x4 and some rope. I have roses blooming and might give my girls some rose petals and perhaps some rosemary and chamomile, as it grows around here too. Great info and ideas!

Mine come inside in our laundry room or shower in guest bathroom 🐓❤️ThAnk you for the tips

I am in south Texas ( Goliad county) , too.

I PUT A SMALL WINDOW STYLE EVAP COOLER IN MY CHICKEN COOP IT WORKED REAL WELL! YOU CAN ALSO INTSTALL A MISTER SYSTEM OVER THEIR RUN.

That's why Ibrought one in last night.

I love your chicken run. We had a chicken pass away once. I wasn’t sure why at the time but she was a big girl. She looked like buff Orpington but a deep orange. I’m pretty sure she died from heat. My fiancé thinks I’m ridiculous that I had a fan in the coop. We had a big backyard and two spots for them to go for shade. Two waterers were placed around the yard but everything was at a distance. We just had 3 chickens and just decided to try it out. Didn’t realize there was so much to having chickens that we needed to look at first. Didn’t know that they may need grit if there’s not a lot of rocks everywhere. So one I think went egg bound and didn’t know anything about that either. So that summer we lost two chickens and our one chicken Blondie last for two years. Not bc we didn’t take care of her but bc a predator got her. Definitely learned that chickens are pretty easy to take care of but definitely need to know some basics about feeding them and hygiene and comfort level for different chicken breeds. We have Easter eggers and polish chickens now. None of our chickens are big like our buff Orpington was so they don’t get as hot as easily as those chickens do. It’s fun figuring out chicken problems but sad when you start out knowing nothing and lose a few chickens on the way. RIP Henritta, princess Lea and blondie… the real OG chickens 🐔🐓❤

I love your little area for the chickens so cute. I am new to this journey, ive picked up 4 little girls & have a tractor supply chic. Coop & i've fenced off a large grassy area, which i made sure the fencing is very secure to keep out predators, plus i have a dog that i introduced to the girls when they were wk old andhe loves them & is on gaurd when they come out of their coop.

What kind of mulch and peat moss and how much? Missouri is either extremely dry or extremely wet. I want to change the soil, but don't want to put anything in that will hurt them. After three years of chicken stewardship, I lost a young chicken to the heat. She walked out of the shade, past the three drinkers, the baby pool, and into the sun, jumped into a dirt bath in the planter and died. I almost lost a second one, but grabbed her and put her in the baby pool we always have in the coop yard.

So glad I came across this video. San Antonio new owners. Just sent my husband to TSC for the pool. Had been using 2 square containers but the 19k Olds won't share with the 15wk Olds. I'm really worried about the heat. We have a fan in the run corner plenty of water & actually added a window ac to a coop window. They only go in for a few minutes then back out , so now we I'm wondering if we should put it on the ground & let it blow under the coop. Thinking I wont ever get eggs with this brutal heat.

I just hooked up misters and put frozen water bottles in their water… works well.

Sarah, you are a born teacher. Thank you for this educational video! As we all know, prices are up for everything. Wanted to get your swimming pool and in two years it's gone from $10 to $99.99. Sorry, I'd like to buy from your link. But I've subscribed and will enjoy learning from you! Appreciate you!

Great video!! I dug out a 1 ft deep 4 ft square hole and put a tarp / sump pump in the middle with the exit facing up to act like a water fountain.

Great video honey, love your chicken voice

I live in SE Louisiana, zone 9A. My poor babies pant even tho i have umbrellas, trees and my trailer they go under. I put flat ice packs in their water and they stand in it. It gets dirty. I change it often. Damn, my chickens love fresh corn..😢..i just bought a big bag of it..

I care for daddy and I have two chickens and they have the same house as you. Daddy wont let me put up tarps I have to lock up the dogs so I can let them out to run. Hurts my heart. It's been in the 100s here.

Ice bottles will work to cool down most small animals, we used them for my bunnies in so cal

Thank you so much for this video! While I am doing some of these things already, you've given me some really good new things to do. I'm in the N. Florida Panhandle, Zone 8, and this week, it's turned hot. Right now, I have a main coop and smaller coop for raising some new chickens. The new straight run produced 6 cockerels and 4 pullets, and they are now almost 11 weeks old. Thankfully, the heat is keeping the boys' minds off of the pullets and they are not being harrassed, but the pullets are not yet big enough to go in with my two RIR hens. The new hens are American Bresse, and they are such a sweet and docile breed! However, until the new girls get just a little more weight (maybe this next week), they're in the smaller coop for their own safety. My solution is a sort of "swamp cooler" - a gallon jug of frozen water sitting in a small basin and a small towel. It does keep the coop cool enough at night that the birds can sleep and get their much needed rest. The main coop has a cabana fan, and on hot nights, it, too, gets a swamp cooler. I'm off to the store later for two small kiddie pools today - 'never thought of that! Again, Thanks!

One thing about the shade sails... They can hold in heat, keep elevated. Also, snow doesn't go through. We never get snow, so we didn't know. Was hard to remove the wet snow, & just a few inches brought fencing down. :( Now we just untie when we hear possibility of snow. You need to keep their water cool because the water heats up. Lost 4 young hens a few summers ago, I learned. 😢 No problems in winter...windy, rainy, 18⁰ nights, chickens would sleep in tree. Those were like 10yrs ago when I stupidly (They tear up your lawn, irrigation, etc.) let them free range.

Yep here in south Mississippi rain my chickens yard is just now drying out oh it stinks I have metal over my run but it's small

How in the world do you have all those beautiful plants in your chicken area?! Mine eat everything I've tried to plant even remotely close to their run.

Same for parrots

Also feed your chickens in the evening when it starts getting cool because once they eat there body starts heating up for sure

What about cold fruit in the summer? grapes, blueberries, watermelon? Is that problematic like the corn?

Im in zone 8a. The flies are driving me nuts. I toss the ground. I cut rosemary, mint and basil to add in the coop and run. It has helped but I still have flies. Any suggestions?

Thank you so much. I love my girls and cringe when i think of them overheating. I keep a 48 inch outdoor fan on them.

My hens love leftover cornbread. I've read this is good for them

H..the type of pig i wanted was the one with really really high fat content and it has beautiful curly hair...bred for places with snow and never any real heat...would of suffered bad here in south texas...i know i do and i dont have fur

Good morning, so I watched your video this morning and I was wondering what kind of tree do you have inside the coop run and do they tear that tree up? I noticed you have a couple plants in case with chicken wire I’ve been that’s a good idea. I have a coop kind of like yoursand I only have four chickens, but I’m interested in getting some more

I have those same emoji flip flops 😂❤

Also they can have diarrhea when hot but mine been having diarrhea for awhile they always drinking I give them electrolytes in there water

What are the plants growing in the run and how do you keep them growing?

Carmen Hen-Diego is the best chicken name. I’ll be stealing that thank you😂

Not in the quantity I give them. I make a 9" pie plate on cornbread using water instead of milk and then cut it into 8 pieces and feed 1 piece for 4 black copper maran hens to share. They get fresh water every day with two trays of ice cubes on 90's days. Yes we are in Central Florida.

They regulate when they are panting. Or use pepper Flakes