{"id":3999,"date":"2022-08-07T09:40:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T14:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chikchikchicken.com\/?p=3999"},"modified":"2023-06-28T19:20:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T00:20:37","slug":"caring-for-your-chickens-during-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chikchikchicken.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/07\/caring-for-your-chickens-during-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Caring for Your Chickens During Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summers can be brutal for your animals and caring for your chickens during extreme heat can be challenging. There are many illnesses and diseases to worry about and occasionally your birds will need your help! This post contains my top tips and links to those posts on caring for your chickens during summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping Chickens Cool in Summer<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Chickens tolerate freezing weather better than 100-degree days. To help them on hot days, make sure they have plenty of fresh, cool water. Chickens won\u2019t drink hot water. They will dunk their beak in cool water and vibrate their throat muscles so warm moisture will evaporate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I keep several waterers out to make sure they have plenty. By late afternoon, the waterer in the run is in direct sunlight so I\u2019ll fill it up with ice water to help cool them down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also offer frozen treats like grapes, blueberries, and watermelon to help cool them off. Another thing I do is freeze treats in muffin tins I\u2019ll add fruit, kale, and mealworms then mix up an electrolyte solution, like Sav-a-chick<\/a>, and cover. For more helpful tips and to read the full blog post, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat Stress<\/strong> in Chickens<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Chickens don\u2019t sweat like humans to cool themselves off. With extreme temps, your chickens are more prone to heat stress. Once the temperature hits 95 degrees, your birds could be in danger (on humid days the temp doesn\u2019t have to be that high). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat stress happens when chickens are unable to control their body temperature and get overheated. Chickens will extend their wings out from their body to allow airflow to cool them down. Remember, they have a down jacket on. They will also flap their wings to try and release hot air and get cool air between their feathers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when it\u2019s really hot, like I said earlier, they will pant to cool themselves off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This behavior isn\u2019t worrisome so what do you look for with heat stress?<\/p>\n\n\n\n