Heat kills chickens but flock owners can protect their birds by taking a lesson from Theodore Roosevelt.

 

When an intense heat wave descended on New York City in the summer of 1896 millions of people lived crammed together in tenements. Around 1500 died from the extreme heat. Roosevelt was then a little-known police commissioner who did two things that saved human lives.

 

He ordered the fire department to spray water in the streets and on tenement buildings.  It lowered the temperature a few degrees. And, ice. In that era before refrigeration, tenement dwellers couldn’t afford to buy ice. Roosevelt gave them tons of it, helping them cool down. He saved peoples’ lives.

In many ways chickens are like people. Both are more vulnerable to heat than cold.

Extreme heat kills around 489,000 people worldwide each year and an unknown, but probably huge, number of chickens. People are luckier than chickens. They can wear shorts and a tee shirt and sweat. Sweating helps cool the body. People can also ride out heat waves in air-conditioned comfort. In contrast, chickens are stuck wearing insulating feathers and can’t sweat. They need help surviving a heat wave.

 

Protecting Chickens from Extreme Heat

 

Flock owners need to protect their birds when the temperature climbs into the 90s or higher with nearly unbearable humidity. Here’s what can be done to keep the hens cool.

 

Shade:  A leafy tree towering over the coop and run casts cooling shade.

Shade structures, like the ones pictured, can be put in an otherwise sunny run.

Water:  Chickens pant on hot days. Air moving across their moist throats cools them. So, they need to drink often. Keep plenty of cool clean water in the coop and run.

 

Dirt:  When it is hot chickens snuggle down and press their chests into the cool earth. Keeping loose bare soil under shade structures helps them do this and also serves as a place for an occasional luxurious dust bath.

Ventilation:  Mosquito netting on coop windows often gets clogged with dust.  Brush it off to help air move past roosting birds. On hot calm nights chickens appreciate an artificial breeze created by an electric fan. Battery powered fans will run most of the night in coops that lack electricity.

Mist.  Theodore Roosevelt cooled tenements a few degrees by spraying water on them.  That works for chicken coops. Use a garden hose to wet down the roof and exterior walls.

 

Space: People died in tenements because they were crammed together. Chickens crammed together also suffer. Give them plenty of space.

Movement:  Both chicken and human muscles heat up when they are disturbed and forced to move. Calm birds stay cooler. Avoid startling them. If birds have to be moved, wait for a cool day.

 

Chickens are tropical animals that have an amazing ability to survive winter’s chill.  They often suffer in intense heat. To keep them alive, happy, and productive keep them cool.