[Nikkijo]

I have four 10wk old silkies. They have been outside for allí over a month now. But the next few days temps are expected to reach 109 F. Today was105. Two of them started panting pretty bad. They were under shade with a mister going but nothing helped. They were suffering So I brought them inside ( 40° Cooler)to cool off and waited until they were breathing normal. Finally my main question is did I do the right thing or will bringing them inside mess up their internal thermostat. If there is such a thing. Any ideas??

 

[robin416]

Yeah, taking them in can make it harder on them. Now if you decided to take them in and keep them there no one would fault you for it.

I don't understand the misters not working for them, I use them for mine. Can you also use a fan? Can you wet the dirt they're on?

When our temps would go over 100 I did all of those things including hosing down their coops. I never lost one to the heat.

 

[chickenqueen]

I take empty water bottles or juice bottles,etc and fill them with water then freeze them and place them in their waterers.Ice chunks last longer than free floating ice and it cools the water.You can also chill/freeze fruits like grapes and melons for them to eat and cool off.I put a fan in the coop,the first time it was facing in but the chickens all started sneezing so I faced it out and it pulls the hot air out at the top and the cool air comes in through the bottom.

 

[seminole wind]

10 week olds are probably still too young to deal with the heat. We get to 95 mostly here, and I do what chickenqueen does, ice in the water-ice cubes or frozen bottles or freezing food storage containers to make ice blocks. I also run water with the hose on the ground because I see that my chickens will stand in the water and stop panting. I had a silkie once that I had to dunk in tepid water to cool her off. All my chickens are in shade under trees which makes a big difference.

109 degrees is something I hope I never have to deal with.

 

[Nikkijo]

Thank you guys for responding . Now the forcast is 111 degrees until Thursday. I've been going outside every hour or so and spraying everything. I think I'll try to make a few puddles. Lol