How To Keep Chickens Happy In Summer Heat!

Here at The Chookyard, we find the simplest & cheapest thing to do to help chickens cool down and make summer more comfortable is a couple of handfuls of ice in their water. 

Here are some other simple solutions! 

Shelter & Shade

• Nothing is better than having the coop out of the direct rays of the sun and using the natural shade of trees in a run. 
• Other sources of shade, such as a shade cloth or sail, putting up a patio umbrella or leaning a pallet against the side of a shed are also good options.
• Open the coop to allow it to ventilate – even just a few hours before bedtime is better than not at all!

Frozen Treats & IceBlocks

Frozen food provides a refreshing and behaviour-enriching task. 

• Freeze your kitchen scraps.
• Buy cheap & seasonal food such as watermelon.  Cut into large slices/chunks and freeze (or serve straight from the fridge).  Thick slices of cabbage are also fun.
• Cube fruit and freeze in water to make a fruity iceblock.  Our chooks love peas and corn in their iceblocks.  Pet food containers are a great size to use – ½ fill with fruit or vege & top up to ¾ with water.
• Whole Corn on the Cob is also currently in season – snap in half and then freeze.
• Moisten their regular pellet feed with water to make a thick slurry. Add things like pumpkin/sunflower seeds, strawberries and mealworms – freeze in icecube trays.  You can also chill down this “chicken muesli” in a bowl in the fridge.

Dust Baths & Paddling Pools

• Pop a sprinkler on in their run to cool the ground down, and provide a damp area to scratch around in.
• Small toddler clam shell pools are good to cool down in.  Ensure the water level is only a couple of inches deep to avoid accidental drowning.  Chooks are not good swimmers as they lack the waterproof feathers that ducks and geese have.

Do you have any other Summer tips?  Share your ideas on our Facebook page  – @TheChookyardNZ.