How to Keep Chickens Cool in Summer? 11 Best Tips

Are you worried about how to keep chickens cool in the summer? If yes, then do not worry. This complete guide on keeping chickens cool will help you manage your flocks in hot climates.

Chickens can do a lot of things. They love to lay eggs, make us laugh, dig holes, search for insects as their snack on grass or soil, throw sass, and many more. But when summer comes, all activities become slow because of extreme heat.

All chicken farmers are curious when summer arrives. They should know what the best methods are to keep chickens cool in the summer.

The summer is not giving your chickens enough comfort. Do it on your own to provide your coop with the required amount of comfort. Chickens are not that good at weather changes.

They find it harder when it is winter or summer. In a hot climate, the breeder should choose heat-tolerant chicken breeds.

The life-saving breeder’s effort is all they need. Nowadays, many methods have been developed to keep your coop and chickens cool in the summer.

Let us start this chicken care guide for summer.

Also read: Best heat hardy chickens

11 Best Tips to Keep Chickens Cool in Summer

Chickens enjoy human company a lot. But they do not survive in extreme heat conditions and may cause various health issues.

Here are the best 11 tips for keeping chickens cool in the summer-

1. Provide Shade to the Chickens

Chickens are not good with the hard sunlight, as the sun is cruel during the summer. Besides, the unpleasant sunny weather is not good for your chickens at all. That is why the breeder should prepare a perfect shelter for their chickens.

Your chickens must have enough space to save themselves in the shade. The shade is there to protect them from sunlight, and they feel cool. Keeping them in extreme heat increases the chicken’s body temperature and may cause dehydration and diarrhea.

Is your chicken not laying? Do not worry! The comfort you have supplied is enough for them to cope. They will start laying after this.

2. Provide Fresh and Cold Water

Do chickens like water? Yes, of course.

Yes, this can do the job for you. Your thirsty birds may feel a little dizzy during the summer, so it would be wiser to supply them with enough water.

Keep the water cold and fresh. The more you supply hygienic water, the more you can comfort them in summer.

A question may be raised in your mind: how cold can chickens handle it? Well, it is effortless. Could you provide them with some ice to put in it?

Because of the heat, the water will gradually turn back to a normal temperature. A temperature with a mild cold is good for your chickens.

Use a good quality chicken drinker to provide them continous supply of fresh drinking water.

3. Suitable Cold Treats

The right choice of treats helps to increase the body temperature of a chicken. In the summer, it is necessary to keep your chickens cold to survive the heat. Supply some frozen treats to the chickens.

It is seen that frozen corn, peas, chopped strawberries, cucumbers, and watermelon chunks are the best treats for hot chickens during the summer. You can also make a frozen treat block to keep the food cooler for a longer period of time.

If you want to know more about chicken treats here the complete list.

4. Try to Store Their Feed at a Lower Temperature

You should take some necessary steps for the nutrition of the chickens. The breeder needs to improvise the coop to have a nutrition-based healthy diet. The chicken’s food requires a time of one hour inside a refrigerator. 

Providing them with frozen treats can help to lower their temperature from within during the summer. The frozen treats are good for birds in hot climates.

5. Check Out the Ventilation of the Coop

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Ventilation inside the chicken coop is mandatory. During summer, its priority also gets higher. The ventilation of air is a vital process as the stale air leaves and fresh air comes in at the same time. 

To do so, the breeder may need a chicken coop fan. This is the best and safest formula to cool chickens by supplying ventilation. The fan is necessary for egg-laying hens and chicks. 

If you don’t have any fans inside your coop and want to buy one, read the definitive guide for selecting a best chicken coop fan here.

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6. Regular Cleaning of the Coop Is Necessary

Hot conditions are not good for the chicks and the elder members. That is why you must keep your coop tidy. Regular cleaning can do the job for you. It reduces the harmful gases that give your flocks a cool feeling.

Also, you can do some cleaning for their comfort. To prevent heat-trapping, the breeder should reduce the altitude of the bedding layer.

However, the height should not be lower than 2 inches. Regular cleaning can keep your chickens away from dangerous microbes.

If you want to know more about good coop cleaning procedures, here is our complete guide.

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7. Arrange a Mud Puddle or a Kiddie Pool

Do chickens like kiddie pools? Yes, ofcourse.

When the temperature rises, it will be wiser to put out the kiddie pools for your bakyard. A mud puddle or a kiddie pool is the best treatment for the chickens. It helps them decrease their temperature.

Do you want to know how? The chickens love to keep their bodies inside a little layer of water in the kiddie pool. Water is the best thing that helps them decrease their body temperature. If you do not have a pool, you can prepare a muddle area.

8. The Application of Sprinklers Will Be Great

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Water treatment is necessary. Sprinklers can be the best choice to keep down the heat inside the coop.

These are very useful during the summer, so you can install the sprinklers on your poultry farm. Furthermore, they create a comfortable zone for your backyard flocks.

The water droplets evaporate at once after they get released from the sprinklers. This will keep the environment cool inside the farm despite the outside climate change.

Do not wet your litter. It is recommended to only wet the kennel run areas of small farms.

9. Supply Enough Space for a Dust Bath

The chickens use the dust bath to make themselves clean and cool. This sounds weird to human beings. However, this is not the same for chickens.

They love it and use it a lot. The breeder should provide enough dust space near the coop so that the chickens can enjoy it.

But it would help if you made sure that the dust bath took place under the shade. Keep them away from the sunlight.

You can create a suitable dust bath space by adding a sturdy tote bin, plastic tub, or a kiddie pool with some fine sand.

10. Dip Your Chicken in Water

This is an effective method in the summer for your chickens. When your chickens do not look good or can not cool themselves, step in.

How to give a chicken a bath in the summer? The breeder should dunk the chicken in mild-cold water (not too cold). The temperature should be 85°F. 

70 seconds will be the best time for each chicken. This is an annoying method, but quite effective for your dizzy co-op members.

11. Keep Some Summer-Friendly Breeds

Are you confused about which breeds are the best in summer? This article can surely help the climate change during summer.

The hot temperature is not that good for all chicken breeds. However, some breeds can tolerate such climate changes.

White Plymouth Rock, Leghorns, Welsummers, Rhode Island Reds are the best breeds for summer tolerant. The farmers can go for these breeds at the time of summer.

Conclusion

It is hard for the breeders to keep chickens cool in the summer, but not impossible. These are the best tips to keep your chicken coop fresh and healthy. You can surely apply them to your coop and enjoy the outcome. 

Supply them with sufficient fresh air, cold water, and frozen treats as these are the vital methods to grow them in difficult climate dilemmas.

Exhaust fans, chicken coop fans, and gadgets like water sprinklers are the best equipment for your coop in the summer. 

These tips will surely help your flocks to keep them cool in the extreme summer. If you have any queries about keeping chickens cool in summer, we will be happy to hear from you below.