Can Summer Kill?

[Anonymous]

Here in Australia we can get very hot summers. we are in spring now and its getting 30 C on average through the day. so summer will be in the 40's. So can this hot weather able to kill my chooks?

 

[jubilee]

Heat will kill alot easier than the cold hunny!
Most poultry can go down to minus 30 oC if kept dry. But heat exhustion is far more common than hyperthermia.
The main thing to remember when it's really hot is birds don't sweat like we do to cool down, they drink water, which goes through them quickly taking alot of heat with it, so they will drink loads more, and their poo becomes almost like water. They need shade and plently of ventilation when in their housing, and not being over-crowded is also very important. Air circulation being really important to allow them to cool down. In big sheds with plently of space, a fan, (covered with a wire mesh for safety of course) will circulate the air. Plently of fresh cool water, maybe add a few ice cubes to keep it cool, and under shade. A good dust bath will also be much appreciated! And a close eye open for mites and lice as they also become much more rife in hot weather.
I don't envy you in that sort of heat mate, it must get really over-bearing!

JubesXX

 

[Marigold]

Here in Australia we can get very hot summers. we are in spring now and its getting 30 C on average through the day. so summer will be in the 40's. So can this hot weather able to kill my chooks?

It would kill me, let alone my chooks! But how good it is, to have someone on the Forum who has such a different experience of keeping poultry than most of us here in the U.K.

 

[Anonymous]

Heat will kill alot easier than the cold hunny!
Most poultry can go down to minus 30 oC if kept dry. But heat exhustion is far more common than hyperthermia.
The main thing to remember when it's really hot is birds don't sweat like we do to cool down, they drink water, which goes through them quickly taking alot of heat with it, so they will drink loads more, and their poo becomes almost like water. They need shade and plently of ventilation when in their housing, and not being over-crowded is also very important. Air circulation being really important to allow them to cool down. In big sheds with plently of space, a fan, (covered with a wire mesh for safety of course) will circulate the air. Plently of fresh cool water, maybe add a few ice cubes to keep it cool, and under shade. A good dust bath will also be much appreciated! And a close eye open for mites and lice as they also become much more rife in hot weather.
I don't envy you in that sort of heat mate, it must get really over-bearing!

JubesXX

over-baring! its horrible. they have a big mulberry tree and mud puddle under it. then they have a big trctor tyre cut in half under the orange tree. though my hen, billi, has gone broody in the nest boxes which is in a corrugated iron shed. you has a yoghurt dish in there full of water. the thing is, i have too many batches of broody's with chicks and not enough seperate pens. so i am waiting for goldy and her chicks just to get old enough as hers are the closest to going out with the hens in the run. then i can let billi hatch a chick or two and put her in there. i just hope none of my flock dies. and i have some silkies!

 

[Anonymous]

Here in Australia we can get very hot summers. we are in spring now and its getting 30 C on average through the day. so summer will be in the 40's. So can this hot weather able to kill my chooks?

It would kill me, let alone my chooks! But how good it is, to have someone on the Forum who has such a different experience of keeping poultry than most of us here in the U.K.

since being australian i am use to it. but this one seems to be a bit hotter!