Hot chooks.

wickedwings · **Posted:** Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:20 pm

Hot day in Victoria today and my chooks have all been either digging holes for themselves or standing around with their beaks open and wings held out from the body. I have spritzed them with a spray bottle but they got quite upset with this and started running around the coop. Are they likely to get used to this treatment, do I ignore the fact they seem to be panicking or is there a better way to be cooling them down?

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

Make giant iceblocks using old cordial bottles – old cleaned margarine containers etc – and put these in the water for the birds to drink = cools them from inside

Once frozen put the lid on the cordial bottles that way you can just wipe them down and re-freeze them to reuse as many times as needed – margarine containers = tip the ‘ice-block’ out into the water then re-fill the container to make another ‘iceblock’
# make sure mum/dad or wife/hubby etc are happy to have a freezer full of these containers for the birds

You will need to make sure the water stays cold for the birds – so check regularly that the ice is still in the water – when nearly gone put another one in or replace the cordial bottle with another frozen one

Try NOT to wet your birds unless desperate as you will encourage Coccidiosis = this killed more birds after the VIC fires last year than the heat did

Birds will try to dig down to cool off and will pant and spread their wings to dispel their body heat =
Make sure they have adequate shade WITH ventilation – do not think they will keep cool in a shed [unless it is air-conditioned]

wickedwings · **Posted:** Sat Jan 01, 2011 7:55 am

Thanks for the tips soozorps. Interesting point about wetting the chooks and coccidiosis, how does that work?

fluffyfeet · **Joined:** Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:25 pm **Posts:** 1

We have had 3 days of 40 dec here [wa] so I have been running the mist spray in the afternoon to cool of the coops but I wasn't aware of any issues with that they don't get soaking wet no more than rain

wickedwings · **Posted:** Mon Jan 03, 2011 6:45 am

fluffyfeet, how do your chooks react when the sprinkler comes on? Do they like it? Do they get upset?

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

wickedwings wrote:

Thanks for the tips soozorps. Interesting point about wetting the chooks and coccidosis, how does that work?

I was told this by someone that had experienced ‘issues’ with Cocci and as a result, they were able to help my birds after the heat last year
Was told = The Cocci stays in the soil for several years ‘inactive’ waiting for the right environment to become ‘active’ = damp/wet soil with warm/hot days and warm nights – so if the soil has Cocci in it and becomes wet the Coccidiosis becomes active and often virulent as the birds are already weakened by the heat, haven’t eaten much and are prime targets for the disease

ONLY the pens that had soil floors had trouble. Luckily we have no soil floors now; all birds are in pens in large sheds and on fresh deep litter

wickedwings · **Posted:** Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:21 pm

I thought the Coccidiosis only affected the chicks, that the older birds developed some degree of immunity to it. The birds have been on a medicated crumble and the pullet grower is also medicated (Barastoc brand).

But they are on a dirt floor in the run, although the amount of water I sprayed on them barely damped the floor.

kwinagi · **Joined:** Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:58 pm **Posts:** 236

as well as making sure they have adequate shade, and sue's great tips on frozen water another good thing to do is wet the soil..............they love to dig into damp soil dustbaths on a hot day.

wickedwings · **Posted:** Fri Jan 07, 2011 5:06 am

It seems those are the conditions that soozorps describes which promote coccidiosis.

soozorps wrote:

Was told = The Cocci stays in the soil for several years ‘inactive’ waiting for the right environment to become ‘active’ = damp/wet soil with warm/hot days and warm nights – so if the soil has Cocci in it and becomes wet the Coccidiosis becomes active and often virulent as the birds are already weakened by the heat, haven’t eaten much and are prime targets for the disease

So the chickens like it, but it might make them sick. Sounds like donuts, I know I shouldn't but I go and eat them anyway! :oops:

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

wickedwings wrote:

I thought the Coccidiosis only affected the chicks, that the older birds developed some degree of immunity to it.

The medicated crumbles are to help acquire an initial resistance – stress from any source and the Coccidistat being present in the environment can/will cause outbreaks. And not all chicks acquire that initial resistance
I lost adult birds to the Cocci as did many others a number of weeks after the heat and fires when heat stress symptoms were well and truly gone – I don’t think any of us thought they would be susceptible as adults – but they are at any and every age
I lost one aged 7 months to it – it came to me [age 5/6mths] with a mild infestation and just never responded to treatment regardless of the fact that its breeder exclusively feeds starter and grower until the 1st egg is laid = any age can get and die from it.

Since that intense heat and the fires I have used a monthly preventative regime to help keep it away and always treat any birds leaving the property for the 2 days BEFORE they go on the transport and advise the new owners to retreat 2 weeks after they arrive just to play it safe – to date no further outbreaks – only occurrence since = just that one that came in with it

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