How's your chooks coping with the heat?

[lettucegrow!]

I've put up an old golfing umbrella over my laydees run and they look very elegant taking their dust bath in the shade!!
Going to try a water tray later today and see how that goes.

[Tiny1000]

On Tuesday my hens were holding their wings up and their beaks were slightly open with the heat, but one of them stayed away from the rest of the birds not even wanting to go into roost at night. I picked her up and gave her a damp down with a spray bottle and put her in the hen house and hoped everything would be alright! The next morning they all seemed to be fine until the heat started to get up, then the same hen started to go the same way as she did the day before, so I put the lawn sprinkler on so that the water just touched the end of the run - they loved it! running in and out the spray and just standing in the spray preening themselves - panic over

[HayleyB]

I've put a cat litter tray of shallow water (thanks for the idea Bluemoon) in the shade in the yard but the girls haven't quite fathomed out the getting in bit, might go plonk a couple in after work

[Bramble-Poultry]

my girls dont like the heat much as there isnt much shade about for them. So i spray the runs - and the birds - with water twice a day to cool them down and have a tarpaulin over the runs to shade them.

As for water, i have bought bigger drinkers to help but they get knocked over in the scramble to get there so a change of plan saw me put a washing up bowl into an old car tyre. That way they can stand on the edge and not knock the thing over. Works a treat for them!