Yesterday was hot and today feels even hotter!  Hello, it is only May 3rd.  Yikes!

I noticed my hens didn’t lay many eggs yesterday and that they were stressed from the heat.

I did some research and found some great suggestions to help them keep their body temperatures down.    I gave them some cold treats today, but nothing (other than an air conditioner) can change the temperature inside of the large coop for the Rhode Island Reds.  See the thermometer?

Yes, that red needle is on 90 degrees.  Bless their little feathers!  I love fried chicken, but I don’t want them to fry in their coop!

The coop has one side completely open, but the other half has a tin roof and it really draws in the heat.    To help cool the hens, my daughter and I went to a local hardware store and purchased a high velocity fan to help the poor panting/stressed chickens.

As you can see the chickens have plenty of open space to receive a breeze if there was one!

I placed the new fan up here:

And I put an old oscillating fan down on the ground so that it reached most of the nesting boxes.

Many of the chickens were smart enough to go through this little opening that leads to another area where they can rest in the shade and visit our chicks.

If you have backyard chicks, make sure you remember to keep them comfortable on hot/steamy days.   IF you would like some suggestions in keeping your chicks cool in the hot summer temperatures, check out this blog post by the Chicken Chick:  Beat the Heat ~ How to Help Chickens Survive High Temps.

I’m linking with Deborah Jean at Dandelion House for Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop.   Click on her button below and join us.