Author: Lisa Smith
As the New Zealand summer kicks into gear, we all look forward to longer days and backyard BBQs. But for your feathered flock, the rising temperatures and dry conditions can bring two significant challenges with heat stress and red mites.
Chickens are hardy animals, but they wear feather jackets year-round. They can’t sweat to cool down, making them surprisingly vulnerable when the temperature heats up over 25°C and above. Combine that heat with a population explosion of pests, and your chooks can quickly go from happy layers to stressed, unhealthy birds. Here is your guide to keeping your flock cool, comfortable, and mite-free this summer.
Recognising and Managing Heat Stress
Unlike humans, chickens cool themselves by panting and spreading their wings away from their bodies to release trapped heat. If you see your hens looking lethargic, developing pale combs or panting heavily with their beaks open, they are likely suffering from heat stress.
Top Tips for Cooling Down your chooks:
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Hydration is Key: Chickens will drink significantly more water in summer. Ensure they have access to cool, fresh water in the shade. Warm water is less appealing to them, so on scorcher days, consider adding a block of ice to their drinker.
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Utilise Shade: If your run lacks natural tree cover, use shade cloth to create sheltered spots. Outpost Buildings chicken coops are skid mounted to allow them to be easily relocated to shady spots for the summer months.
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Ventilation Matters: Airflow is your best defence against a stifling coop. Hot air rises, so a good coop needs high-level ventilation to let that heat escape while drawing cooler air in from lower down. The chicken coops from Outpost Buildings are designed with ventilation in mind, featuring wire mesh sections or openings that promote healthy airflow without creating dangerous drafts.
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Summer Diet: Digestion generates internal body heat. Feeding your chickens maize or corn can warm them up (great for winter, bad for summer). Instead, offer water-rich treats like chilled watermelon or cucumber to help hydrate them from the inside out. For detailed dietary advice, check out the SPCA’s guide on feeding backyard chickens.
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Easy Access: Being able to easily access the chicken coop to check on your chickens, provide treatment and replace water is important. Outpost Chicken coops are designed to enable easy access with doors on even the smallest coops such as the 1 Bay Hen House.
The Red Mite Invasion
If heat is the silent struggle, red mites are the visible enemy. These tiny parasites thrive in warm, dry NZ weather. They hide in cracks and crevices during the day and come out at night to feed on your chickens' blood, causing anaemia, stress, and a drop in egg production.
How to Spot and Stop Them:
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The Midnight Check: Mites are nocturnal. Go out to the coop at night with a torch and check the perches. If you see tiny red or grey moving specks, you have an infestation.
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Break the Cycle: Mites hate sunlight and cleanliness. Regularly cleaning out bedding is essential.
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Treating the Coop: If you find mites, you must treat the house, not just the birds. Use a poultry-safe spray or Smite Organic Powder (a natural powder that dehydrates insects) in the corners, cracks, and perch sockets.
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The Relocatable Advantage: One of the best ways to break a pest cycle is to move the flock to fresh ground. Outpost’s relocatable skid-mounted designs allow you to easily tow your coop to a new patch of paddock. This leaves the mite-infested ground behind to be exposed to the sun (UV light kills mites) and gives your hens a fresh, clean start.
Why Timber Coops are great in Summer
You might wonder if a metal shed is better for cleaning, but in the NZ summer, timber offers a sustainable and temperature regulating solution.
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Insulation: Thin metal heats up rapidly in the sun, turning a small coop into an oven. Timber has natural thermal mass, meaning it stays cooler for longer during the day and regulates temperature fluctuations better than steel.
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Durability: Heavy-duty NZ timber framing withstands the elements and provides a sturdy, breathable environment that supports your flock's health.
Ready for a Summer Upgrade?
By taking a proactive approach now by keeping water cool, shade plentiful, and mites at bay, you ensure your hens remain happy, healthy, and productive throughout the warmer months.
If you find yourself fighting a losing battle against overheating or persistent infestations with an old, flimsy structure, it might be time to invest in a better solution. A solid, relocatable timber coop doesn't just protect your birds from the elements, it makes your daily chores significantly easier, giving you more time to enjoy your summer.
Browse our full range of Chicken Coops & Hen Houses today to find a design that suits your flock size and lifestyle.
