Short answer: Chickens eat less when the house is hot, and the feed they do eat has to work harder. The fix is mostly timing and feed quality. Put the main feed down in the cool hours, raise energy density with a small amount of fat rather than more bulk, keep water clean and flowing, and never let feed sit warm and damp in the trough. Track daily intake, because a small fall is the first warning.
Key takeaways
- Heat makes birds eat less, so the feed they do eat has to carry more usable energy and balanced nutrients.
- Put most of the day's feed down in the cool hours, using small, frequent fills rather than one large heap.
- Water comes first: clean, cool, flowing drinkers matter more than any change to the ration.
- Add energy with a small amount of fat, and do not raise crude protein without checking the amino acids.
- Keep feed dry, fresh and off the floor, and record daily intake so you catch problems early.
Why a hot bird stops eating
By nine in the morning the house is already warm, by early afternoon the iron roof is ticking, and the birds are standing with their wings held a little away from their bodies, panting, sitting in the shade of the feeder rather than at it. The feed bin is full. The birds are not hungry in the way you would expect, and that is the point: a chicken that stops eating in the heat is protecting itself.
Digestion produces heat. As a bird breaks down a meal, its body gives off heat, and the more it eats in a short time the more heat it must shed. A chicken has very few sweat glands and relies on panting and the bare skin of its comb and wattles. In a warm house its margin is small, so it cuts back. A hot week therefore shows up first in your records as lower intake, slower growth in broilers and a drop in laying in layers, often before any bird looks sick.
Two things follow. You cannot pull a hot flock back to normal by putting out more of the same feed in the afternoon, because that is when the bird is least willing to eat. And the feed has to carry more energy and nutrients into each mouthful, so the bird meets its needs from the smaller amount it will take.
The cool hours: when the main feed goes down
In most of southern Ghana the cool hours run from first light until the house starts to warm, and again in the late evening. Between about eleven and four in the dry season the house is at its hottest. Aim to have the bulk of the day's feed fresh and clean when birds are willing to take it.
| Time (dry season) | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Before first light | Check and refill drinkers, check bins for damp | Birds drink first; wet feed is spoiled feed |
| Early morning | Main fill, spread along the whole trough | Intake is strongest before the house warms |
| Late morning | Light top-up, keep troughs topped, watch behaviour | Birds start to cut back; piles sit warm |
| Midday to mid-afternoon | No heavy refill; walk the house and check for panting | Peak heat; spilled feed spoils quickly |
| Late afternoon | Second fill, slightly richer if the flock is struggling | Birds return to feed as the house cools |
| Evening | Final top-up, clear spillage and wet feed | A clean trough overnight keeps mould and beetles down |
Keep feed moving. Two or three small fills through the cool part of the day beat one large fill, because the trough stays fresh and the birds have a reason to walk to it. Adjust the times to your own house, and let the birds, not the clock, have the final say.
Night feeding, and when it helps
A late evening meal can help broilers that are behind on weight. Birds that ignore the feed at four in the afternoon may take a meal at seven or eight, when the house has cooled and the light is dim. Walk slowly, keep torches low, and avoid letting a rush of hot air into the house.
Layers are different. Their lighting programme matters more than feed time, and their rest period should not be disturbed. If you move layer feeding into the evening, make the change over several days and watch egg numbers and shell quality. Night feeding is never a substitute for water: birds that drank little in the afternoon will eat little at night too.
Getting more energy into each mouthful
When a bird eats less, its energy intake falls faster than its protein intake, because most dietary energy comes from the grain. The usual response is to make the feed more energy dense. Fat is the most concentrated energy source you can add, and a small amount of vegetable or palm oil raises energy per kilogram without adding bulk.
The amount matters. Most home-mixed and small-mill rations do not need more than a few percent of added oil. More than that makes the feed greasy, sticky on the bill, quick to go rancid in the heat, and prone to loosening droppings. Start small, mix it in thoroughly, and check the feed for a sour smell after a day in the trough. If you are unsure, the poultry feed calculator will show the effect on energy before you change anything.
Bulk works the other way. Wheat bran, rice bran and some by-products are high in fibre and low in energy, so a bird that eats a large weight of them gets less energy for the same effort. If your ration is bran-heavy, cut the bran for a few weeks and use a more concentrated energy source, keeping the amino acids balanced. Pellets can also help, since a pellet packs more nutrient into each bite, but a pellet made with a weak binder crumbles in damp conditions.
Protein and amino acids when appetite falls
The tempting error is to see slow growth, assume the bird needs more protein, and raise crude protein in the ration. In the heat this rarely works. Crude protein measures nitrogen, not the amino acids the bird actually uses, and a bird eating less still needs the same proportions of lysine, methionine and the other essential amino acids. Adding a cheap, unbalanced protein ingredient can raise your cost and make the balance worse.
Keep the ration balanced and let energy density do the work. Ask your feed supplier or formulator for the lysine and methionine levels in your feed. If they are marginal, an amino acid supplement added properly can restore the balance without pushing up total protein. Change one thing at a time, because otherwise you will not know which change worked. When you do switch feeds, blend old and new over five to seven days, since a sudden change can cut intake for several days.
Water, electrolytes and salt
No feeding plan survives a water shortage. Birds in the heat drink more, and a blocked, undersized or dirty drinking line cuts intake quickly. Check drinkers at least twice a day, and at midday in the hottest weeks. Make sure water flows and is cool enough to drink, because plastic tanks standing in the sun can heat water to a temperature birds avoid.
Electrolytes sold through agro-vets help replace salts lost to panting, and they are useful after stress such as transport or a hot spell. Use them only as the label directs, in clean water, for the period stated. Extra salt is the bigger danger. Adding salt to water or feed in the belief that it will help is a common route to salt poisoning. If birds drink heavily, pass watery droppings or go lethargic and stop eating, call a vet rather than adding more salt.
Keeping feed fresh and safe in the heat
Heat and damp spoil feed. Mash that sits through a hot afternoon, with birds breathing on it and droppings landing in it, can go off within a day. Some moulds produce aflatoxin, which harms birds and can build up in a flock, and a bird already stressed by heat copes less well with any toxin.
Store feed off the floor, away from sweating walls and out of direct sun. Use the oldest bags first and never stack a new batch on an old one. Sieve out clumps before each fill, because clumps are usually damp and mould starts there. Scrape old feed from trough corners and wash the trough when droppings collect in it. Buy only what the flock will eat within a few weeks. A cheap bulk purchase costs more if a third of it goes off in the store. If a bag is wet or smells musty or sour, do not feed it.
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Layers: shell quality and the afternoon calcium
Layers feel the heat in their shells first. The egg is a big draw on the hen's calcium, and heat reduces her feed and calcium intake together. Thinner, rougher or softer shells appear in the afternoon collection, and in a bad week the number of eggs can fall too. Our layer chicks page lists the strains we supply, and each has its own feed and housing needs.
Offer oyster shell or limestone in a separate feeder. Hens often take extra calcium in the late afternoon and evening, when the shell is being formed, so keep that feeder full and dry. Check particle size with your feed supplier, because it changes how much a hen can use. Do not raise calcium in the main mash as a quick fix: too much calcium lowers the availability of other minerals and can cut intake.
Collect eggs at least twice a day in the hot season, so they do not sit in a hot house and crack. A layer kept cool, with clean water and access to calcium, usually recovers within a week or two of a hot spell.
Broilers: keeping the growth line through a hot week
A broiler does not catch up the way a layer might recover. Each day of lost growth in the middle of a grow-out costs you, because the bird still has to reach market weight, and every extra day in the house adds to your feed, litter and labour bill. Our broiler chicks page shows the strains we supply, and the growth target for your strain is the number to plan against.
Weigh about fifty birds weekly, at the same time of day, and compare the average with the breeder's target for their age. If the flock is a little behind in a hot week, improve cool-hour feeding and water rather than changing the whole ration in a panic. If it is well behind, work through the causes in order: water, house temperature, feed quality, feeder space, then disease. Birds that gasp, lie flat or die in numbers need a vet at once, not more feed.
What a hot week costs, in birds and feed
The cost of a hot spell is hard to see until you write it down. Record feed used each day and divide by the number of birds. If daily feed per bird falls by a few percent for a week, the flock has eaten less, and the growth or lay figures for the next few weeks will show it. Multiply the uneaten feed by your own price per kilogram and add the value of any slower growth or lower lay.
Starting prices are only part of the picture. Check the current chick prices before you budget, then run the figures in the broiler profit calculator or the layer egg profit calculator. Every tool on the site is listed under poultry calculators. Keep the results, so you can compare this hot season with the next cool one. For more answers on chick and flock questions, see the frequently asked questions page, and the blog covers other seasonal problems.
Questions farmers ask
Should I give chickens more feed in the afternoon when it is very hot?
Usually no. The afternoon is when birds are least willing to eat, and feed put out then sits warm and spoils. Put the bulk of the feed down in the early morning and make small top-ups later.
Is it safe to keep electrolytes in the drinking water all through the hot season?
Not automatically. Electrolytes help during spells of heat stress, transport or illness, and the label sets how long to use them. Continuous use without a need can upset the balance of salts, so ask your vet or agro-vet which product and period suit your flock.
How much oil can I add to chicken feed to boost energy?
Only a small amount, usually a few percent at most. Larger amounts make feed greasy and prone to going rancid in the heat. Add it slowly, mix it thoroughly and check the feed daily for a sour smell.
Will adding protein help my chickens eat better in the heat?
Usually not. What the bird needs is the right balance of amino acids, and raising crude protein with an unbalanced ingredient wastes money. Ask your formulator whether lysine and methionine levels are adequate.
How do I know if feed has gone bad in the trough?
Look for clumps, a musty or sour smell, colour changes and visible mould, especially in the corners. Birds may also refuse it. If you are in doubt, remove the feed, and if birds fall ill after eating it, call a vet.
Do layers need a different feeding routine from broilers in the heat?
In some respects, yes. Broilers need feed through the cool hours and checks against their growth target. Layers need steady lighting and a full calcium feeder, because heat cuts shell quality first.
Can I feed my flock at night when the house is cooler?
A late top-up can help broilers that are behind on weight, provided the birds have clean water and the house is not disturbed. For layers, keep the lighting consistent and make any change gradually.
