Can You Make Yogurt from Powdered Milk? Yes, and Here’s How

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Best Premade Bug Out Bags – When You Need to Be Ready Without Building One Yourself

Most people know they should have a bug out bag. Most people do not have one. The gap between knowing and doing is almost never about information. It is about time, about decision fatigue, and about the sheer number of choices involved in putting a serious kit together from scratch.

Building your own bug out bag from the ground up is the ideal approach, and we have covered that in detail elsewhere. But the truth is that a well-chosen premade bag that you actually have is infinitely more valuable than a custom kit you keep meaning to put together. If you are starting from zero today and need to close the gap fast, buying a quality premade kit is the right call.

The problem is that the premade kit market is full of garbage. Cheap nylon bags packed with single-use items that fail on first contact with real use, low-calorie food bars, and first aid kits that amount to a handful of Band-Aids. Knowing how to separate the kits worth buying from the ones worth avoiding is what this guide does. Every product recommended here is available directly on Amazon, has been verified as a live listing, and has a legitimate track record with real users. The FEMA Ready.gov emergency kit guidelines form the minimum standard for what any kit should contain, and each pick meets or exceeds that baseline.

Why a Premade Bug Out Bag Makes Sense for Most People

There is a persistent belief in the prepper community that building your own kit is always superior to buying premade. For gear nerds who enjoy the research and have the time, that is probably true. For everyone else, it misses the point.

Consider the actual time cost of building a custom BOB. Researching which water filter to buy takes at least an hour of reading before you have a confident answer. Same for first aid kit components, fire starters, emergency food, and the bag itself. By the time you have researched, ordered, waited for shipping, and organized everything, a month has passed and you still might not have assembled the kit.

A premade kit collapses that timeline to one purchase and one delivery. You are not getting a perfect kit. You are getting a functional foundation that covers the essential survival categories in a single transaction. That foundation can be upgraded over time. A premade kit bought today and sitting by the door is far more valuable than a custom kit that exists only on a wishlist.

The other underappreciated advantage is bulk buying. Companies producing these kits purchase components in quantities that no individual buyer can match. Mylar blankets, emergency food bars, and water pouches are dramatically cheaper per unit at volume. In many cases, a premade kit genuinely costs less than buying the equivalent components individually, even before accounting for the time savings.

What to Look For Before You Buy

Not all premade kits are worth the money. The following criteria separate the genuine preparedness tools from the marketing exercises.

The Bag Itself

The container is as important as the contents. A kit packed in a flimsy 600D nylon bag with plastic buckles and bargain zippers will fail in the field. Look for kits that include bags with reinforced stitching, metal or heavy-duty plastic hardware, padded shoulder straps, and a waist strap for heavier loads. The bag should have enough capacity to add your personal items without being so large it becomes uncarryable.

Genuine Survival Essentials

A proper bug out bag addresses six survival categories: water and water treatment, food, shelter and warmth, fire and light, first aid, and communication. Any premade kit that skips one of these categories entirely is not a complete kit. Pay particular attention to water. Water pouches alone are not adequate for anything beyond a 72-hour urban evacuation. A kit that includes water purification tablets or a filter in addition to stored water is meaningfully more capable.

Caloric Adequacy

Emergency food bars should provide a minimum of 1,000 calories per person per day, which is the FEMA minimum guideline. Two 2,400-calorie bars for two people over three days works out to 800 calories per person per day, which falls below that threshold. When evaluating food, divide total calories by number of people by number of days to see what you are actually getting. Most budget kits fall short and you should plan to supplement.

Upgrade Room

The best premade kits are starting points, not finished products. Look for bags with external MOLLE webbing, multiple compartments, and enough internal space to add your personal medications, documents, and other household-specific items. A kit packed so tightly that it cannot accommodate anything additional is a kit you cannot personalize.

Brand Legitimacy

The survival kit space on Amazon includes some genuinely good products alongside a sea of imported kits assembled for maximum visual appeal at minimum cost. Brands like Ready America have been producing emergency preparedness products for over 25 years and supply kits to government agencies and the Red Cross. EVERLIT was founded by U.S. Army veterans and assembles its products in California. These track records matter when you are evaluating gear you may one day need to rely on.

Quick Comparison: The Four Best Premade Bug Out Bags on Amazon

Here is a quick overview of each pick before the full reviews below.

Ready America 72 Hour Emergency Kit, 2-Person

• Best for: Budget starter and first-time buyers
• Price range: ~$35 to $50
• Coverage: 2 people, 3 days

EVERLIT Complete 72 Hours Bug Out Bag Emergency Survival Kit

• Best for: Best overall value, most complete kit out of the box
• Price range: ~$80 to $120
• Coverage: 3 people, 3 days

Stealth Angel Survival 72 Hour Family Emergency Kit

• Best for: Households and families up to 5 people
• Price range: ~$70 to $150 depending on person count selected
• Coverage: 1 to 5 people, 3 days

Ready America 72 Hour Deluxe Emergency Kit, 4-Person

• Best for: Upgrade pick with hand-crank power station included
• Price range: ~$80 to $100
• Coverage: 4 people, 3 days

The Four Best Premade Bug Out Bags Available on Amazon

Best Budget Starter: Ready America 72 Hour Emergency Kit, 2-Person, 3-Day Backpack

Amazon listing: Ready America 72 Hour Emergency Kit, 2-Person, 3-Day Backpack

Price range: approximately $35 to $50

Best for: individuals or couples who are completely unprepared and need a functional starting point at the lowest possible cost.

Ready America has been in the emergency preparedness business since 1992 and supplies kits to American Red Cross preparedness programs. The 2-person, 3-day kit is the clearest example of what a bare-bones, legitimate emergency kit looks like. It strips out everything non-essential and delivers exactly what the American Red Cross recommends as the minimum viable kit for two people to survive 72 hours.

What is in the bag:

• 2x 2,400-calorie emergency food bars with 5-year shelf life
• 12x 4.225 oz water pouches with 5-year shelf life
• 33-piece first aid kit
• 2x mylar emergency blankets
• 2x 12-hour emergency glow sticks
• 2x emergency ponchos
• 2x disposable dust masks
• 4x nitrile gloves
• 1x plastic whistle
• 1x high-visibility red backpack

The honest assessment: this kit is genuinely minimal. The food bars provide 2,400 calories total per person over three days, which is 800 calories per day and below the FEMA guideline of 1,000 calories per person per day. The dust masks are not N95-rated. There is no fire starter, no water filter, no multi-tool, and no communication device. What it does well is establish a credible, organized foundation from a legitimate brand at a price point that removes every financial barrier to getting started.

This is the right choice if you are starting from zero and need something in your hands today. Buy it, add an N95 mask, a Sawyer Mini water filter, and a hand-crank emergency radio, and you have a materially more capable kit within one additional small purchase.

Best Overall Value: EVERLIT Complete 72 Hours Bug Out Bag Emergency Survival Kit

Amazon listing: EVERLIT Complete 72 Hours Bug Out Bag Emergency Survival Kit

Price range: approximately $80 to $120

Best for: individuals or small groups who want the most complete kit available in the mid-price range, built by a brand with credible military-veteran credentials.

EVERLIT was founded by U.S. Army veterans with the explicit goal of applying military-grade preparedness thinking to civilian emergency kits. The STORM II kit is their flagship 72-hour product and it shows the difference between a kit designed by people who have been in emergency situations and one designed by a marketing team.

What is in the bag:

• 36x 125ml emergency drinking water pouches (5-year shelf life, U.S. Coast Guard approved)
• 3x 3,600-calorie emergency food bars (5-year shelf life, meets FEMA 1,000 cal/person/day minimum)
• Water purification tablets (treats up to 25 quarts)
• 200-piece first aid kit
• Gen 7 CAT tourniquet for traumatic wound management
• 3-in-1 hand-crank flashlight, AM/FM radio, and phone charger
• Emergency shelter tent
• 3x thermal mylar blankets
• 3x emergency rain ponchos
• 3x sets of goggles
• 3x pairs of gloves
• Camping knife
• Compass
• Glow sticks
• 1000D polyester tactical backpack with MOLLE webbing, waist strap, and mesh padding

The honest assessment: the EVERLIT kit is the strongest all-around premade option on Amazon in its price class. Three things distinguish it from the competition. First, the caloric coverage actually meets FEMA guidelines for three people over three days. Second, the inclusion of a CAT tourniquet reflects a genuine understanding of what serious first aid looks like. Third, the 1000D polyester tactical bag with MOLLE webbing is a legitimately good backpack that holds up to use and has room for significant personalization.

The main gap to address after purchase is fire starting capability, which the kit does not include. Add a quality fire starter and you have one of the most complete premade kits available for under $120.

Best for Families: Stealth Angel Survival 72 Hour Family Emergency Kit

Amazon listing: Stealth Angel Survival 72 Hour Family Emergency Kit, 1-5 Person

Price range: approximately $70 to $150 depending on person count selected

Best for: households with multiple people who need a single purchase that scales to cover the whole family without requiring multiple individual kits.

The Stealth Angel kit solves a problem most premade bag guides do not address directly: families. Buying individual kits for four people means four times the cost, four bags to manage, and four different organizational systems to maintain. The Stealth Angel kit is designed from the start to accommodate up to five people in a single organized package, assembled in the USA and compliant with FEMA emergency preparedness guidelines.

What is in the kit:

• 72-hour supply of water pouches scaled to person count selected
• Emergency food bars scaled to person count
• Water purification tablets
• Stealth Angel 8-in-1 multitool
• Tactical flashlight
• Hand-crank AM/FM emergency radio
• Emergency mylar blankets per person
• Body warmers per person
• Emergency ponchos per person
• Tube tent for shelter
• Compass
• First aid kit
• Hygiene and sanitation supplies

The honest assessment: the primary advantage here is scale and simplicity. Rather than coordinating multiple kit purchases and hoping they arrive complete, the Stealth Angel kit gives a household a single integrated solution. The 8-in-1 multitool that comes in every kit is a genuine piece of hardware rather than the toy multitools that show up in most budget kits.

The kit is less tactically oriented than the EVERLIT and uses softer organizational structures than the EVERLIT’s MOLLE system. For family preparedness where the goal is a functional kit everyone can access rather than an operator-grade tactical rig, that is the right tradeoff. Select the person count at purchase to get the appropriately scaled food and water allocation.

Best Upgrade Pick: Ready America 72 Hour Deluxe Emergency Kit, 4-Person

Amazon listing: Ready America 72 Hour Deluxe Emergency Kit, 4-Person 3-Day Backpack

Price range: approximately $80 to $100

Best for: households of up to four people who want a name-brand, Red Cross-aligned kit with meaningfully better coverage than the basic Ready America tier.

The Deluxe tier from Ready America represents a significant step up from the entry-level Ready America kit, and the additions are exactly the right ones. The kit expands to four people and adds the items most commonly identified as missing from budget emergency kits: a water purification capability, a communications device, and a dedicated multi-function tool.

What the Deluxe adds over the basic Ready America tier:

• Water purification tablets for field water treatment
• 32 oz BPA-free water bottle
• Emergency power station: four-function hand-crank unit providing flashlight, AM/FM radio, cell phone charger, and personal alarm
• Multi-function pocket tool
• Personal hygiene kit
• Scaled up to 4-person coverage throughout

What is in the full kit:

• 4x 2,400-calorie emergency food bars
• 24x water pouches
• Water purification tablets
• 32 oz BPA-free water bottle
• First aid kit
• 4x mylar blankets
• 4x emergency ponchos
• 4x dust masks
• Nitrile gloves
• Whistle
• Glow sticks
• Emergency power station with flashlight, radio, phone charger, and alarm
• Multi-function pocket tool
• Personal hygiene kit

The honest assessment: the emergency power station is the component that makes the Deluxe worth its premium over the basic tier. A hand-crank device that provides emergency light, radio communication, phone charging, and a personal alarm covers four survival functions in a single item that requires no batteries and no grid connection. That single addition transforms what would otherwise be a slightly expanded basic kit into a meaningfully more capable emergency system.

Ready America’s long track record and government supply relationships make this a reliable choice for buyers who prioritize brand credibility. As the American Red Cross emergency kit guidelines confirm, the three core essentials for any emergency kit are food, water, and emergency supplies for 72 hours minimum. This kit checks all three with quality components from an established emergency preparedness manufacturer.

What Every Premade Kit Is Missing: The Personal Additions You Must Make

No premade kit can include the items specific to your household. Regardless of which kit you buy, add the following before you consider your bag complete.

Medications and Medical Supplies

Every prescription medication taken by anyone in your household needs a minimum one-week supply in the bag, rotated regularly to prevent expiration. Over-the-counter essentials to add: ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antihistamine, antidiarrheal medication, and any allergy-specific medications. If anyone in your household carries an EpiPen, a backup belongs in the bag.

Documents and Financial Resources

A laminated card or small waterproof pouch containing photocopies of: driver’s licenses, passports or birth certificates, insurance cards, property documents, vehicle registration, emergency contact numbers, and prescription information. Include cash in small bills. ATMs may be offline and card readers may not function during a serious emergency.

A Quality Water Filter

The water storage in most premade kits provides enough hydration for 72 hours under ideal conditions. A Sawyer Mini or Sawyer Squeeze water filter weighs approximately 2 ounces and can filter up to 100,000 gallons of water from any freshwater source. At under $30 on Amazon, it is the single highest-value addition you can make to any premade kit.

N95 Masks

Most budget kits include disposable dust masks rather than N95-rated respiratory protection. During wildfires, chemical incidents, or pandemics, the difference between a dust mask and an N95 is the difference between meaningful protection and a false sense of security. A pack of 10 N95 masks is inexpensive and essential.

Household-Specific Needs

• Infants: Formula, diapers, baby food, and any pediatric medications.
• Children: Age-appropriate food, comfort items, and any school or medical records relevant to medications.
• Pets: Three days of pet food, water bowl, leash, vaccination records, and any medications. Alternatively, build a dog bug out bag.
• Eyeglasses or contacts: A backup pair of glasses or a supply of contact lenses and solution.
• Mobility aids: If anyone in your household uses a cane, walker, or other mobility aid, plan for how that travels with the kit.

A Fire Starting Capability

Several of the recommended kits do not include fire starting tools. Add a quality ferrocerium rod and a backup lighter at minimum. Fire provides warmth, water purification capability, signaling, and psychological stability during an extended emergency.

The 72-Hour Myth: What Experienced Preppers Actually Plan For

FEMA recommends preparing for 72 hours of self-sufficiency. The Red Cross recommends the same baseline. Every premade kit is designed and marketed around this 72-hour standard.

It is a useful starting point. It is not the number serious preppers actually plan for.

The 72-hour figure represents the minimum time before federal resources can realistically reach a localized disaster area. It does not account for regional disasters where infrastructure damage affects large areas simultaneously, for supply chain disruptions that extend well beyond three days, or for situations where government assistance is delayed, overwhelmed, or unavailable.

Watch the recovery timeline from any major hurricane, ice storm, or regional power grid failure and you will consistently see that meaningful outside assistance takes far longer than 72 hours to reach everyone who needs it. The 2021 Texas winter storm left millions without power and water for over a week. Hurricane Maria left much of Puerto Rico without power for months.

The practical standard that most experienced preppers work toward is two weeks of self-sufficiency as a minimum, and 30 days as a serious intermediate goal. A premade kit gets you to 72 hours. It is a foundation, not a finished preparedness program. Use it as the starting point for a longer-term system that includes home food storage, water storage, and backup power.

How to Upgrade Your Premade Kit Without Rebuilding It from Scratch

The most efficient approach to improving a premade kit is to identify and replace the two or three lowest-quality components rather than replacing the entire kit.

Evaluate First, Upgrade Second

When your kit arrives, open it completely and evaluate every item against a specific question: would this item perform adequately in a real emergency, or would it fail? The emergency poncho from a budget kit may be adequate for a three-day evacuation. The single-purpose flashlight probably is not. The 33-piece first aid kit may be fine for minor injuries but lacks the trauma care capability that a serious kit should have.

Priority Upgrade Order

1. Water treatment capability: add a Sawyer Mini filter if the kit lacks one.
2. Communication: add a hand-crank weather radio if the kit lacks one.
3. First aid: add a tourniquet, wound packing gauze, and an Israeli bandage to any kit that does not include them. Get inspiration from this SHTF first aid kit.
4. Food: supplement with additional calorie-dense food to reach at least 1,000 calories per person per day.
5. Fire: add a ferrocerium rod and a backup lighter.
6. Lighting: replace any single-mode flashlight with a quality multi-mode LED headlamp that keeps your hands free.
7. The bag: if the original bag is inadequate, transfer contents to a quality pack and use the original bag as a secondary carry option.

The Two-Is-One Rule

The preparedness principle of two is one and one is none applies directly to premade kits. Redundancy is not waste. If your primary water treatment is purification tablets and your secondary is a filter, you are covered when one is lost, used up, or fails. Build redundancy into the most critical categories: water treatment, fire, and light.

A Bug Out Bag Gets You Through the First 72 Hours. Then What?

A bug out bag is only the beginning. If an emergency lasts for weeks instead of days, you’ll need the knowledge to find water, build shelter, make fire, and stay alive with limited supplies.

The Wilderness Long-Term Survival Guide shows you how to:

• Find safe water and food in the wild
• Build reliable shelters using natural materials
• Start fires in almost any conditions
• Navigate without relying on GPS
• Handle long-term survival when rescue isn’t coming

A well-stocked bug out bag can buy you time. The skills in this guide can help you survive long after the gear runs out.

Conclusion: The Right Premade Bag Is the One You Actually Have

Premade bug out bags get dismissed in some prepper circles as shortcuts for people who are not serious about preparedness. That framing misses the point. The goal is not to demonstrate preparedness sophistication. The goal is to be prepared.

A Ready America 2-person kit sitting by your door, with a Sawyer Mini and a pack of N95 masks added to it, makes you significantly more prepared than 80 percent of the population. For most households that currently have nothing, that is the right place to start.

Buy the kit that matches your current situation: the Ready America basic tier if budget is the primary constraint, the EVERLIT if you want the best overall value and a kit that is closer to complete out of the box, the Stealth Angel if you have a household to cover, and the Ready America Deluxe if you want the name-brand upgrade path. Add your personal medications, documents, cash, and a water filter. Put it somewhere you can grab it in two minutes.

That is meaningful preparedness. Build from there.

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Emergency Ration Bars Compared: Which One Should You Actually Buy?

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How To Use A Kelly Kettle

This is for all my new readers who really want to be prepared for the unexpected. This “kettle” is an awesome emergency stove or a great stove for camping! You probably know by now that I have to know the ins and outs of everything related to emergency preparedness. The Kelly Kettle can be used for all kinds of outdoor food preparation, including camping, day hiking, and an unforeseen emergency when we lose power and need to cook meals.

That works for me! It’s great when a product can be used in so many different situations. One of the challenges of being away from home, or even in the backyard for that matter, is having a cooking source that is easily portable, can use readily available fuel, and is efficient. I’ve found the Kelly Kettle hits the mark on every point. The one pictured below is similar to the Kelly Kettle I have.

Stainless Steel or Aluminum Kelly Kettle

The Kelly Kettle comes in aluminum or stainless steel. I decided on stainless steel since I felt it would hold up better. I prefer to buy something right the first time and not have to replace it down the road. I also wanted one that would be larger and serve a few more people. I decided on the Ultimate Stainless Scout Camp Kit. I am going to explain how each part works so you can visualize using one. This is really the most reliable ultra-fast camping kettle for the outdoors. It’s very light, extremely durable, and works even in extreme weather conditions.

No Propane, Gas, or Liquid Fuel is Needed

Oh my gosh, I love that this doesn’t need any propane, gas, or liquid fuel. Place a few wads of newspaper in the bottom of the base unit as a fire starter since it ignites so easily. Next, I put a layer of fuel I was able to retrieve from my yard and the local golf course. I used twigs, pine cones, dry leaves, etc. You can start a small fire in the base with a match or a fire starter

I went over to the golf course near my home and gathered up the pine cones from the ground. Yep, FREE fuel for this unit! Now I will be gathering pine cones regularly to store in my garage. We added some small dry branches and the dry leaves, and the fire started so quickly!

Double-Walled Kelly Kettle Stove

Next, you place the main double-walled stove on the base as shown above. Here’s the deal: I couldn’t figure out how this unit worked because I didn’t realize it had a double-walled pitcher built in, so to speak. Yep, I get it now. The flue/chimney is at the top, where you can add more twigs and pine cones. You can see the opening on the right side where you can add water.

Boil 37.2 ounces of liquid in just a few minutes

This Scout Kelly Kettle boils 1.1 liters (37.2 oz) in minutes. You can see how to lift the Kelly Kettle off the base with the handle at a 90-degree angle. You then set the unit on a flat surface and use the attached orange stopper (which should always be removed before lighting the kettle) to pour water into a pan or cup.

Ready To Cook With The Kelly Kettle

Now we are ready to cook. Kelly Kettle has a two-piece pan bracket that you hook together and insert into the chimney flue to set your pans on top and start cooking.

Finish Cooking on the Grill

Snack Ramen at its best. I had a package and added it to the boiling water in the pan. Easy, peasy. The large Kelly Kettle cook set comes with a grill, pan, lid, and a handle for lifting the pan while cooking. You will remove the top double-walled unit and place your mugs or pan to finish cooking or reheating your drinks.

Kelly Kettle Hobo Stove Accessory

Hobo Stove On Base

The Best Stainless Steel Cups with Silicone Lip Saver

Okay, I have never seen a silicone lip saver, just saying, this is the best thing I have ever seen for a hot cup to save your lips!

Everything Stores In This Bag

In case you missed this post, 101 Reasons Why I Recommend A Sun Oven

Why would I want a Kelly Kettle rather than a small camping stove?

I can explain several reasons why this unit is preferable. First of all, it doesn’t require any external fuel source, such as butane or propane. You just gather readily available materials and use them as fuel. When camping or hiking, it saves on space and weight.

It has a built-in container for heating and using liquids, such as water and soup. It also has a grill attachment, so you can cook as you would on an open fire or on your camp stove. It is smaller, so you’re limited in how much you can heat or cook at any given time.

The built-in handle and the lip protector are handy safety features that really impressed me. None of us wants burned hands or lips when preparing and eating a meal.

It is very efficient, as illustrated by how fast it can boil water. When you’re hungry, you want to eat NOW! No reason to wait a long time for meals using the Kelly Kettle. Finding sufficient free fuel shouldn’t be a problem, whether in your backyard, up in the mountains, or near a lake.

Where can I purchase a Kelly Kettle?

They can be purchased at several places, but it may be easier to just order one on Amazon. I did see they are sold at Cabela’s and Grommet.

What does a Kelly Kettle cost?

The cost will depend on what accessories you decide to buy. Again, check online to see what options are available and how much each costs. Remember to consider the stainless steel option, and that you’ll save on fuel in the long run by not having to purchase butane, propane, etc.

How To Clean, Bake, And Store Pine Cones

Outdoor Cooking For Survival

Final Word

I highly recommend one of these stoves for several reasons. It is compact and can be used year-round. The fact that I can gather pine cones, twigs, leaves, and my newspapers for fuel is a HUGE plus for me. Here’s to being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world, Linda

The post How To Use A Kelly Kettle appeared first on Food Storage Moms.

from Food Storage Moms

How to Keep Chickens Cool in Hot Weather

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Chickens are hardy birds and can adapt to most common weather fluctuations, with the exception of heat. Sudden jumps in temperature are far more dangerous to chickens than a seasonal or gradual temperature increase. Unlike humans and likely many breeds of livestock on your homestead, chickens do not sweat.

A chicken’s body temperature generally hovers around 107 degrees. When the birds are subjected to temperatures outside of their typical comfort zone, 65 to 75 degrees, they can die from heatstroke.

When the thermometer rapidly climbs, your flock will face a higher chance of heatstroke. Typically, when chickens are exposed to hot weather, their blood begins to flow towards their outer layer of skin, their wattles, and their combs, and away from their vital organs where it is most needed.

It's also worth noting that the heat index (the combination of temperature and humidity) matters just as much as the actual thermometer reading. A 90-degree day with 80% humidity is far more dangerous to your flock than a dry 100-degree day with 20% humidity. If you live in a humid climate, start taking precautions earlier in the season and monitor your birds more closely than you might think necessary.

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How To Tell When A Chicken Is Experiencing Signs Of a Heat Stroke

Panting

During the initial stages of a possible heat stroke, a chicken will often pant excessively in an attempt to cool its body. When a chicken engages in this behavior, both its heart and respiratory rate will increase substantially, which in turn, negatively impacts its pH balance. If the chicken is not cooled to curtail the excessive panting, it could begin to experience acidosis, which almost always ends in death.

If you catch a bird in this state, move it to a cool, shaded area immediately and offer it cool (not ice cold) water. You can also gently wet the bird's feet and wattles with cool water to help bring its core temperature down faster. Do not submerge the bird in cold water, as the sudden shock can make things worse rather than better.

Frantic Walking

The chicken often walks about its run or free-range area frantically, while panting profusely, in yet another attempt to defray the heat stress it is experiencing. The bird is essentially trying to run away from the pain caused by the heat.

Egg Laying

When a chicken is unexpectedly thrust into hot weather conditions, hens generally begin to lay far fewer eggs than normal. This same type of behavior is exhibited during the long cold winter months when temperatures dip down to below 40 degrees.

Beyond a simple drop in production, prolonged heat stress can also cause hens to lay thin-shelled or soft-shelled eggs, since the calcium normally used to form the shell gets diverted during the body's effort to regulate temperature. If you notice a sudden uptick in shell quality problems alongside reduced production, heat stress is likely the culprit.

Appetite Loss

Chickens often lose their appetite or stop eating entirely when they are struggling to cope with hot weather conditions.

This is actually a built-in self-defense mechanism of sorts. Digesting feed generates body heat, so the birds instinctively eat less to avoid making things worse. The downside is that they can fall behind on the nutrients they need, which is why offering hydrating treats and electrolyte supplements during hot spells is so important.

Spread Eagle

If you spot one of your chickens spread eagle on the ground with their wings fully outstretched in the dirt in a generally listless state, the bird is most likely approaching fatal heatstroke status.

If you create a shady space within the free-range area, your flocks will naturally gravitate to it when they become overheated. This is also the first place you should go to conduct heat stress health checks on your chickens. If your birds live in a confined space, consider using edible landscaping in or around the run to create shade and encourage their foraging instincts.

Top 15 Chicken Hot Weather Survival Tips

1. Freedom of Movement

Make sure your coop and run allow for enough freedom of movement and airflow. Each member of the flock should have at least three square feet of space to move about.

This is especially critical during a heat event, because overcrowding generates body heat and prevents birds from finding their own comfortable space. If you have a large flock and limited coop space, consider temporarily opening access to a covered outdoor run or barn stall during the hottest part of the day so the birds can spread out and benefit from any available airflow.

2. Coop Ventilation

In your efforts to keep predators out of the coop, make sure not to limit ventilation too severely for the sitting hens who will spend their days inside. If your nesting boxes do not have wood or metal flaps that can be lifted to allow you to reach in and collect eggs, consider cutting some into the coop.

Make sure the flaps can be locked securely and the openings covered with hardware cloth to protect the hens when the flaps are lifted for added ventilation. Screw the top side of the hardware cloth to a wood slat that is nailed to the coop. The bottom side of the hardware cloth should be secured in place with another movable wood slat that can be easily opened to allow the hardware cloth to be lifted.

3. Frozen Snacks

Freeze some peas, corn, or another flock favorite treat in ice cube trays and serve them to the birds when the temperatures start to climb. The birds will be cooled down as they peck away at the ice cubes to reach the yummy snack inside.

Other good frozen treat options include berries, chopped cucumber, and leafy greens like kale or lettuce. You can also freeze watermelon chunks or blend watermelon into a slush and freeze it in a shallow pan for the flock to peck at. Avoid anything high in salt or sugar, and skip avocado, onion, and citrus, which are toxic to chickens even in small amounts.

4. Solar Mister

Purchase a nominally priced solar mister and affix it inside the coop, run, or free-range area to allow the birds to benefit from the moisture spray and to walk through it to cool off at will.

If you don't want to invest in a solar model, a standard garden hose mister attachment works just as well and costs only a few dollars. Attach it to a low-pressure hose bib and set it up near a shaded area where the birds naturally congregate. The goal is a fine mist that creates a cooling effect in the air, not a heavy spray that soaks the birds and raises humidity inside an enclosed coop.

5. Solar Fan

Attach a solar fan (several if you have a large flock, coop, or run) to the flock’s domain to create additional airflow that can help cool down the birds.

6. Apple Cider Vinegar

Pour a teaspoon or so (depending on both the waterer and number of flock members) of apple cider vinegar into the chickens’ water supply to help keep the birds hydrated and to replace the nutrients they are losing due to their loss of appetite. If you have a free-range flock, simply fill a container with water and the apple cider vinegar and place it where they chickens tend to congregate.

Use raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother still in it for the best results. The beneficial bacteria it contains support gut health, which can take a hit during heat stress when birds are eating and drinking inconsistently. A word of caution: don't use apple cider vinegar in metal waterers, as the acidity will corrode them. Stick to plastic or ceramic containers when adding it to the water supply.

7. Frozen Water Bottles

Put some frozen plastic water bottles into the flock’s waterer to keep it as cool as possible. You can also put some frozen water bottles around the coop, run, and free-range area for the birds to curl up with to help bring body temperature and pH balance back into a normal range.

To make this a more reliable system during a prolonged heat wave, keep a rotation of bottles going in your freezer so you always have a fresh supply ready to swap out. Old plastic milk jugs work great for this and take up less freezer space than you might expect. If you have a large flock, a chest freezer dedicated to frozen bottle rotations during summer is well worth the investment.

8. Fruit

Feed the flock fruit snacks to help them stay hydrated. Typically, fruit should only be given to chickens in mild moderation, but during a heatwave, the extra moisture the fruit provides just might save their lives. Watermelon is always a big hit with chickens of nearly any breed.

Other hydrating fruit options include cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, and grapes (cut in half for smaller birds). Cucumbers, while technically a vegetable, are also an excellent choice since they are mostly water and easy for the flock to peck apart. If you grow any of these in your garden, summer is the perfect time to toss the extras to the flock rather than letting them go to waste.

9. Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Mix up a simple and fairly healthy electrolyte drink for the flock to help prevent dehydration and to restore both nutrients and minerals that the hot weather and lack of appetite have stripped from their bodies.

To make a poultry electrolyte drink, mix together one gallon of water and ⅛ teaspoon of both baking soda and salt and 3 teaspoons of sugar. You can serve the homemade electrolyte drink as a free choice item or mix it into the flock’s waterer.

10. Mud Bath

Mud wallows are not just for pigs. Hens love to take a dirt bath and when hot temperatures arrive, they seem to love taking a mud bath even more. To make a mud bath for your chickens, dig individual holes or a trench and hose it down thoroughly to create some nice soft and cool mud.

Digging into the dirt will allow the flock to benefit from the cooler below-ground temperatures. If you cannot dig a hole or trench, you could fill a plastic storage tub or similar item with dirt, hose it down to make mud, and pull it into a shady spot.

You don't need to maintain the mud bath all day. Simply hose it down in the morning before the heat peaks and again in the afternoon if needed. The flock will generally head straight for it on their own once they discover it. If you have broody hens that are reluctant to leave the nest box, it can be worth physically moving them to the mud bath area for a few minutes during the hottest part of the day.

11. Make Shade

Use tarps or feed bags to create makeshift awnings around the coop, chicken run, or a free-range area gathering spot. Placing the waterer and feeder in this area during daylight hours should help coax flock members to gather inside and hopefully to both drink and eat more as their body temperature cools.

Natural shade from trees is always the best option if you have it available, since tree canopies also release moisture into the air and lower the ambient temperature somewhat. If you're planting trees near the coop or run for long-term shade, fast-growing options like mulberry trees do double duty. They grow quickly and drop fruit that chickens absolutely love.

12. Wading Pool

Chickens do not like to go full-on swimming in the water like ducks, but they will wade in shallow amounts of water to cool off. Find a shallow container large enough to hold at least a significant portion of your flock and fill it with cool water after it has been placed in the shade.

Change the water at least daily to keep it from becoming too warm and deterring chickens from flying in for a soak. The wading pool will only need a few inches of water to do the trick, which will help keep the soak safe for even your chicks.

If you want a little free entertainment this summer that will also help keep your flock healthy, invest in a slip-n-slide. Once a single bird gets brave enough to give it a whirl, the rest will soon follow and slide around to cool themselves for as long as you keep the water flowing.

13. Run Cover

If your run does not have a wood, metal, or tarp cover, put one on it to create shade for a captive flock. You do not have to cover the entire run but create enough shade so that the entire flock can escape the heat while still having adequate freedom of movement.

14. Barn Kept

Move the chickens to a stall make-shifted into a summer coop when the weather starts to get hot. The inside of a wood barn with a dirt floor generally feels far cooler than either the outside or a coop. You can spray down the inside walls of the chicken stall, and the dirt as well, to make it an even better cooling station. My free-range chickens spend the entire summer roosting in the barn rafters, which keeps them both cool and adequately safe from predators.

If moving your flock to a barn isn't an option, even propping open a large tarp or shade sail on the south and west sides of the coop can dramatically reduce how much direct afternoon sun hits the structure. The west side is especially important to address, since the late afternoon sun is often the most intense and beats directly on whatever is in its path for hours before sunset.

15. Ice Water Tower

This clever DIY chicken cooler invention is not hard or expensive to make and will help provide a nearly continual source of cool wading and drinking water for a heat-stressed flock. Watch the video below to see how it works.

Choose The Right Breed

Some chicken breeds fair far better than others during the summer months or in warm climates. Here are a few examples.

• Leghorns
• Brahmas
• Rhode Island Reds
• New Hampshire Reds
• Black Minorcas
• Fayoumi

Regardless of what chicken breed you choose, always be on the lookout for signs of heat stress and heat stroke when the temperature reaches 80 degrees or higher.

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