ALABAMA!!

[Tomtommom]

Call me crazy, but how do silkies handle our heat? My girlies are already panting and they're not that flooffy really.

 

[chirpingcricket]

Hey cannon what kind of wyandottes do you have? I have Columbian and BLR.

Welcome!

I have a blue and a columbian, sweet birds. Mated the blue with a wheaten Am, got 4 gorgeous blue EE roos and 1 blue EE hen. Really want to "home" those roos, vs alternative.

 

[BSisco]

Found a big one today, straight to the chickens ofcourse.

But no, not invaded.. Ants on the other hands. Aaaaaargh. They're taking over my yard.. my house.. everything Bug man came and sprayed everything twice now and they just don't care. They're all over my counters, my sink, my shelves, my pantry. I am keeping open bags in my fridge to protect them from the darn ants.

There's a trail about 12 feet long from the tree to the chicken run, like a little ant freeway..

I went as far as to cover my kitchen in diat. earth. It stopped them from coming in.. but the ones I already had aren't leaving.

We had ants take over our clothes lines, and even some clothes that had to be out there for a few days due to rain. The clothes went in a black trash bag to "bake" and the poles and lines got a good dose of commercial bug killer. Our yard hasn't been as bad this year as it has the past few years. That being said, the fleas are bad this year and I have some crazy hard shell bugs on my front porch at night. No centipedes though...

 

[cannoncoop]

Hey cannon what kind of wyandottes do you have? I have Columbian and BLR.

Hey chicdaddy72...
We have BLR and silver laced....only one silver laced laying hen but just hatched 2 babies this spring and hatched our first BLR and purchased some other BLR to have a different blood line...can't wait to incubate and have babies this fall....wyandottes are definitely one of my favorite breeds!!!

 

[ohb]

Call me crazy, but how do silkies handle our heat? My girlies are already panting and they're not that flooffy really.

I have a pedestal fan in my coop, 8 windows plus the hatch to the run is open during the day, and they still pant and hold those wings away from their bodies during the heat of the day. Not much else I can do except install an A/C window unit.

Summer is tough on them, worse than winter most years.

 

[Bama1]

Call me crazy, but how do silkies handle our heat? My girlies are already panting and they're not that flooffy really.

Do you have a cover over the pen part? I put a tarp over mine. Also put a shallow pan of water so they can walk in it and cool off. Freeze a bottle of water and put it in their drinking water. I have a fan inside the coop part also.

 

[ohb]

Do you have a cover over the pen part? I put a tarp over mine. Also put a shallow pan of water so they can walk in it and cool off. Freeze a bottle of water and put it in their drinking water. I have a fan inside the coop part also.

That may be my next move, GF. If I can shield all or part of the run that would give them an alternative to the coop and then they could pick and choose where they wanted to be. As you might can tell from the avatar my lot is on an open pasture so tree shading is not an option.

 

[Tomtommom]

Do you have a cover over the pen part? I put a tarp over mine. Also put a shallow pan of water so they can walk in it and cool off. Freeze a bottle of water and put it in their drinking water. I have a fan inside the coop part also.

They have a massive tree overhead. Shade pretty much all day. The have a cinderblock compost bin too. And I gave them a tub with water. They were ok yesterday, it wasn't so hot, but if that wind isn't blowing... they get a little hot looking. They mostly just flatten themselves in the dirt as best as possible.

 

[ohb]

They have a massive tree overhead. Shade pretty much all day. The have a cinderblock compost bin too. And I gave them a tub with water. They were ok yesterday, it wasn't so hot, but if that wind isn't blowing... they get a little hot looking. They mostly just flatten themselves in the dirt as best as possible.

With shade like that and plenty of water you've pretty much done all you can, iyam. I think at some point they'll just have to deal with it as best as they can. Summer is tough in the middle of the day no matter how you slice it. My old hound dog Pup has a shady front porch and carport to choose from but it's still kind of hot some days. Bear in mind I've said all this while wearing my John Wayne 'Old Guys Rule' t-shirt. That may affect my attitude some.

 

[Brie6895]

Hey Brie, Awww, new chickies...you might want to try putting a soft, furry, floppy stuffed animal in there with them so they can "snuggle" in to get warm and comfortable/secure or a small blanket... Also lower your warming light bulb for add'l warmth. Some folks have used feather dusters...Make sure thet are eating and drinking asap, may need to dip their beaks in water to practice over the next few days.Like children, food, water, warmth, safety....also keep a look out for pasty butt. Take care.

hi sorry I had so much going on last night. I placed a pinguin stuffed animal (no idea how long I've had this and never known lol) and the got right underneath it! Cutest thing ever. They seem to be drinking more thank goodness, but they were under a day old and their poops finally got solid! Was worried about that, Im still going to wait a few days before I introduce them into my 3 1/2 week olds to make sure no diseases hurt my other babies. Thank you for your help!