MarlaMac
Songster
It has been super hot here in central Texas. Today was 107 degrees; which is better than it has been b/c the humidity was relatively low (18%). It will be above 103 for the next 10 day forecast at least.
My flock free ranges, so they find shade - mostly under our front deck until around 6 when they move around back to the freshly watered lawn. Momma and her 8, five week only chicks stay close to the run which is shaded.
I keep their water cool and in the shade at all times - I literally change their water every 2.5 to 3 hours and keep bottles of ice in their waterers, I wet their feed with icy water - which the love, and I give them watermelon in the heat of the day to help keep them hydrated. I also run a fan under the deck to keep the air moving. The run where momma and babies are is in the open space and their is usually a good breeze - although with the heat it just feels like an oven. I do put frozen gallon jugs for them to lay close to.
I started turning on a small sprinkler when the shade from the coop reaches a good portion of the area to the east of the coop/run. When I do this everyone comes to stand around in the water/mud/wet field grass to cool off.
My question is this: with them all standing/pecking around in the mud should I be worried about their feet? Is there things I need to watch out for because they are getting them wet/muddy? My chickens usually have very clean feet so it seems weird to me to see them all with muddy feet. Once the are out of the mud it dries up pretty quickly.
On another note, this heat can really cook an egg. We found one outside in the sand - I am sure b/c the girl didn't want to go into the lay boxes b/c of the heat. When we cracked it open, the white was partially cooked. It may have been in the sand for a couple of days before we saw it and collected it. Needless to say, I am being a little more diligent about making the lay boxes a little cooler and collecting the eggs in a more timely fashion. Good news is I am still getting 8 eggs a day out of 9 active layers.
My flock free ranges, so they find shade - mostly under our front deck until around 6 when they move around back to the freshly watered lawn. Momma and her 8, five week only chicks stay close to the run which is shaded.
I keep their water cool and in the shade at all times - I literally change their water every 2.5 to 3 hours and keep bottles of ice in their waterers, I wet their feed with icy water - which the love, and I give them watermelon in the heat of the day to help keep them hydrated. I also run a fan under the deck to keep the air moving. The run where momma and babies are is in the open space and their is usually a good breeze - although with the heat it just feels like an oven. I do put frozen gallon jugs for them to lay close to.
I started turning on a small sprinkler when the shade from the coop reaches a good portion of the area to the east of the coop/run. When I do this everyone comes to stand around in the water/mud/wet field grass to cool off.
My question is this: with them all standing/pecking around in the mud should I be worried about their feet? Is there things I need to watch out for because they are getting them wet/muddy? My chickens usually have very clean feet so it seems weird to me to see them all with muddy feet. Once the are out of the mud it dries up pretty quickly.
On another note, this heat can really cook an egg. We found one outside in the sand - I am sure b/c the girl didn't want to go into the lay boxes b/c of the heat. When we cracked it open, the white was partially cooked. It may have been in the sand for a couple of days before we saw it and collected it. Needless to say, I am being a little more diligent about making the lay boxes a little cooler and collecting the eggs in a more timely fashion. Good news is I am still getting 8 eggs a day out of 9 active layers.
