2nd hen dead in 3 days to heat prostration...

[Brindlebtch]

Oh Mahonri I am so sorry she died. My deepest sympathies.

 

[Lanissa86]

Sorry for your loss..

I also lost a chicken due to Heat stroke. My Silkies knocked over there water somehow and by the time I got home and checked on them they were all on their sides..

Thought I would lose them all! I quickly placed them in the sink and ran cool (not cold) tap water over them for half and hour. Then I filled a syringe dropper full of Pedialyte to get some electrolytes back into them. They all perked back up except for the Roo and that night he starting Seizing badly! It was very scary too see... Well, he passed on, I guess the Heat really did fry his brain..

Since then, I bought a Big 3 Gallon waterer that my silkies can not force over and place frozen water bottles inside my coops and their waterers.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[dlhunicorn]

(((hugs))) here is info:
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&num=1183206527

 

[Mahonri]

108 today, I was at work, kids didn't check on them often enough, Neckie my Partridge Rock is dead. She didn't feel that hot so I'm wondering if she just had a heart attack.

 

[Lu King]

I lost three RIRs, but my chickens that are white are doing fine. I have been hunting for a mister, but no one has them. My husband has sprayed them down a couple times a day, and they have a very nice shady tree that they love to lay under....also the coop.

I hope we get some rain soon...this heat is bad!

 

[annek]

Mahonri,

Do you have a fan or something you can run? Also, I have seen where electrolytes can be added to their water to help deal with the heat. Worst case, maybe you can wet down the run for them. Something is definitely wrong if they are still dying. Maybe a mister, I just bought one from Sams for 30.00.

 

[TexasVet]

Quote:
I've added a dozen+ ways to keep chickens cool to my website, along with links to misters and other equipment you may need. One of the misters (the one I use) is about $8: http://www.countrychickens.com/country_chickens_4_007.htm

Also check your local Walmart for those multi-setting water nose nozzles. Mine has a "mist" setting that works nearly as well. I just hold the handle down with a big rubberband, and hook the waterhose to the fence.

Like you guys, I lost a RIR to the heat just a couple of days ago. They said on the news tonight that we've had a solid week of triple-digit heat, no rain in almost two months, and break a heat record that's been standing since the early 1900s!

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com, www.PivotalForce.com

 

[Mahonri]

I've got four more patients and then I'm off to home depot to see what they have in the way of small window AC units... I can't have another one die.

 

[65browneyes]

Sorry to hear the heat is taking it's toll on your flock. I'll keep my fingers crossed for better days ahead.

 

[crazy hen quartet]

So sorry from a fellow Arizonian - I hope your son is handling it ok. This heat is brutal! I have no doubt I would have lost some if it weren't for our good fortune - living in a predator free area so I can let the girls free range in the yard which allows them to find the coolest areas in the yard.

They like to hang out under some bushes next to the house - I purchased a $10 freestanding mister from Home Depot (just hook it to a hose) and they lay under it all day long. That, coupled with ice blocks in their water seems to be keeping them cool. My husband thinks the added humidity of the mister would be bad, but I have to say that even in this 108 degree heat with the recent humidity they will lay under the mister and within a short period of time everyone's wings are tight against their bodies and no one is panting. If I come outside they all hop up and run over to see if I have brought treats (in the heat I sometimes bring cold grapes or cantaloupe guts).

I swear that mister is the best thing we ever could have done.

Good luck, I hope you don't lose any more of your flock.