Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

I only have had a few minutes to catch up... Whew busy last few weeks... As of a few minutes ago no one is down..
We have 2 Brodie's on eggs, TOGETHER ... Love it,. It is so cute... However that means we will have free baby chick
to ya all first.. PM. Us and we can make aragments. Around July 14..

 

[City farm]

Geeze, ItsRedCandy and PastryMama, you're both having rough years!  I wish there was something I could do to help!

My clan is out there panting up a storm, but they seem to be doing fairly well and are still free-ranging.  I did have my daughters take a few extra precautions today when the forecaster raised the high from 118* to 120*-120*.  I have a box fan blowing on the back porch, along with the ceiling fan.  I had them fill the wading tub (and they "filled" it to the brim), plus add fresh water to the water tin.  I guess the turkeys were sitting next to and atop the frozen OceanSpray Cranberry Juice container.  That's about the extent to what I'm doing and only when temps break my threshold of 117*.  Part of it was more of the sudden shift from 110* up to 120*.

Oh, and not a single egg so far today.  I do believe this is the first time since they started laying that we may not get any eggs at all.

[rule]
SO, with our discussion early regarding grass, xeriscaping, and temperatures, I decided to do an unscientific test of the various parts of my house.  I started by sitting in the backyard and calculated how many sweat droplets appeared on my arm in 60 seconds...  I cooled off inside and repeated the procedure out front...  Just kidding!!!

What I actually did was to place a digital quick-read meat thermometer in each location and allowed it to sit until the temperature stabilized.  I wasn't really surprised the results, but it makes me feel a whole lot better about my setup...  And it explains why they prefer sitting in the shaded grass below the slides

Backyard
Shaded Grass: 88*
Sunny Grass: 97*
Shaded Porch with Ceiling Fan: 111*
Inside the Coop: 112*

Front Yard
Shaded Rock: 119*
Sunny Rock: 127*

Shaded grass all the way... Are they hanging out there?

 

[Demosthine]

It's a small area, so only two or three fit at a timr., but yeah, someone is usually there. Otherwise, our turkeys have the right idea today...

 

[Arizonachicken]

Geeze, ItsRedCandy and PastryMama, you're both having rough years!  I wish there was something I could do to help!

My clan is out there panting up a storm, but they seem to be doing fairly well and are still free-ranging.  I did have my daughters take a few extra precautions today when the forecaster raised the high from 118* to 120*-120*.  I have a box fan blowing on the back porch, along with the ceiling fan.  I had them fill the wading tub (and they "filled" it to the brim), plus add fresh water to the water tin.  I guess the turkeys were sitting next to and atop the frozen OceanSpray Cranberry Juice container.  That's about the extent to what I'm doing and only when temps break my threshold of 117*.  Part of it was more of the sudden shift from 110* up to 120*.

Oh, and not a single egg so far today.  I do believe this is the first time since they started laying that we may not get any eggs at all.

[rule]
SO, with our discussion early regarding grass, xeriscaping, and temperatures, I decided to do an unscientific test of the various parts of my house.  I started by sitting in the backyard and calculated how many sweat droplets appeared on my arm in 60 seconds...  I cooled off inside and repeated the procedure out front...  Just kidding!!!

What I actually did was to place a digital quick-read meat thermometer in each location and allowed it to sit until the temperature stabilized.  I wasn't really surprised the results, but it makes me feel a whole lot better about my setup...  And it explains why they prefer sitting in the shaded grass below the slides

Backyard
Shaded Grass: 88*
Sunny Grass: 97*
Shaded Porch with Ceiling Fan: 111*
Inside the Coop: 112*

Front Yard
Shaded Rock: 119*
Sunny Rock: 127*

That is so awesome that you did that! I don't do misters or ice. But I do hose down the grass and shady areas. I let them all free-range in the grassy yard. Everyone looks good. Panting, but still up and foraging for the most part. I hosed off the coop as I have three broodies, two that sit together. I can't imagine how hot they must be. They won't get much relief at night either. I'm just taking it one day at a time,

 

[Arizonachicken]

I only have had a few minutes to catch up... Whew busy last few weeks... As of a few minutes ago no one is down..
We have 2 Brodie's on eggs, TOGETHER ... Love it,. It is so cute... However that means we will have free baby chick
to ya all first.. PM. Us and we can make aragments. Around July 14..

Are the eggs developing. All mine fried in this heat. What kind of chicks?

 

[Demosthine]

Hey boy, I'm talking' to ya, boy. Look me in the eye like a man, boy. Like a man...

Run, Forrest, Run!!!

Mi sombrero es muy grande. Atrae a las damas. ¿Dónde está tu sombrero?

Do my tonsils look swollen to you? I think I'm sick. More worms will help.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Demosthine you crack me up.
Great post on the temps in different areas. The shaded patio surprised me.
Our girls are hanging in there today as well. Panting like everyone else.
We also spray down the shaded areas and they are free ranging.
I placed a frozen milk container outside in the shade but so far haven't
seen anyone sitting near it. Added ice to their waterer and my
husband fed them some frozen watermelon. We also received zero eggs today.

Am so sorry to those of you experiencing challenges right now.
Please know that we are sending you positive thoughts and if
there is anything that any of us (well, I'll speak for myself) can
do in support of you, please let use know.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Sorry for everyone's troubles. Sad.
My girls are fine. We didn't even mist today because we used it yesterday. 5 eggs today!!

 

[itsredcandy]

Thanks everyone. It's been tough. I really hate getting great lines then having accidents or health issues come up. I do not like loosing any birds of course. So far today, before 5, everyone of my girls is doing fine. I check on my muscovy and her clutch. She wasn't there, she was under a near by bush. Just a week away from hatch day. I took and float tested her two eggs. One was rotten and the other passed due to the heat Guess no ducklings until it cools down.

 

[ChicksOfHazzard]

Worried Chicken Momma!!

Last night our deep freeze took a dump on us and all the ice I've stocked up on for the chickens is now being used in coolers to keep some items that didn't fit in the refrigerator freezer. This leaves me NO ICE for my girls and the temps are getting higher and higher. Of course DH is less than concerned (go figure) or maybe just preoccupied by the freezer crashing. We are not in a financial position to buy anything hence why I was stock piling the ice. We were hoping that by morning the freezer would be working but that hope was crushed early this morning. I was able to get 5-6 20oz bottles of water in our refrigerator freezer but I fear that's not enough. I already have a water bath for the girls and can use what ice our ice maker makes but not having the ice stash I had is worrying me. I can spray the coop and run with a hose but does that really help when the heat hits 110+? Should that be done in the morning or afternoon? Do I need to add more bath dishes? I do offer them watermelon and green leafy lettuce but worry the heat will make them not eat. What would you do in my position? Please, any info would be greatly appreciated.

Ugghhh!! Turning into crazy chicken momma.

All the gas stations sell ice blocks in addition to bagged ice. That's what I've been doing this weekend. Sorry if someone else already answered this, I'm 15 pages behind on the thread and trying to catch up...