Arizona Chickens

[DesertChic]

I'm getting a bit concerned about next week's heat myself. My birds did okay during that hot spell a week ago. This time they're predicting an even hotter 116 degrees in my location, and my yard usually runs 4-5 degrees hotter than they predict. Gulp.

I have one hen who is relentlessly broody. She goes broody every year around this time. I've never been able to break her bloodiness. The quickest way to get her off the nest is to give her eggs and let her do her thing. She's a great mama. I had started to collect eggs to put under her but at 116-120 the eggs will cook even if she's sitting on them the whole time. Think I'll hold off giving her the eggs. Hope she survives next week.

If you'd still rather break her broodiness than give her eggs, have you tried giving her a baby aspirin mashed up and dissolved in her water? The technique was suggested to me by a long-time, sagacious poultry keeper who explained that broodiness was accompanied by a rise in body temperature akin to having a fever, and the aspirin breaks the fever. I managed to successfully break my most persistent broodiest broody after more than two weeks of trying other techniques without success. I isolated her in a cage at night with aspirin treated water, and then gave her a second dose the following night. After that, she resumed laying for about 6 weeks before becoming broody again, which happens to be her cycle.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Has anyone else had chickens die out of no where lately? I went out of town, and the person that was watching my birds said that when she opened up the coop in he mornings, she found 3 dead hens just laying on the floor. I don't think it is from heat because she closes them up at 8:00 pm and then let's them out at 6:30 am. Any ideas?

Could be a snake? if there are any signs of scattered feathers, freaking out, stuff like that. And the heat can be pretty intense, even when they are cooped up. Did she find the hens on their backs? It could have been from a heart attack.

many things could have happened, actually...

Im sorry about your hens, but I hope you find the cause, and can prevent it for next time.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

I'm getting a bit concerned about next week's heat myself. My birds did okay during that hot spell a week ago. This time they're predicting an even hotter 116 degrees in my location, and my yard usually runs 4-5 degrees hotter than they predict. Gulp.

I have one hen who is relentlessly broody. She goes broody every year around this time. I've never been able to break her bloodiness. The quickest way to get her off the nest is to give her eggs and let her do her thing. She's a great mama. I had started to collect eggs to put under her but at 116-120 the eggs will cook even if she's sitting on them the whole time. Think I'll hold off giving her the eggs. Hope she survives next week.

I've been building a shade for my chickens. My babies HATE the heat.... they were born inMarch, so that would make them.... about 3 1/2 months old.. I have them half covered with a pool towel in their section of the coop. Will they be okay?

I may start doing the frozen water bottles just placed in their coop, and in their waterer.

 

[ejcrist]

Putting in a mister system for them is a smart thing to do with this heat. We dug a trench, and ran PVC piping out to the coop from the house, and set it up with 2 faucet knobs at the coop to run both the mister, and to have a shorter hose for refilling water containers out there. I have been leaving my misters on all the time 24/7. I can shut them off when it gets cooler again.

Ya know at first I wasn't thinking to put a mister in because I figured they didn't have them back in the day and their chickens survived ok. But then I got to thinking they also didn't have the urban congestion and heat dome we have either, so I decided to get a kit and I'm going to install it Wednesday. I'm planning on using a drip timer like I do in my garden and maybe set it to come on at 1:00 pm and go off at 6:00 pm. Anything we can do within reason to keep the gals happy is a good thing because when they're happy, we get eggs.

 

[cyborg]

I went and did a little window shopping today, and I'm going with a DIG drip irrigation system, just because of the size of my run (30' x 40'). 100 feet of drip irrigation 1/2" hose = $9.87. 20 mister nozzles = approx $25. (I may go with 30, then it would be $36) Various fittings and tools add another $10. So, pretty thorough coverage and cooling for approx $50. The long axis of my run is 40 feet, with two interior walls running the length. I will put a hose fitting at one corner, run 40 feet down the length, then 20' across the back, then back 40' feet along one of the interior walls (these are chain link panel walls). The hose runs will be along the windward walls, so the mist will be blown through the pen. With the mister nozzles spaced every 3 feet or so along the long walls, and a few along the back wall, I should get sufficient cooling without making it into a muddy mess.

 

[BlueBaby]

I went and did a little window shopping today, and I'm going with a DIG drip irrigation system, just because of the size of my run (30' x 40'). 100 feet of drip irrigation 1/2" hose = $9.87. 20 mister nozzles = approx $25. (I may go with 30, then it would be $36) Various fittings and tools add another $10. So, pretty thorough coverage and cooling for approx $50. The long axis of my run is 40 feet, with two interior walls running the length. I will put a hose fitting at one corner, run 40 feet down the length, then 20' across the back, then back 40' feet along one of the interior walls (these are chain link panel walls). The hose runs will be along the windward walls, so the mist will be blown through the pen. With the mister nozzles spaced every 3 feet or so along the long walls, and a few along the back wall, I should get sufficient cooling without making it into a muddy mess.

Good luck with that! Let us know how it works out for you. I was just checking the 10 day forecast at weather dot com, and it said 121 F. for next Mon. and Tues. I bought a pair of mud boots just in case the puddle in mine gets too big. I would rather wear the boots, then loose another laying hen to the heat! No hens no eggs, right?

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: No eggs, and no happiness for us crazy chicken ladies/men. What would we do with our lives if we didn't have chickens.

 

[ejcrist]

No eggs, and no happiness for us crazy chicken ladies/men. What would we do with our lives if we didn't have chickens.

Oh believe me, I have plenty of other interests to squander our hard-earned money into if the chickens weren't there. But the chickens are right up there in the top priority.

 

[City farm]

Hay there... Who has Egyptian spinach in their garden?

I have seeds, but didn't plant it yet. Do you think it's too late?

I'm think about putting 7 pot's inside for about a week.. Then find a place in the yard... It won't hurt to try..

 

[City farm]

 
No eggs, and no happiness for us crazy chicken ladies/men. What would we do with our lives if we didn't have chickens.

Oh believe me, I have plenty of other interests to squander our hard-earned money into if the chickens weren't there. But the chickens are right up there in the top priority.

Our duck's are still laying. They did stop during the 105'-107' temps.. Our pet's are spoiled...

A few of the girl's egg's are even bigger now...
I remember watching them frolic in the water when they were little.. They would come and search for worms or bug's
as the water would pool up around my feet.. They love the running water..