Broody in heat wave...107 F today...will the chicks hatch?

[Stef in Davis CA]

What are the chances of my broody hatching chicks after this heat wave? Over 100 yesterday and today we reached 107! She is on day 11 today on 8 fertile eggs and I don't know exactly how hot she was...she is in a shaded nook in the run. I didn't realize exactly how hot it was getting til I checked the news today (I was out of town yesterday). So this afternoon, I put a fan on her, but I don't know how much that helped. She was panting on and off and alternating pancake pose with standing above her clutch. She seemed a lot less upset than the other chickens who were drooping around panting too. Thanks! I guess time will tell...but I'd be interested to know if others have had successful hatches in high heat.

 

[Lanissa86]

Interesting thread you have started hear. Sorry I can't be of any help, but I completely understand that 100 degree weather her in San Antonio, Tx


I Hope someone posts something from their own experience! Please keep us updated on how the hatch goes as well!

Good luck!

 

[Stef in Davis CA]

I will let you all know how it goes! It's funny to be reading old posts about broodies getting too cold and eggs cooling off, cause mine are getting baked!

I have never candled before, but I will try tomorrow on day 12.

 

[simplyscrambled]

Hi Stef! I'm from Davis too, so I melted today too, just like your broody! Thank goodness it'll be cooling off through the week...

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Looks like a few of us are waiting on replies to this post... I don't have eggs, but I do have 10 black chicks that are ready to go outside and it is hot here too. I let them outside a few days ago and had to bring them back inside to the A/C'd house to cool down.

 

[walkswithdog]

The air layer inside/between her feathers buffers in both directions, good insulation always does. So a hen does mitigate spikes, just as she would very low temps.

 

[Stef in Davis CA]

It's nice to hear from all the other hot weather people. I'm not sure what to do, except wait for 10 more days and see if there are babies! I'll post on here what I find! Thanks for all the comments, I like the idea that her insulating feathers might actually help the eggs stay cooler, cause that gives me hope!

 

[calgal98]

Quote:
Got some chickies??? Me too! LOL. I'm running a fan and misters to keep the chooks a bit cooler. Everyone is doing faceplants in this heat! Thankfully it cools off tomorrow! V.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I'm in South Florida & have observed hens incubating eggs during heat waves and during our occasional freezes. It's impressive to see these little bird-brained hens figuring out how to regulate the temps of their eggs, either pressing down flat & rarely taking breaks in the cold, or standing up over the eggs and taking longer breaks during the heat.

If your hen seems terribly distressed from the heat you can continue the fan, otherwise, just make sure she has sufficient shade & water to drink & she should be fine. Somewhere deep in her instincts are lessons her great-great-great-great jungle-bird grandhens learned ages ago in some tropical forest.

 

[dancingbear]

If her eggs are on or very near the ground, the earth will be cooler than the air, and may help keep them from overheating. I would think so, anyway. Best of luck, I hope all turns out well.