California - Northern

[Jade23]

Hey all, hello! I have a friend who lives in Eureka, now THAT's northern California! He makes fun of me when I say I live in northern California (20miles east of Sacramento) because HE's in the north, lol. I would have to say that anything south of Sacramento and north of the grapevine is in the central valley. It's all good!

I live in Ferndale CA lol so anything from Garberville Up is North to us

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Anyone want a free rooster? Click the link for more details

 

[Lisa3315]

Weather starts to climb today and tomorrow is in the 100's what are you doing to keep the animals cool? I've got watermelon rinds in the freezer.

Hope everyone made it through okay! We made it through the worst couple days here, but it looks like there's another heat wave coming next weekend . This was my first heat wave with my flock, so I tried a few things to see what works best for them:
- dug out under the coop so there is about 8 inches between the bottom of the coop and the dirt, they hung out under there most of the day.
- froze some Nalgene bottles full of water and put them in the waterers throughout the day.
- had the sprinkler/mister running all day, hosed down the coop and the run a few times during the day to keep everything damp and cool hopefully.
- froze a container of water, scratch and feed then plopped it out on a dish for them to peck at. Also gave them some frozen bananas, which they loved.
- made a mountain of ice they could peck at or walk around in. They were scared of it at first, and then just very suspicious of it. I don't think anyone touched the ice, but maybe it gave them a cool spot in the dirt to hang out in after it melted.
- filled a baby pool with water and ice packs. They didn't use or care about it at all, so probably won't bother with it again.

I'd love to hear what other people have done to keep their flock cool. I'm afraid this is the beginning of a hot summer so I could use the tips and tricks

 

[ronott1]

Hope everyone made it through okay! We made it through the worst couple days here, but it looks like there's another heat wave coming next weekend . This was my first heat wave with my flock, so I tried a few things to see what works best for them:
- dug out under the coop so there is about 8 inches between the bottom of the coop and the dirt, they hung out under there most of the day.
- froze some Nalgene bottles full of water and put them in the waterers throughout the day.
- had the sprinkler/mister running all day, hosed down the coop and the run a few times during the day to keep everything damp and cool hopefully.
- froze a container of water, scratch and feed then plopped it out on a dish for them to peck at. Also gave them some frozen bananas, which they loved.
- made a mountain of ice they could peck at or walk around in. They were scared of it at first, and then just very suspicious of it. I don't think anyone touched the ice, but maybe it gave them a cool spot in the dirt to hang out in after it melted.
- filled a baby pool with water and ice packs. They didn't use or care about it at all, so probably won't bother with it again.

I'd love to hear what other people have done to keep their flock cool. I'm afraid this is the beginning of a hot summer so I could use the tips and tricks

I use shade and a misting system.

Of course I do have heat tolerant hens. They are leghorn, and Spanish breeds.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Hope everyone made it through okay! We made it through the worst couple days here, but it looks like there's another heat wave coming next weekend . This was my first heat wave with my flock, so I tried a few things to see what works best for them:
- dug out under the coop so there is about 8 inches between the bottom of the coop and the dirt, they hung out under there most of the day.
- froze some Nalgene bottles full of water and put them in the waterers throughout the day.
- had the sprinkler/mister running all day, hosed down the coop and the run a few times during the day to keep everything damp and cool hopefully.
- froze a container of water, scratch and feed then plopped it out on a dish for them to peck at. Also gave them some frozen bananas, which they loved.
- made a mountain of ice they could peck at or walk around in. They were scared of it at first, and then just very suspicious of it. I don't think anyone touched the ice, but maybe it gave them a cool spot in the dirt to hang out in after it melted.
- filled a baby pool with water and ice packs. They didn't use or care about it at all, so probably won't bother with it again.

I'd love to hear what other people have done to keep their flock cool. I'm afraid this is the beginning of a hot summer so I could use the tips and tricks

Definitely going to use some of these ideas!

 

[Lisa3315]

Definitely going to use some of these ideas!

I hope they work for your flock! Please share if you come up with something too!

 

[Lisa3315]

I use shade and a misting system.

Of course I do have heat tolerant hens. They are leghorn, and Spanish breeds.

I should have put more thought into my chicken choices beyond who's going to look cute or lay pretty eggs would have saved me some stress down the road.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

I should have put more thought into my chicken choices beyond who's going to look cute or lay pretty eggs would have saved me some stress down the road.

Lessons learned!

I got 2 silkies in March and they require more than my other chickens. They don't seem to like the heat and they don't trust any treats I give them. So the frozen treats go to waste
Unfortunately, I regret getting them because managing 2 coops is a lot harder than I thought!

 

[ronott1]

I should have put more thought into my chicken choices beyond who's going to look cute or lay pretty eggs would have saved me some stress down the road.

I learned my lesson when three Marans hens died one summer!

I have had Penedesenca hens and they are heat tolerant and lay very dark brown eggs.

I hope to have some of them again one day.

 

[Tonyroo]

Are some of you in the really hot zones in California?

I'm in north bay, the weather has been nice. My Swedish Flowers are loving it.