Concerns about heat and weight

[darj]

Hello! I have a bit of a concern, and I'm hoping people can give me some input/advice. I have two year-old Plymouth barred rock hens who, by most indicators, seem perfectly healthy. They're laying consistently and normally, egg quality is high, their eyes are clear, they're perfectly alert, they're eating, they're drinking, their poop is totally normal and healthy looking, etc. Mentally they're very "with it" - God help any grasshoppers stupid enough to hop into their run. They do have an inclosure because I live in city limits, but it's more than adequately sized for two hens, with a sturdy hen house. I use wood shavings as litter to control mud/flies/etc. They're fed free-choice Layena crumbles, with grass clippings/veggie scraps/etc fairly often as treats. That's the setup.

They look healthy, as I said. But tonight when I was putting them in their hen house (they roost on top after I tried putting hay inside last winter - fickle!), I noticed that their keel bones are rather prominent. You can't see it at all under their feathers, but to the touch they seem thin to me. I live in Texas, and summer temperatures regularly hit triple digits. Is it possible they've lost weight because of the intense heat? They do have a shade tree over them, but 100 degrees is 100 degrees, and I know birds tend to eat less when it's hot like this. Is this normal for hens in hot climates, or do I need to be concerned? Thank you very much for any input.

 

[Percheron chick]

Very likely they are not eating as much as they need to with the heat and are loosing weight. In turn they will drop in egg production as well.

You've just got to find ways to keep them as cool as you can. Most chickens would like it to be in the 80's or lower (just like me). Freeze their kitchen treats (I toss them in the freezer instead of the bucket by the sink in the summer), put a frozen bottle of water in their waterer, spray the run and coop down with water, give them a mud hole or chicken sized kiddie pool to wade in (large dog bowl works)

As a breed, they do better than most in the heat. Winter will be here soon enough.