Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

medawinks, I hope your hen recovers, I'm sure you're doing everything you can for her.

IVY, I'm sorry about your little rosecomb.

This is just awful! I went out a few minutes ago to check on my birds & my Ameraucanas in the pen were honking. The black rooster really suffers in this heat, so I sprayed them down & put the mister in their pen for awhile. They usually don't like to go around it, but maybe today will be different. I went in the coop & ran two goofy broody hens out of there, what are they thinking sitting in there when they don't have to be, they'll die. One is a BC Marans hen & one is an Australorp, both black of course. I also ran my gold laced Wyandotte out of there, I don't even care if i get any eggs today, I just want them all to live. I went out & sprayed all the rabbits down & the turkeys too & they're now sitting quietly now on the damp ground in their pen. I also wet down the ground where the young chicks are, so they have something cooler to sit on. The bigger ones, especially the Salmon Faverolles seemed to appreciate it, that breed just doesn't seem to take the heat well at all. I'm glad they're going to be in a shady pen when the breeder coop is done. I wish I had room to move the Ameraucana pen somewhere down under the trees, it is in a hot spot next to the main coop. If I figure out a spot to put it I may have to find a way to move it. Thank goodness we have all of these trees out front. I've got all the rabbit cages under them too. The adult chickens are all crowded now under the bush where I sprayed the ground & the bush, they have cool ground to sit on now at least.

Hey, we're getting thunder here, oh pray hard for rain for us, it's so darned dry here I think even the yuccas & cactus are suffering. We have native cactus here & I guess it's an appropriate plant for the conditions we have had. We have both the little round ones that grow in clusters & get yellow flowers & we also have the prickly pear kind that grows big. I find it all over the hillsides here & I never knew we had native cactus in Kansas until I moved here. I think it likes it here because of all of the rocks.

 

[checoukan]

HI everyone, came home to take a break from the heat. Got to get some supper on the table here in an hour so I can get back to the barns. Had one duck saved from heat stroke, Janet seen him acting different, I walked over and told them to get me water pan, got him in the water and I held him down. Long story short, saved him, so now home fix meal, and get back to it.
One of the committe members just called and said with 6 fans blowing, it was 100 degrees in the barn right now.
I uploaded so photos in an album,, and they are here just need to get them up. Better go. Dam Ivy, don't loose any more of those babies, that was a top shelf little girl!!!

Head shot of 55 she was busy talking in this picture.

 

[Ivywoods]

HI everyone, came home to take a break from the heat. Got to get some supper on the table here in an hour so I can get back to the barns. Had one duck saved from heat stroke, Janet seen him acting different, I walked over and told them to get me water pan, got him in the water and I held him down. Long story short, saved him, so now home fix meal, and get back to it.
One of the committe members just called and said with 6 fans blowing, it was 100 degrees in the barn right now.
I uploaded so photos in an album,, and they are here just need to get them up. Better go. Dam Ivy, don't loose any more of those babies, that was a top shelf little girl!!!

Head shot of 55 she was busy talking in this picture.

Rosie I really like your new avatar picture. Hey, believe me, I was really upset when I lost that pullet. I sure hope I don't loose any more! I don't know... I've lost several black birds in this heat. I don't have misters. She was in one of the larger pens, but a corner pen. It wasn't that hot in the barn at the time, so I'm wondering if it was the heat or not. It is supposed to be 117 heat index this weekend. It could be bad.

 

[Ivywoods]

HI everyone, came home to take a break from the heat. Got to get some supper on the table here in an hour so I can get back to the barns. Had one duck saved from heat stroke, Janet seen him acting different, I walked over and told them to get me water pan, got him in the water and I held him down. Long story short, saved him, so now home fix meal, and get back to it.
One of the committe members just called and said with 6 fans blowing, it was 100 degrees in the barn right now.
I uploaded so photos in an album,, and they are here just need to get them up. Better go. Dam Ivy, don't loose any more of those babies, that was a top shelf little girl!!!

Head shot of 55 she was busy talking in this picture.

Rosie I really like your new avatar picture! Yes, I was REALLY upset when I lost that pullet. I don't know if it was the heat or not. It wasn't that hot in the barn at the time. I sure hope I don't loose any more! She was in one of the larger pens on the ground, so I am really wondering if it was something other than the heat. With the heat index supposed to be 117 this weekend, it could be bad.

 

[Ivywoods]

First post didn't show up... repeated it and then lo.... both show up.

Well, you know how old people tend to repeat themselves.

 

[Trish44]

Darn, we didn't get a drop of that rain, my DH said it was raining in Ark City, but it totally bypassed us here, grrrr. The only positive thing about it was that it cooled things down about 10 degrees. My chickens are actually walking around picking at plants & bugs like it's cool out there, which I guess at 93 degrees it does feel cool to them after the way it's been. The forecast the next few days is just miserably hot, 109, 111.

checoukan, be careful out there, it can get so hot in those barns even with fans going. I'm glad you saved the duck, I'm sure it's owner will be thankful.

 

[sharol]

Maybe you should drink some of that electrolyte water we got the recipe for yesterday. ????

sharol

HI everyone, came home to take a break from the heat. Got to get some supper on the table here in an hour so I can get back to the barns. Had one duck saved from heat stroke, Janet seen him acting different, I walked over and told them to get me water pan, got him in the water and I held him down. Long story short, saved him, so now home fix meal, and get back to it.
One of the committe members just called and said with 6 fans blowing, it was 100 degrees in the barn right now.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye- Maybe this guy is neighbors with the guy I sold my silkies to! I was so mad when they were on craigslist and he was re selling them for more than he bought them from me for! And they had a pot of water and a black kennel but there were three in there! The broody was one of my hatchery marans and I was surprised she even sat. The other problem is that I moved several of my layers to a new pen and I moved her too but all her girlfriends where carrying on because they were somewhere new so I think she was too upset to care anymore about the chicks. Although, in the afternoon she went back in and sat on an egg in the nest box so maybe she just doesn't understand where babies come from!!!

Poor ponies!! That is awful, it must be terribly hot there, my horses have been hanging on here just fine. They hang out in their run in all day when it gets really toasty and graze at night on what little is left out there. I laugh at them because we spent a fortune building a run in for them and it had to meet all my specs. Wanted wood, not metal, slanted roof in the front, shingled roof so it wasn't loud when it rained (mustang won't go under anything that makes noise in the rain) and they didn't use the darn thing all winter!! I was like, yup, spent a fortune on a run in for the horses and they don't even go in it. They used it as a windbreak standing on the outside a few times. Well the heat hit and they are in the thing constantly!!!! Cracks me up. You can lead a horse to water but...
Medawinks- Aren't you a good chicken momma! They sound like they are living it up in this heat. I feel so badly for animals that don't have someone to care for them like that. Our neighbor down the street has a herd of cattle that are so thin and their pasture is just bare. They have some hay out but I wonder if the animals have worms and that is why they don't gain weight.
Hahahaha!! Yup you are so boring with your mismatched roo and pullet and horse sized fox!! Geez, I hope we don't have those around here! I have some serama chicks that are growing out and they are like peanuts when they hatch, they are still tiny. I hate it when my tiny serama roo gets loose and tries to pick a fight with a roo ten times his size!!

Crazy broody! It does sound like she was anxious about the change of scenery. I think it's way hotter here than in the city. I'm not sure what it is about our place, but I swear we are in a pocket of some kind here-- hardly any rain and it gets a few degrees hotter here. It might have something to do with the fact we have no trees. Okay-- correction, I have been planting trees, but they are all like 6ft tall-- too small to be of much use right now. Those poor cattle!! They need to give them protein tubs or grain or something! Cows (and horses) can't live on hay alone!! It makes me SICK when people don't feed their animals. We know people that feed their horses hay and that is IT. Nothing else!! Those poor things are ribby and I got so fed up, I ended up reporting them. I heard (from my ferriar) they were forced into setting up grain barrels and having them filled and were warned they would be inspected. I hope that knocked some sense into them. I'm glad your horses are all doing well in this heat. It sounds like you have better conditions up there-- maybe even a bit cooler, or something.

That too, is hilarious. Okay, as long as we are telling embarrassingly funny stories.....in Australia, we have a different name for what you call an eraser. We call them a rubber (because they "rub out" mistakes). Also in Australia, a common touristy item to be found in various parts of the country, are erasers in the shape of famous landmarks of that region. So a common "collectable" for vacationers, is erasers of the various places they have visited. My brother was one such collector. So when my parents came to visit, my mother decided to find him an eraser from where I was living at the time, to add to his collection. I took her into a drugstore, and, unable to find any on her own, she approached the cashier and asked loudly "Do you have any rubbers? My son collects them". You can just imagine the immediate silence and the stunned look on the cashier's face as she tried to take this in. Meanwhile, I was beside her, elbowing her and hissing "Erasers. They're called erasers here".

OMGosh!!!!!! A rubber!!!

My Molly, our Buff Orpington is down..... Honked when I went out and couldn't hold her head up. I have cooled her down lying in a pan if cool water and have the fan on her now. I tried to get her to drink the electrolytes.... But so far no go....
This happened at 10am!! I hadn't taken the ice out yet, but the mister was on with the fan. Bad part is- the mister was spraying HOT water!!! The hose had got hot! :-(. I sprayed the others all down and gave them frozen cantaloupe.... Will be going out to spray them all down hourly now!
Is there anything else I can do?

Oh poor baby!!!! I hope she comes around and will be okay.

If you have a dropper of any kind open the chicken's mouth by pressing on the corners and use the dropper to get electrolytes down her. Keep her in the house and let her internal temperature goes back down. If you've ever taken first aid courses, treat the chicken just like you would a person. Watch for shock and make sure they don't get chilled if they go into shock.
I wish I'd found my roo just 10 minutes earlier. He was out there with the rest and wasn't down when I started feeding but was later while I was finishing. I've either found them already deceased or got them recovered before. I just don't know about this boy. If he would just eat and drink on his own I think he would be fine. I'm afraid Josie is right. He could definitely have some neurological damage. He did take quite a bit more pedialite this morning than he did last night. Maybe I'll try some Vitamin E on him for his brain as well.
I love all the funny stories and they make things seem so much better. Heather I LOL at yours in particular was a hoot because I could just imagine the confused look on your mother's face.
It so helps to have a laugh when you feel so helpless to help your animals in this heat.
You guys are great!

Hope your rooster pulls through. Poor guy.

OMG! All the funny stories are a hoot! Love it!

Well, right now a little laughter is a good thing because I just lost one of my good rosecomb pullets. This pullet was of the same caliber as the one Checoukan just won grand champion with. I'm really bummed about it.

I've lost several chickens on very hot days. All have been black, and all have been in corner pens. I was really surprised I lost this hen. My DH went out and found her dead just a little while ago. She had been fine as far as I could tell when I was out there. I'm wondering if it was something other than the heat because it's was only in the mid 90's and the barn just didn't seem all that hot.

I know I'm not the only one dealing with losses and lethargic chickens right now. This heat is just a real killer.

Oh that is terrible about your little rosecomb! They look like they are so friendly and happy birds. What a shame, because I'm sure she would have made beautiful babies.

HI everyone, came home to take a break from the heat. Got to get some supper on the table here in an hour so I can get back to the barns. Had one duck saved from heat stroke, Janet seen him acting different, I walked over and told them to get me water pan, got him in the water and I held him down. Long story short, saved him, so now home fix meal, and get back to it.
One of the committe members just called and said with 6 fans blowing, it was 100 degrees in the barn right now.
I uploaded so photos in an album,, and they are here just need to get them up. Better go. Dam Ivy, don't loose any more of those babies, that was a top shelf little girl!!!

Head shot of 55 she was busy talking in this picture.

GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!! Yay for you for saving that poor duck! It is miserable hot, I am just OVER it. I love your new avatar! Great shirt!! Did your club make those up? I wore my Chicken Annies shirt (with a big rooster and "Something to Crow About" over him) when I was a barn moderator at the Fair and I had an older couple come through and they laughed and said they had been there! No one else even noticed it, so they must have never heard of them.

Checoukan, our poultry barn has misters set up in the barn with fans. But it was only on one side-- and I think we need to hook up another line on the opposite side for next year. The misters we have there look like a long hose with heads put into them. It just hooked up to the water hose, so it worked out okay, but we needed MORE of it. They used zip ties to hang them up into the rafters. I bet it would be a cheap solution if you could buy a Y so that anyone wanting to use the spigot could still use it while you are running misters in the barn??

First post didn't show up... repeated it and then lo.... both show up.

Well, you know how old people tend to repeat themselves.

I don't think it's you, that happens to me too!

Darn, we didn't get a drop of that rain, my DH said it was raining in Ark City, but it totally bypassed us here, grrrr. The only positive thing about it was that it cooled things down about 10 degrees. My chickens are actually walking around picking at plants & bugs like it's cool out there, which I guess at 93 degrees it does feel cool to them after the way it's been. The forecast the next few days is just miserably hot, 109, 111.

checoukan, be careful out there, it can get so hot in those barns even with fans going. I'm glad you saved the duck, I'm sure it's owner will be thankful.

Yeah, no rain here either, but I could see the lightening and hear the thunder. It looked SO close!! Probably only about 10 miles or so off from us. What a shame. Sigh. My horses were sure happy for the break today from the heat. They were actually moving around out there instead of standing under a lone tree. I'm not looking forward to the upcoming heat.

My neighbor gave me 10 little cedar trees!! So I'm going to go out there and put them into the ground here in a bit. I already sweat my bootie off putting up horse grain and setting out a new 50lbs salt lick for the horses. Holy moly, I don't remember those licks being THAT heavy. Ugh. Anyway, I'm thinking ahead to winter and how the wind just whistles right thru here with no breaks, so I'm going to set up a mini wind break. I know 10 trees won't do it, but it'll be a start. He said he has more, so I'll have to go dig those up later. He's been planting them all around the property line of his place and they seem to grow REALLY fast. I've been so impressed with the native cedar-- they have a great shape to them and they seem to thrive in the heat.

 

[tweetysvoice]

SO last night I had a close call. One of the new brahma chicks got out of the kennel that I am using as a brooder and I had left the garage door open so they could get some fresh air. I was looking for the puppy to put her invisible fence collar back on and I heard a loud distress peeping coming from the garage so I went in to investigate and when I walked by the back window Lucie was walking around with the CHICK IN HER MOUTH!!!! Ahhh!! SO I ran out into the fenced backyard and yelled Lucie, NO! And she dropped the chick on the ground. I thought for sure it would be dead or have a broken leg or something and I would have to cull it and I ran up and it was fine. Just slobbery! So I shooed her out of the backyard and washed the chick off in the house and blow dried it off and it is fine this morning! The weird part is that when I spotted the puppy and before she knew I was there she was walking around with the most distressed look on her face, like a mother with an inconsolable child. It was like she was trying to put it somewhere where it would stop screaming? I thought that when she got ahold of a chicken she was playing with it but it was like she was trying to find a place to put it, like it didn't belong loose in the garage screaming and she was trying to fix it?? So weird and it is just a little 3-4 day old baby and completely unscathed? She could have just swallowed it whole....I need to order a remote collar so we can work on not using our mouth to remedy problems with the chickens but I was really surprised at her behavior, it was not at all what I would have expected from a dog that had a chicken in its mouth.

This reminds me of a story about my (now) 13 yr old black lab, Fritz - this story is when he was just a couple years old. I'd been out mowing the lawn, and ran across a nest of baby bunnies. Being the animal lover I was, I ran inside, grabbed a shoebox and picked them all up (or so I thought). I planned on keeping them in the box till I was done mowing, then i'd put them right back and recover the nest. I brought them inside to show my daughter the baby bunnies and Fritz followed me in. Next thing I knew, he dropped a baby bunny at my feet. Like your chick, it was perfectly fine except quite a bit slobbery. He'd just found one when I was picking them up and thought he'd help!

This heat is HORRIBLE! We've had several heat strokes come into the ER, so please please be careful and drink lots of water if you are going to work outside! We got quite a big storm here in Lawrence last night. Most of the rain had missed us the past few weeks, so we reallllly needed it. Lightening knocked out the power though. I went to a concert in Kansas City last night and got home about midnight. We were just getting ready for bed and about 12:45 the power went out. We were so exhausted that we just went to bed. It got really hot overnight and the power didn't kick back on till about 7:30 this morning! It's a really good thing that we had taken off this morning in anticipation of getting home late. If it would have been a "normal" morning, I'm not sure that I would have woken up without the alarm going off. I normally have to get up before 6 to start work at 7. I'm a night owl and can easily stay up till 3am if I don't have to be up in the morning. My perfect sleep schedule would be 2am to 10am, but the birds would hate that! LOL

 

[Hawkeye95]

Josie, I thought my multi included you, but guess not. I'm amazed by your dog, too! Sounds like your chick got out and she "rescued" it but didn't know what to do with it. What a good dog!

Tweety, NO fun to have your power out. I've been drinking tons of water, I just can't stop. I feel thirsty all the time.

I gave up tonight and only planted 3 of the cedar trees. The ground is hard as a rock! I need to soak it in the morning and finish up the rest of the trees.