Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

You must have gotten in the middle of a hot spot. The high here (between Emporia and Admire) was 94 mid afternoon. The wind was awful and blew all day, but today is looking lots better. Weather is so unpredictable.

I went out later again and checked on birds and had lost one more exhibition orpington hen. It was a VERY expensive day. The Swedish that was still alive got much better and I put her out last night. The big orp that got overheated is still iffy. Surprisingly she is up walking around but I can't get her to eat or drink. Until I am sure she is going to eat and drink I'll keep her in here and watch her.
I never checked the weather during the day, but I checked it about 7:00 PM. It was 101 here then. My thermostat sensor is in the shade too. I know it was much hotter earlier. But watching the weather the indicated it wasn't that hot. I don't know if we were in some hot pocket or not. This is a digital lead and I've checked it consistently over time to be 100% accurate. I suppose I should have thrown the pop bottles back in the freezer but I sure wasn't expecting the heat to be that bad. I have misters but haven't hooked them up yet.
It was much cooler out this morning. I walked out and let those that are allowed out to get out and roam early this morning. I am thinking I might try building a screen type door to put on those two coops to allow more air flow. I hate to have to run those fans on high all the time and it seemed to just blow in more hot air yesterday.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I went out later again and checked on birds and had lost one more exhibition orpington hen. It was a VERY expensive day. The Swedish that was still alive got much better and I put her out last night. The big orp that got overheated is still iffy. Surprisingly she is up walking around but I can't get her to eat or drink. Until I am sure she is going to eat and drink I'll keep her in here and watch her.
I never checked the weather during the day, but I checked it about 7:00 PM. It was 101 here then. My thermostat sensor is in the shade too. I know it was much hotter earlier. But watching the weather the indicated it wasn't that hot. I don't know if we were in some hot pocket or not. This is a digital lead and I've checked it consistently over time to be 100% accurate. I suppose I should have thrown the pop bottles back in the freezer but I sure wasn't expecting the heat to be that bad. I have misters but haven't hooked them up yet.
It was much cooler out this morning. I walked out and let those that are allowed out to get out and roam early this morning. I am thinking I might try building a screen type door to put on those two coops to allow more air flow. I hate to have to run those fans on high all the time and it seemed to just blow in more hot air yesterday.
I am glad I have a few left over chicks that I didn't sell when they were young. At least there is a some for a recovery plan for the lemon cuckoos. I'm not sure how many girls I have. It will of course be months before they are up to laying though. I now have 4 lemon cuckoo roos and two hens. Loosing 4 out of that one coop just wiped me out. I had planned to sell or butcher two of the other boys.
I ended up moving my Blue gold partridge brahmas to the second side of the new hoop coop. I was so afraid I would loose them after the heat yesterday cause their tiny little pen was in the sun. I worry about having them even close to other chickens cause I don't want anything to happen to them. I wish I knew which of the younger ones were girls. I think I'd move them out there with them. They're old enough but I have them "protected" in the brooder. Time to build another hoop coop I guess! I am thinking more and more about finding a way to put in a poultry barn of sorts.
I certainly needed to downsize but not in this way!!
Oh one more event. It was just at the edge of darkness and I watched a black snake sliver into one of the chicken coops and right under a sitting hen. Let me tell you getting a good shot on him inside a dark coop with a bunch of chickens sitting wasn't an easy task . I may have a couple holes in the floor!!!

It seems like they are coming out of the woodwork!!!

It was a lot cooler here this morning as well. It was a welcome change! We've even got some decent chances of rain for the next several days (40-60%). Now, if only we could get like an inch of rain over the period of a couple of days...

Oh Danz! You and your snake stories! Were you wearing flip flops this time as well?

We haven't seen any snakes for a few days, but I think our dog (a 100+lb lab) found one recently. His left front leg was swollen this morning, and he was limping on it. When my husband went to look at it, the dog yelped (he has a REALLY high pain tolerance, so you know it had to really hurt him). We couldn't see much, so we washed the leg off to get rid of the blood. We also clipped a bit of hair away. It looks like has two marks about 1/8" apart. Definitely looks like snake bite to me. Since we don't know what kind of snake he found, we are treating it as a rattlesnake bite until the vet can confirm what kind of snake she thinks it was. We're supposed to take him into town this afternoon to see the vet. This makes me really glad we got the rattlesnake vaccine for him. I knew it was only a matter of time before he made a snake mad. From the location of the bite, it almost looks like he was walking/running and the snake bit him as he went past. The bite is on the inside back of his leg, so we're not even sure that HE saw what bit him.

 

[bbsnooks]

OH dear! I am just sick. I went out to check on chickens again. I lost 4 big lemon cuckoo orpington hens and my very largest lavender orpington

Danz.. I"m very sorry..

 

[chicken danz]

Many many years ago I had dog kennels. We lived out in the flint hills where there isn't much but rocks. Our dogs were always getting bitten by rattlesnakes. I think like some humans they develop an immunity to it. They would swell up huge, usually in the neck and within a few days it would go down. Lizzy giving your dog some children's benadril will help remove some of the swelling the next time you have something like that occur until you can get your dog to the vet. Yep as a matter of fact I still had my flip flops on. I guess they really aren't flip flops. They are slides. I can't stand having anything between my toes. We've just not had this many snakes since the first year we moved here. They are really thick. I really do need to consider wearing shoes. I just hate to have white feet if I put a pair of sandals on if I ever go anywhere. Of course usually my toenails are dirty from not wearing shoes, so I don't wear sandals any way.
I think I had about too much heat yesterday. I have no interest in being out there working today.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

OH dear! I am just sick. I went out to check on chickens again. I lost 4 big lemon cuckoo orpington hens and my very largest lavender orpington hen. Plus two of my Swedish flower hens. Of course one of them was the prettiest and my favorite. I brought in a SFH that wasn't doing good but she is up and running now in the AC. I also brought in another exhibition orp and she has lost her brain I'm afraid. The eyes are moving but not the body.

Danz - So sorry you are losing more birds to the predators. That's just the pits! We spend so much time, $$ and effort to keep out birds and they end up being dinner to predators!

This heat was so sudden that they didn't have time to adapt. Mine are really uncomfortable in the coop, and they spent the day in the corner of the run where I have misters for them. The coop was still 90 degrees at 9 (it is 84 outside, and I have a fan pulling air through, so I'm hoping it will cool off for them.

I'm so sorry about the hens.

Ooohh Sharol, misters... hmmm... I think I saw something like that @ Atwoods. I might have to get some. They look like a big S, sits on the ground and can be hooked up to the hose.

Well I lost a hen today too to the heat, one of my favorites, a Speckled Sussex. She was just a beautiful hen & I was so sad about it. She for some reason went between the little pen the turkey poults & ducks are in & the run wire & got stuck in there & I didn't find her till this evening when I was feeding. She was in the direct sun, so she just fried herself there. I have no idea why she would have gotten in there in the first place. She wasn't just any old Speckled Sussex, she & her sister had the nicest markings I have ever seen on birds of their breed, so it was a big loss for me. I will miss her out in the yard every day.

My turkey hen did come back this evening thank goodness, I wish I knew what she's up to when she takes off like that. I watched her this morning when she was leaving & she headed right into the trees over outside of the lagoon & then I lost sight of her. She was kind of making this sound as she went, so I don't know if she has found a wild turkey boyfriend out there somewhere or what. It would seem like if that was the case she would stay with him. I sure hope that's not what's going on.

Trish - Oh no, you lost a favorite hen to the heat! It is always the favorites isn't it? I hope the rest of your flock are doing OK. This heat is just a killer!

I went out later again and checked on birds and had lost one more exhibition orpington hen. It was a VERY expensive day. The Swedish that was still alive got much better and I put her out last night. The big orp that got overheated is still iffy. Surprisingly she is up walking around but I can't get her to eat or drink. Until I am sure she is going to eat and drink I'll keep her in here and watch her.
I never checked the weather during the day, but I checked it about 7:00 PM. It was 101 here then. My thermostat sensor is in the shade too. I know it was much hotter earlier. But watching the weather the indicated it wasn't that hot. I don't know if we were in some hot pocket or not. This is a digital lead and I've checked it consistently over time to be 100% accurate. I suppose I should have thrown the pop bottles back in the freezer but I sure wasn't expecting the heat to be that bad. I have misters but haven't hooked them up yet.
It was much cooler out this morning. I walked out and let those that are allowed out to get out and roam early this morning. I am thinking I might try building a screen type door to put on those two coops to allow more air flow. I hate to have to run those fans on high all the time and it seemed to just blow in more hot air yesterday.
I am glad I have a few left over chicks that I didn't sell when they were young. At least there is a some for a recovery plan for the lemon cuckoos. I'm not sure how many girls I have. It will of course be months before they are up to laying though. I now have 4 lemon cuckoo roos and two hens. Loosing 4 out of that one coop just wiped me out. I had planned to sell or butcher two of the other boys.
I ended up moving my Blue gold partridge brahmas to the second side of the new hoop coop. I was so afraid I would loose them after the heat yesterday cause their tiny little pen was in the sun. I worry about having them even close to other chickens cause I don't want anything to happen to them. I wish I knew which of the younger ones were girls. I think I'd move them out there with them. They're old enough but I have them "protected" in the brooder. Time to build another hoop coop I guess! I am thinking more and more about finding a way to put in a poultry barn of sorts.
I certainly needed to downsize but not in this way!!
Oh one more event. It was just at the edge of darkness and I watched a black snake sliver into one of the chicken coops and right under a sitting hen. Let me tell you getting a good shot on him inside a dark coop with a bunch of chickens sitting wasn't an easy task . I may have a couple holes in the floor!!!

It seems like they are coming out of the woodwork!!!

Just a crappy day to you huh, Danz? Losing that many birds is just sickening. It is sickening to see just seeing it online in your posts.

It was a lot cooler here this morning as well. It was a welcome change! We've even got some decent chances of rain for the next several days (40-60%). Now, if only we could get like an inch of rain over the period of a couple of days...

Oh Danz! You and your snake stories! Were you wearing flip flops this time as well?

We haven't seen any snakes for a few days, but I think our dog (a 100+lb lab) found one recently. His left front leg was swollen this morning, and he was limping on it. When my husband went to look at it, the dog yelped (he has a REALLY high pain tolerance, so you know it had to really hurt him). We couldn't see much, so we washed the leg off to get rid of the blood. We also clipped a bit of hair away. It looks like has two marks about 1/8" apart. Definitely looks like snake bite to me. Since we don't know what kind of snake he found, we are treating it as a rattlesnake bite until the vet can confirm what kind of snake she thinks it was. We're supposed to take him into town this afternoon to see the vet. This makes me really glad we got the rattlesnake vaccine for him. I knew it was only a matter of time before he made a snake mad. From the location of the bite, it almost looks like he was walking/running and the snake bit him as he went past. The bite is on the inside back of his leg, so we're not even sure that HE saw what bit him.

Lizzy, I hope you lab is doing better. I hate seeing animals get hurt, especially our pets. I didn't even know there is rattlersnake vaccine for dogs!

Many many years ago I had dog kennels. We lived out in the flint hills where there isn't much but rocks. Our dogs were always getting bitten by rattlesnakes. I think like some humans they develop an immunity to it. They would swell up huge, usually in the neck and within a few days it would go down. Lizzy giving your dog some children's benadril will help remove some of the swelling the next time you have something like that occur until you can get your dog to the vet. Yep as a matter of fact I still had my flip flops on. I guess they really aren't flip flops. They are slides. I can't stand having anything between my toes. We've just not had this many snakes since the first year we moved here. They are really thick. I really do need to consider wearing shoes. I just hate to have white feet if I put a pair of sandals on if I ever go anywhere. Of course usually my toenails are dirty from not wearing shoes, so I don't wear sandals any way.
I think I had about too much heat yesterday. I have no interest in being out there working today.

Danz... it is much cooler today. Only 78F right now. You might still want to take it easy outside.

*******************************************************

It was just like a furnace yesterday. The air was still and humidity was thick, so think that I can cut it with a knife... just down right stiffling... Wish I have a couple of the misters now. But DH has to fix the pipe leak first before I can turn on the hose 24/7. Right now, I have to turn the main pipe off every time after I finish using the hose to fill up the waterer and kiddie pool for the ducks. I'm very grateful that the previous owners put in fans in the horse stalls. I turned it on in the evening yesterday after all the birds went inside the coop for the night. It was so hot that I saw a few birds literally panting hard! I also turned on the fan inside the barn storage room. That little window does nothing when it comes to air flow. Mama with the chicks were in the corner, away from the broody who is still sitting on the eggs. I am ready to take mama and chicks back out so they can run around. Beats having to stay in the hot stifling storage room. My plan right now is to get them out to the floxk this weekend.

Enjoy the cooler weather and hope no one loses any more birds!

Kuan

 

[sharol]

I have 2 of those (dare I say) snake shaped ones. also have one I got that is a tiny tubing with little spouts every couple of feet on it. I fastened it to the netting on the roof of the run with the spouts pointing down. They really like it because the mist is so fine. These got us through the 116 degree days last summer.

Sharol

Danz - So sorry you are losing more birds to the predators. That's just the pits! We spend so much time, $$ and effort to keep out birds and they end up being dinner to predators!


Ooohh Sharol, misters... hmmm... I think I saw something like that @ Atwoods. I might have to get some. They look like a big S, sits on the ground and can be hooked up to the hose.


*** snip***
Kuan

 

[lizzyGSR]

Lizzy, I hope you lab is doing better. I hate seeing animals get hurt, especially our pets. I didn't even know there is rattlersnake vaccine for dogs!

So far, no change on our dog, Jake. His leg is obviously swollen, but it doesn't appear to have gotten worse since this morning. It makes me doubt if it really was a rattlesnake that bit him, only because I had expected the swelling to continue getting worse. If it really was a rattlesnake, then the vaccine must be doing its job.

The rattlesnake vaccine for dogs is a yearly thing that they recommend those in rattlesnake country give to pets. They have it for horses too, except that the equine vaccine has have boosters every 6 months. When I first heard about it, I thought that you could give it to your pet and then not worry about rattlesnakes after that, but the vet said that it simply was not true. Really, the rattlesnake vaccine slows down the effects of the bite so you have more time to get your pet to the vet. The vet said that the vaccine often makes the bite less fatal (though the possibility still exists, depending on where the bite is located) and does NOT STOP the effects of the bite. Most likely, your pet will still be miserable for a time but will be a lot more likely to live through the experience.

Makes me wish they had a rattlesnake vaccine for people.

 

[chicken danz]

I still have this one hen that I thought was gone yesterday in the house. She is finally eating and drinking. She placed herself in the opening by the front room where I have a bin of chicks. She is sitting in the same spot just not moving a bit. I picked her up to check her and she threw a fit. I sat her down and she moved back to her previous spot and is just sitting there. I told DH she figured out the AC was very comfortable so she thinks if she sits perfectly still she will get to stay in the house. No roosters to ride her and her food and water are within a foot of her. I do think she will be fine if she doesn't get overheated again soon.
I have several of those misters and last fall I bought some sets that have a long tube and like 10 jets in them. The problem is having separate hoses available to run the misters. I may have to check into fiding more tubing and running it over a long distance so I can reach multiple pens.
I also had several 2 liter pop bottles in my freezers that I rotated every day and put in the chickens water to keep it cool. They would belly up to the water bowl on those hot days.

 

[lizzyGSR]

My husband is on his way home now with his dog. It looks like the dog will be fine. The vet gave him some anithistamines, antibiotics, pain meds, etc. She then sent an antibiotic and a pain med home for us to give him. The vet did think that it was probably a rattlesnake bite. I think it could have been a lot worse, especially if he hadn't had a rattlesnake vaccine.

 

[Trish44]

So far, no change on our dog, Jake. His leg is obviously swollen, but it doesn't appear to have gotten worse since this morning. It makes me doubt if it really was a rattlesnake that bit him, only because I had expected the swelling to continue getting worse. If it really was a rattlesnake, then the vaccine must be doing its job.

The rattlesnake vaccine for dogs is a yearly thing that they recommend those in rattlesnake country give to pets. They have it for horses too, except that the equine vaccine has have boosters every 6 months. When I first heard about it, I thought that you could give it to your pet and then not worry about rattlesnakes after that, but the vet said that it simply was not true. Really, the rattlesnake vaccine slows down the effects of the bite so you have more time to get your pet to the vet. The vet said that the vaccine often makes the bite less fatal (though the possibility still exists, depending on where the bite is located) and does NOT STOP the effects of the bite. Most likely, your pet will still be miserable for a time but will be a lot more likely to live through the experience.

Makes me wish they had a rattlesnake vaccine for people.

I wasn't aware there was a rattlesnake vaccine for dogs, but then we're not in an area where they're prevalent. It sounds like it was a good thing for you though.

At least it's not as hot today, but still hot enough that some of the birds in the pens are panting. I can't wait to move birds around & get them to the hoop coop where there is more shade & breeze.