Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

I found 8 fans and every one of them except one was burnt up. I try to rebuild them cause the chick dust dries them out. Sometimes if you take them apart and clean them and re grease them they will work again. These were all fried. Lots of companies put one time thermo- couplers on them and they are toast if that is triggered. You can wire around it but then you don't have a back up safety if it gets too hot. Better safe than sorry.
I planted 3 rows of green beans and drained the duck pond to water them in. Then I had some guinea eggs that hadn't hatched and hauled them out to the burn barrel. I just can't give up without checking. I never smelled anything on these eggs. I was carefully cracking them one by one to make sure there still wasn't a living chick in there. To my surprise one exploded. It got all over me, my clothes and my hair. Oh gross!

What a nasty smell.
So I got another shower sooner than I expected. After that I went out to finish draining and cleaning the duck pond. I no longer smell like rotten egg, I just smell like pond scum. I'm drenched in sweat again too. I still have to clean the pump and filter after the pond gets full again. Then I'll need yet another shower.
I still need to go to town yet to check on my Dad.I would really really love to take a nap. Just can't seem to keep up with watering and checking on birds today. This heat is something else. I have a bunch of chickens almost honking trying to breath and cool off.

I've never heard that Rooster. Does it give a reason why?

 

[Trish44]

I also just read that you should not use ACV in water during heat.

I would also like to know their reasoning behind that. It does help with the bacteria & algae that forms in the water in the heat. Even if you change out the water frequently you can still get algae & bacteria in the waterers.

 

[michelleml]

I'm 192 post behind just can't keep up. We are all doing good. My DH is doing okay he is on a break from chemo till the 22 of this month then goes back on for another round. I think they plan doing another scan to see if the radiation helped.

My chickens made it okay in the heat yesterday i kept cold water and checked them often let them free range all day so they could find a cool place.

I hope everyone is doing okay

Does anyone raise meat rabbits? I found someone that would sell rabbits all ready precessed for $ 16.00 and said the hang weight would be around 3-4 lbs does that sound right?

 

[chicken danz]

Well I got to town and got back home. I had some chicks hatch early in one of the incubators so got those pulled out. Then I candled some more eggs. Weird they are all dated the same day but some have inner pipped and some look like they need more developing. And they are a mix of breeds in both conditions.
Michelleml I am glad your hubs is getting to take a break for a little while. I hope they find that things are improving. You are still in my prayers.
Seems like I spent my entire day running water today. I really do feel sorry for the birds. I wish I had a lot more shade around here. Last year because we had no need to mow I had a couple of volunteer trees come up. Of course they aren't where I want them but I figure any tree that comes up is a potential area of shade in the future. So I am leaving them to grow. I lost several smaller trees last year so if Mother Nature wants to provide some I'm all for it.

 

[michelleml]

just wanted to share what i read today hope it helps someone

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-heat-stress-dehydration-and.html

 

[sunflowerparrot]

I'm 192 post behind just can't keep up. We are all doing good. My DH is doing okay he is on a break from chemo till the 22 of this month then goes back on for another round. I think they plan doing another scan to see if the radiation helped.

My chickens made it okay in the heat yesterday i kept cold water and checked them often let them free range all day so they could find a cool place.

I hope everyone is doing okay

Does anyone raise meat rabbits? I found someone that would sell rabbits all ready precessed for $ 16.00 and said the hang weight would be around 3-4 lbs does that sound right?

I think that is pretty high and expensive! I was told by someone they'd sell $5/adult rabbit..

 

[TheDownyChick]

Lost Ricky, my BCM roo during the night. I suspect it was the heat. I had iced both the bucket nipple waterer and the regular waterer. I had put a dishpan of water out for a while after I got home, but took it out at bedtime. I was afraid one might drown.Will they drown in a dishpan? We found Ricky's body this morning. All day I worried. This evening when we got home, I saw no movement an panicked, but everyone was ok, thankfully. They are only 5weeks old.

 

[mrsdanamiller]

Sorry everyone's chickens are struggling with the heat....I am thankful that my chickens always leave the coop and hang out in the shade, dust bathe, or lay in the water puddle caused by our A/C. Thanks for the moral support ;-)

Now a question...anyone know of a hatchery that is humane in culling and that could get me quite a few straight-run day-old cornish rocks fairly soon?

 

[Trish44]

This is what I found on the page you listed michelleml:
While we're on the topic of heat advisories, it bears repeating that while apple cider vinegar is beneficial to to chickens when added to their water most times of the year, BUT ACV should NOT be added to waterers during times of high heat. In a recently published blog post that reviewed the benefits of ACV to poultry, I asked a chicken expert his opinion of ACV in poultry waterers. In reply, the Chicken Vet wrote the following, which dictates AGAINST using ACV during high heat conditions:

"Acidified water affects laying hens by making the calcium in her feed a little less digestible (based on chemistry....calcium is a positive ion, and dissociates better in a more alkaline environment). Professional farmers regularly add baking soda to their feed when heat stress is expected....this maintains egg shell quality when hens' feed consumption drops due to the heat."
​

In summary, during high heat conditions, baking soda facilitates calcium absorption while ACV inhibits it. SKIP the ACV in the heat, opting for an electrolyte solution instead.
​

I guess I'm going to have to change my thinking on using ACV in the water in the summer. I wonder if the baking soda would help the bacteria & algae growth any? I felt so sorry for the chickens & all of the animals today, it was just miserably hot.

From what I've been reading meat rabbits go for about $5 a pound processed weight. It's not cheap feeding rabbits to get them to butchering weight any more than it is to feed out chickens. I had thought about raising some meat rabbits at one time, but decided against it. Butchering chickens is one thing, but butchering furry rabbits is quite another.

mrsdanmiller, I ordered my cornish cross this year from Hoover's Hatchery & they did get them to me really quick, you might check them out. They shouldn't be as busy this time of the year, most people order meat chickens either early spring or in the fall. ​

 

[RoosterLew]

I guess the algae is not a real big thing for me since I only have a couple of water containers to clean. And right now with the ducks in with the chickens they keep them nasty enough I have to clean them out every couple of days any ways, lol!
We had a casualty yesterday. Babs lost her little runner duck

The heat was bad, we have a very open air coop, so I did not expect to have heat casualties, but there was NO air movement yesterday. Even the slightest breeze would've helped alot!

Now designing a geo-thermal/solar coop cooler...this WILL be the last year I lose birds to heat!