Cooling Treats - Post Them Here

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

I , as most of us, am in a heat wave. So are my poor chickens. I feel their pain as I don't have A/C at work and the temps reach 96*. It's worse for them as when I go home, my house is a comfy 80* with no humidity. But back the our girls:
What can we do, other than bring them in?
I saw a post, while looking for a thread by ladybug99 (Nice easy cool down treat by ladybug99 ) and thought it would be a good idea to have a too hot thread like we have a too cold thread (Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again... by Ms AKBirdBrain).
The too cold thread was very informative and helpful.
Hopefully the exerienced,

the ingeneous,

the free thinkers,

can help compile a list of GREAT IDEAS!

 

[HEChicken]

We've had triple digits the past week and 104+ is forecast every day for the foreseeable future (7 days out). My girls are actually faring just fine. Yes, they're panting and holding their wings out but they're still laying up a storm and showing lots of interest in me when I go out in the yard. Honestly, I think bringing them in would be doing them a disservice as when they are out in it all the time they acclimatize and it doesn't feel *as* hot as it does for us going in and out of air-conditioning.

To help keep them cool, I freeze water in gallon and half gallon milk jugs to create huge blocks of ice. In the early afternoon each day, I place the entire frozen milk jug in the water bowl to keep it cool. I also have a couple of trays of water they can stand in to cool off their feet although only one of them avails herself of this. Plenty of shade is the key - and the ability to move from the patch of shade that is available in the morning, to the shade that is available in the afternoon.

 

[CarolJ]

I bought a watermelon last week. After we ate the inside, I cut up the rind, put it in a bowl and froze it. Each day I take out a couple pieces and give them to the chickens. They love it. I also did the same thing with some peaches - and I think they like the frozen peaches even better than the watermelon. I limit it to just a little each day so they'll continue eating their layer feed.

 

[flowergirl60]

My cooling treats would be frozen grapes (cut in pieces for easy swallowing) frozen blueberries, cantelope and or cold tomatoes. Those are my girls favorites.

 

[ruffedgrouse]

I give them chilled watermelon they really seem to enjoy it

 

[5chicks4us]

Chilled cantaloupe rinds work well here. I've tried watermelon and they turn their beaks at it. Not sure why, it's delicious!

 

[ams4776]

Ive been freezing my oversized cucumbers from the garden. As they melt they are even juicier then fresh. Plus something to use em since i wasnt planning on pickling this year lol

 

[dbounds10]

Mine are bags of frozen mixed veggies, or frozen fruit. I like to cut a watermelon in half, use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the meat and freeze it along with them empty "bowl" then I put the frozen balls back into the bowl and serve. They love it.

 

[nsanywhere]

Shade, water with big ice chunks in the afternoon, frozen fruit rinds, and a my jello molds to make frozen water hunks with bits of corn scratch sprinkled in it to get them to peck at it.

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

Quote:
Hmmmm or even some black oil sunflower seeds?