Eastern Washington

[maggierose]

I've been staying cool inside, though Friday I nearly passed out after running some errands with my mother. We went strawberry picking at Greenbluff Saturday when it was raining cats and dogs, which I was actually thankful for. No way I'd have been able to pick strawberries in the heat!
I do feel somewhat under house arrest though.

ohhhh I love Greenbluff... 100 years ago when I was in High School, one of my flute students lived out there, and I loved the drive. Soooo beautiful!

 

[PalChick]

PalChick, I think you have done everything in the book (and more) to keep your chickens comfy!

It seems cooler today, and the girls are a bit more active. Franny, one of the EE's was panting the most, but she seems more comfortable so far today. And Minnie and Molly, my BRs, are foraging a bit instead of spending all their time in their dirt beds under the bushes.

Yeah, I'm doing what I reasonably can to keep everyone comfy, and am lucky to be able to be home and check on everyone. I don't like the heat, so can empathize with the outdoor critters. The mister hose is not as much work as it sounds. I have a shut-off timer on the spigot, and I just set it to 15 min when I turn on the water. I don't think I'll need to run it as much today as yesterday. I found a large shallow lid (from a Tupperware chip/dip thingie I've had for years), and I put that in the kennel, added cool water then placed a frozen liter jug in the middle to keep the water colder for longer. Oh my! It's like a water park, lol. They take turns walking in the water around the frozen jug. Picture a walking lazy river. The girls are still young enough (13 wks) that two can fit at a time. I wish they'd let me take a pic, but every time I show up with the camera, they get shy.....or just ornery.

What is Roman's sister's name? She has the sweetest face! I have a Belgian Sheepdog with low prey drive but high territorial tendencies that keeps an eye on the girls from his side of the fence. I wouldn't trust him with little chicks, but so far he's been good supervised and leashed with the bigger pullets. I don't think I'd let him loose with the girls, but NOTHING comes into my yard without his approval.

 

[ChaeBird]

Well Chae, just want you to know we're all thinking about you.

Thanks, I appreciate the good thoughts. Not long now!

Chaebird... bless your heart!! I had my 2nd child in July... I feel your pain! praying for you, and that little one! Not much longer now dear...

It's been pretty miserable this week, I'm living off Otter Pops and I think my mouth is permanently blue now. We're getting pretty excited, though. Mr. Bear can't wait to hold the baby, he's been jealous of me. Silly man.

Yes, we did get Roman's sister It's just such a mixed bag of emotions that I've put off mentioning it until I could see how she would work out. We are missing Roman so badly. She does a few things that he used to do and it just makes us choke back tears.
She is much smaller and probably weighs 60lbs. She definitely has more energy than he did but yesterday (her 3rd full day here) she finally passed out. We were down on our lower field digging a duck pond yesterday morning. (We were trying to get it done before the heat wave.) She really hasn't relaxed yet. It wasn't until just after lunch that she fell asleep with her feet in the air (just like Roman). She also slept the whole time the kids played in the river. (This answers your question too, Vicki.) I was relieved. I like a dog that is laid back.
She has also been following the chickens a lot. She will make a dash at one if it's close enough, too. She responds really well to correction, though and seems teachable. She'll leave the baby chicks alone as they walk through her legs and under her nose.
I think now that she'll work out just fine. My youngest son Lucas has declared that he likes her better than Roman. She is sweeter and doesn't mouth as much.




The duck pond, by the way, has helped out the turkey in this heat too. He seems to suffer the most out of our poultry. He waded in the pond a lot yesterday afternoon and didn't pant nearly as much as normal.

Awww, she is such a sweetheart! Look at that smile!

I love your duck pond, too.

Quote:

ohhhh I love Greenbluff... 100 years ago when I was in High School, one of my flute students lived out there, and I loved the drive. Soooo beautiful!

It's one of my absolute favorite things about growing up in Spokane. I'm really going to miss it when we get stationed elsewhere. I loooove going and picking seasonal produce to process at home and enjoy all year. And picking pumpkins there is a tradition! I hope I can find something half as wonderful wherever we end up next.

 

[lovinchickypoos]

Hope everyone's flock is doing ok in this heat. I lost my Cochin yesterday, presumably to the weather, and it hit me hard. I have to stop having favorites as it send to be a death sentence here. :'( I had multiple water dishes set out, free access to varying shade and left my hose on mist. Not sure what else to do other than fill the property with ice.
Chickengarden, your girl is gorgeous! My turkey seens to suffer pretty bad in this also, poor things! Butterball hangs with the waterfowl and seemed to spend a lot of time under the mist yesterday. The chickens aren't fond of it unfortunately. Wish there was more to do to make them more comfy. I really hope I don't lose anymore.
Take care all and have a wonderful Independence Day!

 

[ChaeBird]

Hope everyone's flock is doing ok in this heat. I lost my Cochin yesterday, presumably to the weather, and it hit me hard. I have to stop having favorites as it send to be a death sentence here. :'( I had multiple water dishes set out, free access to varying shade and left my hose on mist. Not sure what else to do other than fill the property with ice.
Chickengarden, your girl is gorgeous! My turkey seens to suffer pretty bad in this also, poor things! Butterball hangs with the waterfowl and seemed to spend a lot of time under the mist yesterday. The chickens aren't fond of it unfortunately. Wish there was more to do to make them more comfy. I really hope I don't lose anymore.
Take care all and have a wonderful Independence Day!

I'm so sorry.

 

[NinetreesMom]

Off to the farm tomorrow... Can't wait! The foundations for the house are poured, as well as the slab for the shop! If all is on track we should be able to move in by the end of October.
Chae; I feel for you! Hopefully it cools off a bit soon! At least you have BYC to entertain while you hide from the heat
Chickengarden, I LOVE your new girl. She looks like a great pup. After seeing your post I actually talked to the breeder, but we are going to have to budget for it if we want one of his pups
Lovinchicky, so sad to hear about your Cochin. Ours seems to be doing OK, but I worry about him the most with his huge mass of feathers. Of course it is a few degrees cooler here, but the humidity has been awful!
Hope those summer projects are coming along for everyone!

 

[WhiskiRanch]

Hope everyone's flock is doing ok in this heat. I lost my Cochin yesterday, presumably to the weather, and it hit me hard. I have to stop having favorites as it send to be a death sentence here. :'( I had multiple water dishes set out, free access to varying shade and left my hose on mist. Not sure what else to do other than fill the property with ice.
Chickengarden, your girl is gorgeous! My turkey seens to suffer pretty bad in this also, poor things! Butterball hangs with the waterfowl and seemed to spend a lot of time under the mist yesterday. The chickens aren't fond of it unfortunately. Wish there was more to do to make them more comfy. I really hope I don't lose anymore.
Take care all and have a wonderful Independence Day!

I had an osculating sprinkler set near their run the last few days during the hottest part of the day. That seemed to really help cool them off. Im so sorry for your loss.

 

[PalChick]

Hope everyone's flock is doing ok in this heat. I lost my Cochin yesterday, presumably to the weather, and it hit me hard.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope future days are better.
Hugs

 

[lovinchickypoos]

Thanks, all, for the condolences! Fortunately, it is only 95 here so far at 3:30 so I'll be happy if it doesn't break 100.

 

[chickengarden]

So sorry, Chicky.
Thanks for the kind words on our pup. It was a little discouraging for a couple days because she actually did catch one of our hens. She didn't kill her but maimed her enough that I had to put her down. Later the same day she was chasing and had cornered another hen. I caught her in the act and was able to give her a really clear correction. I've read a little about livestock guardians and they can totally make these kinds of mistakes and still turn out just fine. Sometimes mistakes provide an opportunity for clarifying things for the dog. Incidentally she has been doing much better.
Ninetrees, that's so neat that you called Andrew. I know his pups can be pricey. There doesn't seem to be many choices for livestock guardians around here though. It's really worth it for us, though. We have wolves and cougar up here and a dog provides protection for my kids playing outside, too.
Hope everyone had a happy fourth