- Thread starter
- #61
Hi Tiff (GopherBoyFarms),
Sorry for my delayed response - busy weekend! And yes, my chickens are much better, thank you.
We are pretty close to you... it's actually kind of funny... I had seen your page on here about building your coop back when I lived in California and then Colorado while I was planning my future in chickens. I didn't really pay attention to your location, but I remembered your name (Gopher Boy Farms) and the pictures of your amazing coop! Anyway, then we moved here and a few months ago we were driving down the road and I saw your sign! I yelled, "holy cow! I know that place from the chicken website!"
Anyway... we're on the border of Brush Prairie... just a little north and west of you. very close, though.
As for our chickens, with the cooler temperatures (days in the 90s instead of 100s), they seem to be doing much better. They used to pant if it got above 90 degrees... but now they must be used to it because they seem to be normal and active until it gets closer to 100. We have been opening the "people doors," running a fan on high, we've shaded the run even more, and given them water to play in along with cooling treats. They seem to be happy now. I think our two losses were a combination of the deadly heat and the fact that those two girls were a little under the weather already. Dorothy panted frequently even when it wasn't hot and no one else was panting. I worried over her a bunch and got much advice on here but could never find anything wrong. someone (I think it was Speckled Hen) suggested she may have a heart defect and said "don't be surprised if you just find her dead one day." So, I was prepared for this... when B called me to say that two died and one was an Orpington, I said, "I bet it's Dorothy." When I got home, I discovered I was right. The other was an EE who was not laying yet (my others have been laying prolifically for weeks) and she had started sneezing and wheezing/whistling when she breathed a couple of days before I left. She was still running around, eating, acting normal without any nasal discharge or anything, but I guess she was not well.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone. We are doing very well now and we know what to do in the future if another heatwave strikes!
Sorry for my delayed response - busy weekend! And yes, my chickens are much better, thank you.
We are pretty close to you... it's actually kind of funny... I had seen your page on here about building your coop back when I lived in California and then Colorado while I was planning my future in chickens. I didn't really pay attention to your location, but I remembered your name (Gopher Boy Farms) and the pictures of your amazing coop! Anyway, then we moved here and a few months ago we were driving down the road and I saw your sign! I yelled, "holy cow! I know that place from the chicken website!"
Anyway... we're on the border of Brush Prairie... just a little north and west of you. very close, though.
As for our chickens, with the cooler temperatures (days in the 90s instead of 100s), they seem to be doing much better. They used to pant if it got above 90 degrees... but now they must be used to it because they seem to be normal and active until it gets closer to 100. We have been opening the "people doors," running a fan on high, we've shaded the run even more, and given them water to play in along with cooling treats. They seem to be happy now. I think our two losses were a combination of the deadly heat and the fact that those two girls were a little under the weather already. Dorothy panted frequently even when it wasn't hot and no one else was panting. I worried over her a bunch and got much advice on here but could never find anything wrong. someone (I think it was Speckled Hen) suggested she may have a heart defect and said "don't be surprised if you just find her dead one day." So, I was prepared for this... when B called me to say that two died and one was an Orpington, I said, "I bet it's Dorothy." When I got home, I discovered I was right. The other was an EE who was not laying yet (my others have been laying prolifically for weeks) and she had started sneezing and wheezing/whistling when she breathed a couple of days before I left. She was still running around, eating, acting normal without any nasal discharge or anything, but I guess she was not well.
Anyway, thanks again to everyone. We are doing very well now and we know what to do in the future if another heatwave strikes!
