Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

We've decided to shorten our weekend to just Friday morning to Saturday evening. So we need one less day of chicken tending from the neighbor. Still, this coming week and then who knows how long, is worrisome.

We don't have a shade cloth. We have been hosing the building down every hour or two. Most of the day it is in the shade, but in the afternoon it does get a lot of sun. The only days we won't be able to do that is that Friday/Saturday.

We have one box fan and one smaller battery fan. I'll check and see if any neighbors have more. I may try to take down some of the walls myself and replace them with chicken wire. I know that would help air flow lower down.

I can't put a hose on a timer. For lots of reasons, my well system won't allow that. I'll have to hope our neighbor will take care of them.

We won't have this problem next summer. The new coop will fix that. But it's not ready now. It's not predator proof in any way...its just a shed. It can't be ready any time soon.

I'm wondering... worst case scenario... what if I tell the neighbor to just let them out of the run? Will they go find a cooler place? More importantly, will they come back? I don't know where that leaves Eenie and the triplets. They'll be 2 weeks old on Thursday.

Have you mentioned your worries to your neighbour?

Most people are more than willing to go the extra mile I have found. I bet if you explained to the guy which hen is extremely sensitive to heat, and the babies need a fan on them - I bet he would be more than happy to help out.

My horse neighbour and I regularly help each other out with our horses. Both of us have been known to just jump in our trucks and pop over when we have emergencies.

Te shade: Even a tarpaulin used as a shade clothe would help. Or an old sheet, I have a neighbour here that placed an old sheet in front of his coop/run for shade, and it doubled as a movie screen in the summer not sure what the chickens thought of that!! I think he got it at a second hand store.

I would not let them roam due to predators, and if they are not used to being out that would be worse than maybe the heat.

Is there a Walmart nearby or Harbour freight? I got some nice box fans for my mums RV there when she used to go to AZ. Maybe your neighbours can loan you a few.

Worse case, I would throw an old sheet up over / in front of the run for shade. And put that fan on the babies. Are they running with the flock yet?
Shade: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/victorian-greenhouse-vi46-in-2023--384213411975337804/

 

[Ponypoor]

Am so behind. But am popping in and around, and saw this discussion, I may be missing parts but I haven't seen these thoughts offered yet (forgive me if they have been)

1. You might do at least a free consult with a workplace harassment / workplace bullying attorney to get an idea of your legal recourse.

2. HR departments are established by management to try to smooth employer/employee relations. HR are not employee advocates in a true sense. They are not there to "help" employees except when it is in management's interest to do so, such as administration of workplace programs established by management. They help management hire you and fire you. One might consider workplace bullying to be not in anyone's interest, but management will do a cost/benefit analysis of sorts and usually decides in the bully supervisor's favor if they meet all other metrics of their job. Seems to me your story follows this pattern. Only the law (see #1) with the possibility of suit has any real influence, all other factors being equal.

3. Is your workplace union a stand-alone union, or do you have a state or national "mothership" or at least an affiliation with one? They can be very helpful, particularly to the new officers in helping you - they will consult remotely by phone / video or may even send a rep to you to advise.

4. (and #1). Unions usually have one or more attorneys who could also help, at least examine what you have in an initial free consult and advise next steps, or advise who better to consult for the issue. The union would be hiring them, not you personally. And I wonder if it could take just a warning letter from a union attorney, not a full-blown suit, to force a clear-eyed review of the situation by the bully's own supervisors. (But these types of awful people often get hired by the same types of awful people, so that might be wishful thinking on my part.)

Tax: Buckeyes eating seeds. Today Butters ate several worms and also a good teaspoon's worth of sunflower seeds. It's promising but not enough. I am going to weigh her tomorrow.
View attachment 3588306

A Fluffy Butt too
View attachment 3588300

That look very content , I love when they are out and about doing chicken things

Re HR: I would also check for any workplace harassment/bullying policies that are in place, those are there to protect workers, and can be used in n the case of a grievance.

 

[ManueB]

Amazon to the rescue. 2, 10x20 shade cloths ordered. We'll do what we can.

I was thinking about this last night. I didn't answer because I don't have experience with such heat, but I was thinking you should do exactly what you did- shorten your stay.

If your neighbours are only coming once a day, ask them if possible to come just before it gets really hot, so anything they do will be most useful. Maybe you could leave ice bottles or ice packs in the freezer for them to put in the coop, or give them some they can bring from their home.

Any shade will make a difference but ideally if it lets air flow it would be better.

If you succeed in getting to the roof, any material you have that could be spread over the metal roof would also help to isolate. We put old reed fencing on top of our run's roof to cool it.

If they don't have access to it, put a dustbath in the coop. You can improvise using any right sized recipient. Burying themselves in dirt, earth, help the chickens keep cool. If the neighbors are willing they can dampen it slightly.

I hope it will work out for the best. Kelly is right, mention your concerns to the neighbors. If it comes to the worse and they find a very unwell chicken or a dead one, it will be easier for them to give you a call and tell you about it.

 

[Ponypoor]

I live in the middle of nowhere. No home depot or harbor freight within an hour's drive.

As a reminder, here's the current shed.View attachment 3588307
The coop is in the back, left corner. The front faces South. In the early afternoon, the shed and run are not shaded much...maybe the back few feet. In addition to the two doors, there are windows on each end.

Are you saying a shade cloth staked off the front, like a porch roof, would help? Or would it need to cover the roof? Not sure how I'd get it up there, assuming I can buy one. Would it have to be suspended, or would just laying it on the metal roof help?

I would either hoist that silver tarp up or fold it back up top of the coop, that would be containing the heat in there. It doesn’t allow for air flow the way it is.

If you have an old sheet you can place it like an awning over the doorway to cut down on the sunlight reaching there. But you need to be careful to allow air to circulate, the awning should be at least 4 or 5’ off the ground.
(Similar to this: https://www.temu.com/goods.html?_bg...8n&refer_page_sn=14004&_x_sessn_id=7kjuyn4w7p)

 

[Ponypoor]

It’s hot out in the coop. Chooks are not comfortable in their home. I have three in my house. This weather has been crazy lately!

Fans fans fans for you also

Be careful in this heat, not good for man or beast.

 

[Ponypoor]

Amazon to the rescue. 2, 10x20 shade cloths ordered. We'll do what we can.

Gosh I love Amazon - I was so against it, but it’s been a good source of items for me.

Just like the Sears Catalog was 100 yrs ago

 

[Ponypoor]

I was thinking about this last night. I didn't answer because I don't have experience with such heat, but I was thinking you should do exactly what you did- shorten your stay.

If your neighbours are only coming once a day, ask them if possible to come just before it gets really hot, so anything they do will be most useful. Maybe you could leave ice bottles or ice packs in the freezer for them to put in the coop, or give them some they can bring from their home.

Any shade will make a difference but ideally if it lets air flow it would be better.

If you succeed in getting to the roof, any material you have that could be spread over the metal roof would also help to isolate. We put old reed fencing on top of our run's roof to cool it.

If they don't have access to it, put a dustbath in the coop. You can improvise using any right sized recipient. Burying themselves in dirt, earth, help the chickens keep cool. If the neighbors are willing they can dampen it slightly.

I hope it will work out for the best. Kelly is right, mention your concerns to the neighbors. If it comes to the worse and they find a very unwell chicken or a dead one, it will be easier for them to give you a call and tell you about it.

I was thinking about the damp soil, a kiddie pool with a few bags of play sand that is dampened with water would likely help, and frozen water bottles can be buried in the sand to help keep cool.

Heat I think is far worse than cold .

 

[notabitail]

I was thinking about the damp soil, a kiddie pool with a few bags of play sand that is dampened with water would likely help, and frozen water bottles can be buried in the sand to help keep cool.

Heat I think is far worse than cold .

Josey said her comb is cool. She is using it as a marketing technique to advertise her Empire on BeakBook.
It's hot over here and the chooks are appreciating the trees.

 

[Ponypoor]

Josey said her comb is cool. She is using it as a marketing technique to advertise her Empire on BeakBook.
It's hot over here and the chooks are appreciating the trees.

Trees are the perfect shade of well placed - but they can be a liability in bad weather!

 

[Marie2020]

Have you mentioned your worries to your neighbour?

Most people are more than willing to go the extra mile I have found. I bet if you explained to the guy which hen is extremely sensitive to heat, and the babies need a fan on them - I bet he would be more than happy to help out.

My horse neighbour and I regularly help each other out with our horses. Both of us have been known to just jump in our trucks and pop over when we have emergencies.

Te shade: Even a tarpaulin used as a shade clothe would help. Or an old sheet, I have a neighbour here that placed an old sheet in front of his coop/run for shade, and it doubled as a movie screen in the summer not sure what the chickens thought of that!! I think he got it at a second hand store.

I would not let them roam due to predators, and if they are not used to being out that would be worse than maybe the heat.

Is there a Walmart nearby or Harbour freight? I got some nice box fans for my mums RV there when she used to go to AZ. Maybe your neighbours can loan you a few.

Worse case, I would throw an old sheet up over / in front of the run for shade. And put that fan on the babies. Are they running with the flock yet?
Shade: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/victorian-greenhouse-vi46-in-2023--384213411975337804/

I've used a thick cotton sheet for over a year now. It's a huge help with keeping the sun as well as the rain off. It's a permanent fixture now. It also helps keeping the winds off. I fix it into the doors

@Lillion