My chickens are HOT. Can I give them strwberries? They are seven weeks old and have already had zucchini... HELP quick!
Are they hot because the weather is very hot where you are? Just make sure they have lots of cool water to drink. If outside, make sure they have shade. I'm sure they would like the strawberries, but I'm not sure that would cool them off. It's okay if they are panting and put their wings out. They are trying to cool off. You could also put liter bottles of frozen water in with them if you think they are suffering.
Yes, you can give them strawberries. I gave mine some today and gave them some cucumber peelings the other day. They ate it right up. Not sure if it cooled them off though.
I am in western MD and it is 95 today with 80% humidity so it feels like 105. I have a small fan in the coop to help circulate the air, I put a frozen bottle of water inside the waterer and I hosed down part of their run (grass and shade area) for them to lay in. The fresh cool water is the most important thing I think. I got a watermelon today and put the rinds in the freezer for a while and gave them to the chickies to nibble on for a cool treat.
Watermelon from the fridge,cold and juicy seems to do the trick for all my girls including the the new arrivals now at 8 wks and getting big. As implied in the title, watermelon has a high water content so when its cold the chickens will eat it,they are much more inclined to eat than drink. By giving them melon they get cool hydration.
I brought mine in the house all day and night. My 3, 12 week olds were extremely good and stayed in the kitchen while the 5 smaller ones were in the kennel downstairs. In the heat, they were all on the brooder floor with their necks stretched out, wings away from body panting. I then decided to bring them in. The fan in the coop was just blowing around the hot air. I filled the water with ice and put a gallon jug ice block in front of the fan. I tried putting them out at night, but it was 95 degrees at 10pm. That's when I brought them back in the house until morning. I have a small flock of 8, so it worked out. Good luck! I hope it goes okay. This heat is horrible!
