High Heat Index! Baby Chicks not doing ok....

[kfisher123]

HELP! We are new chicken owners of 5 bearded silkies who are 4 weeks old. We live in Wisconsin, the current temp is 97 and the heat index is 110. We moved the chicks last night from our garage to our screened in porch and were doing fine with an overhead fan. Just now we went to check their water and 2 of them were laying down and didn't really move when I went to pick them up. We quickly moved them all to our mudroom. We have our air conditioning on, set at 72. My question is, is this too cold for them now? Should I just keep checking their behavior for signs of being cold? Also, is their any other concerns I should have with them now. Thank you for any help!!

 

[easttxchick]

You did good moving them inside. I would raise the temp to about 75 degrees and they should be good to go.
I would watch them for signs of being too cool, but other than that, they should be OK.

 

[cuntryuppiechick]

Maybe polyvisol if they aren't perking up or something to replace electrolytes? I'm not an expert, just what I might think of.

 

[CMTSMWC]

I would also put some unflavored pedialyte into their water just in case they became dehydrated. If they weren't very energetic when you went to pick them up that's a good sign of dehydration.

 

[LarryPQ]

Here's some ideas for when you move the chicks outside. I took these the day it was 118 outside, and 60% humidty.

I fill yogurt tubs with water and scraps and freeze them. The big green cube is an alfalfa cube. The brown thing is not a turd, but the last of my frozen bananas

The chicks in the picture came to me almost dead from being transported in the extreme heat. We force fed them sugar water and electrolytes and set them on top of the Jeffers ice pack until until they perked up. When they got cold, they moved away. Some chicks would jump up and streeeeeetch over the cubes.

 

[easttxchick]

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Oh, this is a fan-freakin'-tastic idea! Thanks for sharing. We have some pretty extreme temps here as well, so I'm going to file your "igloo" idea away for future use!

 

[Stacykins]

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To keep waterers cool I've been filling up bottles with water, cleaned soda cans, etc. freezing them and popping them into the waterer. Tops open, so as the ice melts, it flows to the rest of the available water. I have a few BIG jugs that I ice over and put with the chickens, too, so they can cool off by sitting on or next to them. I have also been treating them to frozen watermelon at the heat of the day. They LOVE it and I am sure it helps cool them off for a bit like enjoying ice cream does for us!

To help perk up your babies after they were outside for a while, you can definitely give them an electrolyte drink like gatorade or polyvisol. You can also make your own very easily using a bit of iodized salt, sugar, and juice mixed in water. The temperature of 72 degrees shouldn't be too cold, and they can warm up in the cool easier than they can cool down in the hot! I have my four weekers in the cool basement with no additional heat since they are fully feathered. I want to put them outside, but it is too hot for me to do so safely until this heat wave backs off.

 

[Gypsy07]

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I was wondering what that turdlike thing could be. Great ideas and great pics.

Unfortunately never likely to be applicable in Scotland though...

 

[LarryPQ]

...Yeah I don't keep frozen turds in the freezer, despite what the neighbors might think.

 

[easttxchick]

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