Illinois...

The heat wave that broke yesterday was very tough on my girls. Even though we brought them in a few at a time - those that were stressing too bad - we lost many. One hurt a lot. Her name was Sande. I'd like to tell you about her.

Sande was named after my cousin who died recently. She was 1 year old Wheaten and made herself stick out amongst the crowd in many ways. She would always run interference for me between our head rooster and me. She layed a consistently large, dark blue toned and vibrant egg that was unusually shaped - long and less oval than a regular egg. Her eggs were always fertile and always hatched hens. She like to ride on your forearm and would jump up there even if the arm was straight or carrying something. She knew her name.

I had been out earlier and saw she was stressing in the small ark roosting area but decided to leave her be as there were 2 other hens in that ark on the ground and I could not pull it without risking them. I knew she was trying to lay and I loved her eggs. My husband was busy so I decided not to bother him and told myself I was just being a nervous nelly - she's laying and she will be fine. I went to my chores and returned a few hours later with my husband to move the ark to a shady spot. When I looked in to gather the unique egg I'm sure she layed, she was still in the box - dead. I wish I had brought her in..

We lost so many - silly to be crying for days over 1 silly bird.......
 
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Not silly at all, Denise
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Oh my, you are breaking my heart! I am so sorry you lost any, but extreamly sad you lost one that you loved so much. This heat had me in fits, I was so glad I had more days off then at work, I was able to be a nervous Nelly and change the water, move the fan, add ice chunks, freeze special treats and turn on a mister... Some times there is just nothing you can do. God Speed Sande.
 
ParadiseFoundFarm, so sorry to hear about Sande.

Four of my five were panting a lot this week, the two older ones even were panting on the perch at night. I set up multiple water dishes, and replaced the water with fresh cool water in the afternoon. There is a small fan inside the coop, I had a larger one blowing across the run during the day; at night I'd point it towards one of the coop windows. I'd also water down the run in the evening, so it would be damp (and lots of bugs) in the morning. One thing they really appreciated- I have one of those plastic terra-cotta colored dishes that go under large plants, maybe 18" diameter, and put an inch of cold water in it. The two big girls would take turns just standing in it for long stretches. That seems to really help, they weren't panting when they were standing in the water.

good thing the weather has broken.

Here's Mossy standing in the water tray, it was about 95 degrees F at the time. (She is splay legged, that's why her stance is awkward)
I'd change the water in the tray several times a day because they'd drink it and poop in it.
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Hi everyone. I am a newbie from Burbank, IL. Trying to find other people from my area to try and change the ordinance to allow chickens. Currently I do have one chicken that I am keeping and it hasn’t been an issue. I would love to get 2 or 3 more and not have to worry about getting caught. Let me know if you know of anyone who has started something to change the rules and regulations.
 
Hey IL peeps... Will be selling BQ Cornish and Cornish EE birds here shortly, have plenty of birds to choose from now for my needs. Colors will be BLR, WLR, and Dark.
 

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