It's been a very rough first year with chickens. Anyone else?

[thecatumbrella]

Oh wow. That flooding is pretty severe, isn't it? Do you live somewhere with clay soil?

Unless you have white chickens with massive combs (ex. leghorns), I believe most breeds will start to struggle when it hits 90. The summers have been unbelievably cruel. Especially this year.

My first year of chicken keeping was an absolute show. You can read and prepare as much as you want. It won't matter. Once the chickens are on your property, you'll discover all the flaws in your system. And you're trying to get into a routine as well.

We restarted this year with a completely new breed, and even though I have the same infrastructure, I've been dealing with new fires that I couldn't anticipate that are unique to these birds. The insane heat being one of many factors.

Fingers crossed we can both hang in there and get through this! I'm sorry it's been so rough.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Yes unfortunately sometimes the first year is the hardest.
My first spring I lived with a shovel in my hand digging drainage ditches, building dams and adding gutters to my run.
My first summer I spent my time adding screen doors and shade curtains. and buying a barn fan.
My first fall I spent my time adding string to my chicken yard to try and deter the migrating hawks from eating my girls.
My first winter I spent my time wrapping the north side of the coop and running the bucket brigade because water freezes fast.
Chicken keeping is not for the faint if heart but it get easier and more fun I promise. Once you get everything set up and know what to expect you will be able to just have your normal chicken chores and enjoy your flock.

Exactly true! I'm in CT with the four seasons and each incoming season has me thinking of duties required to help the chickens thrive. It's summer now so fans are set up, dishes for cold treats and freezing water. Dehydrator set up for harvested herbs and veggies to store for winter. Chicken keeping learning curve is real and I dont miss my year of 'firsts'. Each season brings its own struggles. Fall time is our favorite! Weather is great and the garden has lots of yummy stuff for harvest. Cool morning, cool evenings, lots of downed leaves to collect for winter! This year i will invest in a wall mounted heater. The winter this year was brutal and my older gals told me they would love that for next winter. finally finished the playground with the cargo net roof!

 

[Ahoragi]

Oh wow. That flooding is pretty severe, isn't it? Do you live somewhere with clay soil?

Unless you have white chickens with massive combs (ex. leghorns), I believe most breeds will start to struggle when it hits 90. The summers have been unbelievably cruel. Especially this year.

My first year of chicken keeping was an absolute show. You can read and prepare as much as you want. It won't matter. Once the chickens are on your property, you'll discover all the flaws in your system. And you're trying to get into a routine as well.

We restarted this year with a completely new breed, and even though I have the same infrastructure, I've been dealing with new fires that I couldn't anticipate that are unique to these birds. The insane heat being one of many factors.

Fingers crossed we can both hang in there and get through this! I'm sorry it's been so rough.

No clay at this location. We live in the middle of a farm land. Our house used to be used by the farmhands and later was converted into a regular home. It is downfield from a section of farm so when it rains extremely hard the rain starts to flow towards us and overruns the property. It's our first year living here and finally understood what the french drain was for that went across the property. Unfortunately french drains are not ideal for flowing water, but better suited to move standing water to another location. The massive amount of water from the field came down so sudden and just bypassed the drain.

The pictures show the field starting to have standing water and then it comes at us. The french drain is in front of the solar panels, which are 33 ft long. The runoff from the solar panels drops into the same french drain. Easily overwhelmed.

We found a local rental company willing to rent out a mini excavator so I am going to fix this problem once and for all.