lobbing 4 month old chicks any thoughts?

[thetinleys]

It is a little warm today and I have a couple of 4month old chicks that keep lobbing over on their sides. they walk around, eat, drink and are alert they just keep falling over. My it is almost 80. They have shade they can go to....Help:

 

[jenni2142]

do they kind of stretch out and raise their feathers when they do? mine look like that when they are sunbathing, the first time they did it as chicks I thought they were about to die. I think most of us have been frightened of seeing them just fall over in the sun.

 

[thetinleys]

No they just seem to fall over and then wait a couple of minutes and get back up

 

[LynneP]

You can offer soda bottles or other plastic jugs with ice inside. Will take a while to freeze some though. They're young for a foot bath, I'd be afraid of using that. Do you have electricity to offer a fan outside the wire? Helps to dig them holes, too and be sure the coop ventilation is both safe and adequate.

These chicks are probably going to need electrolytes in their water, and you can feed them super-cold diced cucumber to cool the gut.

Some more thoughts-

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=7693-seasonal-concerns


After you get them cooled, watch them closely in case this is not a heat-related event.

 

[thetinleys]

Oh thanks, I did not have cucumber, but I thought it would be good to give them something cold so I had a 1/2 a watermelon and they ate it right up. I hope that was okay. I just thought if it was something cool and full of water it might help

 

[LynneP]

Watermelon, cukes, tomatoes...that was a great idea!