Losing another hen to this awful heat

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Oh, no........

Darling Doe

Last year I had a black pullet "get stuck" on one side of the fence, with no shade in a 100 degree plus day. I am not sure how long she was there, or how long she paced the fence (she was young, 16 weeks and had not figured out that the door was 15 feet down the fence line) but when I found her - she could not stand and was a hot limp mess in my hands. Not sure what to do, I put her in a water pan (ducks so we must have pans to swim in) with her head sticking over the side, moved her into the shade. It took her a while, but she did recover and some how learned where the door to the run is.

But we do not have the humidity you have - even with your lack of rain, I am sure I would be complaining about it

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I am so, so sorry to hear about Doe.

 

[gritsar]

I mentioned to DH about making the brahma coop a bachelor pad for the roos, but he doesn't think it would be possible. The brahma girls have lived in that coop their whole lives and are very much attached to it. There is an area in the brahma coop that could be fenced off; problem is, not enough ventilation.

Gotta think! Gotta think! I am not willing to lose more hens to raging hormones.

Yesterday I hosed the brahma girls down with a fine mist from the hose. They hated it and tried to run, but I soaked em for their own good anyways.

Something else that would be nice - if the girls would take a break from egglaying for awhile. I feel so bad for them when I see them in a nestbox, panting away. They have fans on the nestboxes, but still.... I'd rather they just lay around in the shade for now.

Sorry y'all, just venting and "thinking" out loud. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks for the condolences. Doe and I had grown pretty close.

 

[Larkspur88]

Extremely hot here in sc too. Has me worried about my chickens too.

 

[ranchhand]

Oh darn, Kat, so sorry.

Wasn't Doe the one with they under-wing injury? If so, could that have contributed?

 

[BrattishTaz]

Sorry Gritty.

Mine have been panting away in this heat. They are standing in their water pan to cool off and I hosed them down yesterday. They were not happy. I've started closing the coops up so they can't get inside. It is better for them to hang out under the trees.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Ranchy, I used vetericyn on her under wing injury and I consider that stuff to be a miracle drug. It should be for what a bottle of it cost. She was healed up and everything looked good. I was unwilling to return her to the coop until she was healed.

I really have to blame this one on the heat and being harrassed by TJ and the others. For some reason the roos were very attracted to her.

I just hosed the brahma girls down again, as well as their whole, what I guess you would call, chicken yard. The younger birds have fled to the woods.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
Um... look on Craigslist for a dog kennel and put it inside one of the other pens? Um.....

Or ... I guess you could cull anyone that doesn't wing dance / ask - and/or anyone that chases more then XX (25ish) feet ... then you only have polite roosters, the hens can then say -no-

Now my boys are not breeding as much because they are also effected by heat- if your boys are still at it all the time relentlessnessly they are not being bothered by the heat...

who's going to chase hens down to breed when they are that uncomfortable?

Lets see- what else-

Frozen 2 litters bottles in the kiddy pools?

Treats (starch) given less- healthy food put only were the temps are best in the yard...

ok what else...

Oh my kiddy pool has a piece of scrap running like a ramp- just in-case someone (like my silkie) gets too wet to jump out...

Now again I'm doing as little as possible (the smoke was bad and I'm allergic to it) and have had no losses to heat (a wind storm killed some of my doves- they wouldn't coop and got blown around...stupid birds!!

)

So it may all depend on what they are used to, mine are FL chickens that have always had high heat- so they have an advantage... of 15 layers I'm getting 13 eggs...

Also mine are not going hot/cool/hotter/cooler/hot depending on where they are in the yard... everything is roughly the same temp... (excluding the water and only the adultsl know to go stand in it so far...)

 

[gryeyes]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Doe! From your earlier stories, I almost felt like I knew her.

I lost one of my Splash JGs earlier this week in the 100+ heat; I could find no injury or reason, and he was laying in the mud next to the kiddie pool, which the ducks had turned into a mud pool. I've been very worried about my broody hens and the 5 or 8 chicks which have hatched lately, so there are waterers all over my back yard. Plus the puddle from the leaky hose in the front yard.

It just seems like such a senseless way to lose any animal.

 

[FireTigeris]

Quote:
I'm sorry for your loss also-

but there's not a lot we can do- some are made to tolerate heat, some don't have the instinct or the constitution (or both)...

I've spent a lot to make my birds safe, when they do something stupid...

(see 'do chickens have a reverse gear?' )

or luck is bad- it is frustrating that we lose our babies.