Losing another hen to this awful heat

[gritsar]

Quote:
The rest are doing good Red *knock on wood*, thanks for asking.

Doe and Brigid both had problems in addition to the heat. Doe with her wound and Brigid her egg peritonitis.

Temps. are supposed to be in the 100s all week, so I'm being very cautious. I just came in from doing my chicken chores. I moved slow and easy, lots of breaks. I'm still soaking wet with sweat. I could handle the heat if it weren't for the humidity. The heat index right now is 102* I can only imagine what August will be like.

 

[gritsar]

Thanks for the condolences y'all.

 

[Keltara]

Kat
I was wondering if you were able to get that mister system up, and if so how it helped? Hope all your chickens are faring okay in the continued heat. I also wanted to let you know that I've found another solution to help the birds cool off. Check out my post...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=535505
~Kelly~

 

[cuntryuppiechick]

Home Depot had a $10 garden snake mister. Mine love it. DH said you could you could assemble one cheaper from parts. I mists and wets about an 8 ft circle.

 

[gritsar]

We hooked up a system using parts leftover from the misters in the commercial houses. So far the chickens don't seem impressed, but they like to stand in the mud it creates. We should put down gravel, but they probably wouldn't enjoy that as much.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Sorry about your chickens, I lost 2 as well. So I put up more fans, even a big one in the hay loft. When it gets really hot, I put frozen water bottles inside their water jugs. Plus the ones running loose love to play in the running water when I am filling waterers. And they always enjoy watermelon .

 

[bburn]

Gritty....so sorry about your losses.

This weather is the worst. My chickens always seem to fare well in the summer but I always worry.

We freeze everything we can find with water in it. Gallon milk jug down in the 5 gallon waterer. Sour cream containers with water frozen in them in all the other waterers. Shade stations set up everywhere. I too see my hens standing in the water dish....they line up to get in it. We also go out several times a day and run water over the coops as they are tin and it drops the temps a bit especially when they are in nests laying.

The positive side of our tin coops are the cross breeze they get because of where they are placed. It was an accident that it happens but I have been pleased that it happens.

All treats are cold treats. Watermelon, cantalope.....greens out of the fridge. Frozen peas that are thawing some by the time we get out there with them. They love peas.

When we water they are getting fresh also in the satillite dish we have leaned in the big run plus it runs out of the lip and everyone benefits from the running water.

We are worried up here also but the chickens look good for now. We have had more problems with predators.....racoons and this morning a black snake eating 10 eggs under my broody hen. Now to break the broody.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
This summer has been horrible so far hasn't it? Worst one since I moved to Arkansas in 2004. And August isn't even here yet.

We moved one of the coops deeper into the shade the other day. It feels about 10 degrees cooler in there now.

Sorry about your broody's eggs.

We're having a problem with snakes - black and mocassins - coming up around the house this year; looking for water no doubt. We haven't had a significant amount of rain since the end of May.

 

[bburn]

Quote:
This summer has been horrible so far hasn't it? Worst one since I moved to Arkansas in 2004. And August isn't even here yet.

We moved one of the coops deeper into the shade the other day. It feels about 10 degrees cooler in there now.

Sorry about your broody's eggs.

We're having a problem with snakes - black and mocassins - coming up around the house this year; looking for water no doubt. We haven't had a significant amount of rain since the end of May.

After the storms this spring I thought it would be really nice when they stopped. But the rain stopped alltogether! We have had a couple of 'lonely showers' in the last few weeks but nothing much. Just up here trying to keep the chickens safe and happy. DH built the third coop and run last week in all this heat and was not real nice about it but got it done. Got some great looking chickens out of my hatches but trying to weed out the roosters.....really want one coop and run to have nothing but hens! And I really don't mind cooking the roosters but need to grow them out quite a bit more first.

Sure thought I was gonna have a broody hatching some eggs and we were all upset over it. DH has always wanted a hen with chicks.

 

[EweSheep]

Its been so hot lately and I feel for them. They are tolerating it pretty well if you ask me.