MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Most of Oz is suffering heatwave conditions for about 4 days straight. Some places have threatened to hit 50C [that's 122F]. Being coastal & in a strange little ecological pocket, we are missing most of it. We were on the mainland Monday & it was quite awful The shops air con was struggling to cope & we headed home before the worst of it.

Down here today's forecast has jumped from 42 to 45, so it'll probably reach 46 or 47. The BoM hasn't quite nailed the forecasts for heatwaves yet. It's usually hotter than they predict.

So I'm rethinking the chickens options. I might put the sprinkler on for them in the yard where there's shade til lunchtime. Or I might go get a few bags of ice to stack in the henhouse.

 

[MaryJanet]

That is almost 108°F for those of us on this side of the Pacific. It's amazing that you can get it down to 95°. I can see why you considered bringing them in. I would consider the same thing at 108°. Keep your eye on them. How long is this supposed to last? The longer it goes the harder it will be for them.

I may bring mary inside today. The heat is very hard for her.

 

[Ribh]

I may bring mary inside today. The heat is very hard for her.

For an Australian bred bird I found the Australorps didn't really like extreme heat. The BRs actually do much better & none of my girls have been really struggling ~ but then both coop & run have lots of shade & usually a breeze. They do complain if the breeze drops out.

 

[MaryJanet]

That is almost 108°F for those of us on this side of the Pacific. It's amazing that you can get it down to 95°. I can see why you considered bringing them in. I would consider the same thing at 108°. Keep your eye on them. How long is this supposed to last? The longer it goes the harder it will be for them.

A few more days yet Bob and it will be hotter and hotter before breaking on Saturday.

 

[Ribh]

Down here today's forecast has jumped from 42 to 45, so it'll probably reach 46 or 47. The BoM hasn't quite nailed the forecasts for heatwaves yet. It's usually hotter than they predict.

So I'm rethinking the chickens options. I might put the sprinkler on for them in the yard where there's shade til lunchtime. Or I might go get a few bags of ice to stack in the henhouse.

I like the bags of ice in the coop idea. That should really help ~ especially if you have a fan too.

 

[MaryJanet]

For an Australian bred bird I found the Australorps didn't really like extreme heat. The BRs actually do much better & none of my girls have been really struggling ~ but then both coop run have lots of shade & usually a breeze. They do complain if the breeze drops out.

I chose the breed because they're reputed to be resilient in the heat, but that's far from true. Not sure who's writing the breed profiles, but they're way off the mark wrt heat tolerance. She'll be ok in the bathroom. I'll probably bring them all in. The air conditioning will just about reach that far and the tiles are nice and cool. Oh! I'll put an old sheet down to make the clean up easier.

 

[Ribh]

I chose the breed because they're reputed to be resilient in the heat, but that's far from true. Not sure who's writing the breed profiles, but they're way off the mark wrt heat tolerance. She'll be ok in the bathroom. I'll probably bring them all in. The air conditioning will just about reach that far and the tiles are nice and cool. Oh! I'll put an old sheet down to make the clean up easier.

Yes, it was one reason I chose them too, MJ, but heat tolerance is just not true. Mine hated the heat & didn't do well in even a little bit of it. The bathroom is a good idea.

 

[MaryJanet]

That is almost 108°F for those of us on this side of the Pacific. It's amazing that you can get it down to 95°. I can see why you considered bringing them in. I would consider the same thing at 108°. Keep your eye on them. How long is this supposed to last? The longer it goes the harder it will be for them.

The misting system turns the whole henhouse into a big evaporative aircondioner. It's very effective! It's not too wasteful of water because the nozzles are so fine. A litre/hour.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes, it was one reason I chose them too, MJ, but heat tolerance is just not true. Mine hated the heat & didn't do well in even a little bit of it. The bathroom is a good idea.

I've set it up with old sheets on the floor. Once the hens are too hot to outrun me, I'll bring them in. I tried to lure them with lettuce but they wouldn't cross the threshold. They'll have to be captured.

 

[MaryJanet]

Catching Mary was not easy.

Sandy was delightful.

Janet was ok once she was in a confined space.