New Mexico

[Tikkijane]

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Hey there Tikkijane....boy we are GAGGING on fire smoke! The fires are burning to our north, south, east AND west!! Right now the Donaldson fire is sending up huge plumbs off thick smoke. Yesterday we actually had, for the first time since last September....RAIN!! A down pour for about 1 hour and received about 1 1/2 inches of rain. What a god send. The trees have been dying left and right up here. The deer are so thin you could blow them over. We were hoping that it rained in Hondo, which is south of us on that Donaldson fire, but alas, nothing down there. So hopefully the monsoons are starting.

How is the drought out your way? How are your poultry handling all the heat we have been having?

Drought is still terribly bad here- we didn't get anything either.

Today was cooler- seemed to only be around 100. We're trying to keep them cooler with a variety of methods, and so far they seem to be tolerating, <knock on wood> SO glad you all got something wet, though. We had some sprinkles a week or so ago, but nothing substantial, and I think my house might have been one of the only ones under the cloud.

I was thinking of you yesterday evening as I was sitting out with chickies and smelling smoke all night. Wondered how you were making out, given the ability of fire to grow and multiply so rapidly and thinking they were pretty well dotted all around you.

Thinking about evacuees that perhaps have to leave chickens and other animals behind................

Glad to know you are ok at this point! And YES, monsoons can start any time now!!

 

[TwoCrows]

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Yes, the smoke can be really bad at times...almost apocalyptic! Yesterday we couldn't see more than a 1/4 mile thru the smoke. And it really makes you cough. Your lungs can really get to hurting. Atleast the heat has calmed down. Up in these mountains, we are not used to 90's. All the grass and foliage, trees, all dying. It is almost unheard of to get to 90 degrees at this altitude of 7,000 feet. I have been hosing down the chickens shade and feeding my quail cold peas and lettuce to keep them cool. But I am worried about how the smoke is going to affect these birds lungs. I know that birds have delicate breathing systems and my chickens are only 4 months old. Do you think it is going to hurt them? Sometimes I really feel sorry for them when I go to lock them into the coop at night and the smoke is at gagging strength. Some nights we can barely sleep with the smoke pouring in. Hopefully we never have to evacuate. I don't think shelters take chickens, quail, a dog and a parrot.

Well, I hope you all get some rain soon. We all need it so badly. Thanks for the thoughts. Oh, where are you located? The "desert" always sounds nice when winter sets in around here.

 

[Yolkmountain]

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Thanks for posting this.. I will contact him...AGAIN!!! Seems he is not remembering clearly!

 

[Yolkmountain]

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I got a good hatch out of my BCM this time... It will be a little while before I have eggs but I am thrilled with the birds... great personality and beautiful!

 

[Tikkijane]

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We are in Roswell.

The mountains *always* sound good to us! Generally, we're up there several times during the summer, but given the fires, we are staying put.

I have no idea about the smoke, but would certainly be concerned. I probably don't have as many birds as you have, but I would think about moving them inside somewhere if I could- the garage, etc. Or try to figure out some way to filter or have good circulation as possible. I don't think they would probably let you you put bandannas on them, lol.

Hopefully we can all catch a break and get the fires out soon. It is supposed to be cooler here, too, topping out at 97. We'll see if that actually happens. We do have a little bit of cloud cover, and it feels cooler at this point.

Hoping you get clean air soon!

 

[Yolkmountain]

Rain, glorious Rain! We finally got some rain yesterday. About an hours worth total but it left plenty of mud for the chickens to play in.... on took a complete mud bath, maybe she is part pig? It has been so long since we have had rain I actually had tears in my eyes... as a child in Ohio I never would have dreamed of wanting the rain so bad I would cry tears of joy when it came... Happy 4th to all... may it be a rainy one!

 

[TwoCrows]

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Hey there Tikkijane....boy we are GAGGING on fire smoke! The fires are burning to our north, south, east AND west!! Right now the Donaldson fire is sending up huge plumbs off thick smoke. Yesterday we actually had, for the first time since last September....RAIN!! A down pour for about 1 hour and received about 1 1/2 inches of rain. What a god send. The trees have been dying left and right up here. The deer are so thin you could blow them over. We were hoping that it rained in Hondo, which is south of us on that Donaldson fire, but alas, nothing down there. So hopefully the monsoons are starting.

How is the drought out your way? How are your poultry handling all the heat we have been having?

Drought is still terribly bad here- we didn't get anything either.

Today was cooler- seemed to only be around 100. We're trying to keep them cooler with a variety of methods, and so far they seem to be tolerating, <knock on wood> SO glad you all got something wet, though. We had some sprinkles a week or so ago, but nothing substantial, and I think my house might have been one of the only ones under the cloud.

I was thinking of you yesterday evening as I was sitting out with chickies and smelling smoke all night. Wondered how you were making out, given the ability of fire to grow and multiply so rapidly and thinking they were pretty well dotted all around you.

Thinking about evacuees that perhaps have to leave chickens and other animals behind................

Glad to know you are ok at this point! And YES, monsoons can start any time now!!

Tikkijane.....If you are ever up this way soon, give me a hollar with a PM if you would like to get together and talk Chicken! ...Leyla

 

[Tikkijane]

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And likewise, Lelyal! If you ever get down here and need (or not

) a chicken fix, holler and you can come hang out with us!

 

[TwoCrows]

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And likewise, Lelyal! If you ever get down here and need (or not

) a chicken fix, holler and you can come hang out with us!

Thanks for the invite Tikkijane, occasionally I do get to Roswell. As you know, this place is devoid of all of the good stuff!

How many chickens do you keep and what type are they? I only have 4 Australorp girls. They are now 4 1/2 months old. I love them to death. Had I known chickens could be so fun and sweet, I would have gotten into them years ago. Mine are TOTAL lap chickens.

I also keep 5 Bobwhite quail. I have had more in the past, but I am letting this crowd live out their lives and I am not replacing them. Too much poultry in the yard. LOL

Hope the heat remains at a tolerable level for you this week. Pray for the rains! Take care, Leyla

 

[Tikkijane]

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We've got 13, although I will be surprised if at least one more doesn't start crowing, lol. We started off with 13: 2 BO; 2 BR, 1 Dominique, 1 Prod Red; 6 EEs and 1 BA. My BA turned out to be a boy, so he was rehomed a few weeks ago. We started off fostering another BO several weeks ago (for a friend; her neighbor kids let her dog in the house and it killed 19 chicks- the one we got was the only survivor) but since she's a lone chicken and my friend didn't get another round (although she has some pea babies now), she asked if we could keep her. So, that is how we ended up with 13. We're 11 to 9 weeks, and they are a riot!

I've got one that wants to go inside (we haven't completely finished their outside overnight accommodations, so they are inside with us

at night still) before any of the others do, and she gets a bit crazy trying to get in- she'll fly at the window, etc. Two nights ago, she flew up on my ds' back and he came in hunched over, and then last night, she landed on my shoulder so I brought her in.

They are quite the sight- all waiting at the door to come in. Once we open it, they come right in and we ferry them to their big brooder.

I finally conned my hunny into chickens, and he has been surprised at how affectionate they are as well. He's got one that is definitely his, and she waits for him to take her in to bed, lol. They keep us laughing, for sure!

And being devoid of the good stuff? Heh, I'd say the mountains are pretty goo!

We've had some cloud cover the last few days in the afternoon, so hopefully monsoons will actually drop something!

Feel free to message me!