***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Quote:
I had the one I usually wear, I probably left around 6-6:30 maybe I didn't have my watch LOL

 

[Fanaticalchickenlady]

I always plant trees in the fall. Most good nurseries will have trees all year. I'd like to plant another purple or red plum. We had one die a couple of years ago, and i miss the plums. We just got through putting up our corn for the year. I planted six short rows, and we had two fifty pound feed sacks over half full of ears. We blanched it, and then cut it off the cob, and froze it in the Foodsaver bags. Then we fixed lunch and had corn, grilled okra, cucumbers, pinto beans, mashed potatoes and sweet onion for lunch. My chickens are so hot. I actually brought one of my bantam cochin hens into the house to cool her off yesterday. When I went out to water, she was panting way too hard, and I couldn't get her to drink, so I brought her in. Put her bck out at dark, and she seemed fine. we just finished up a pen for my young easter eggers. we've got twenty five young pullets coming on. Tried selling some last weekend up in Missouri, but birds were selling too cheap, so I brought them back home. We'll raise them on up to layer size, and they should sell better in the fall. Nap time. Wish i could bring in all my chickies to nap in the cool.

 

[old*cowboy]

I have been going to a few poultry auctions here of late and have got to thinking how chicken deprived us here in NW Okla are. It is a long drive to any of the auctions down south or east. When I lived in the panhandle used to go to Dodge City to some and Syricuse KS had an awesome on once a month for years. I may be wrong but I think that the guys in Dodge may have been the ones at Syricuse. Anyway they aint squat in the NW quarter of the state that I can find. I have been talking with some guys and gals and might be thinking about trying to get one started in this area. I dont figure it will be cutting into anyone elses sales because it is so far from this area, not all that many people go that way. 3 to 8 hour drive to poultry auction is hard on folks and sure hard on birds this time of year. Like I said, we are just in the talking and discussing phase now to see if it justifys looking more into. By posting this I am trying to see if there are many folks in this area on BYC. Also anyone with any thoughts or suggestions give us a holler. If we get it going, for now will probable try for a spring and fall sale, or at most once a month.

 

[vegetarianchick]

Howdy y'all, been so busy cooling the coop all week and now record heat today. I hung a digital external thermometer knee high off the ground in the coop and it's 105* in there right now even with the box fan running on high. The chickens are out back in the covered shaded pen that I keep wet every hour. I also sprinkle the coop roof and outside walls a few times a day to cool the air for a few min. Egg laying is down from a doz. to only 9 yesterday. Have 8 eggs so far today and Fergie on the nest. I worry about the babies, they don't go out unless the adults run them out into the heat outside so I have to keep them in the fan's airflow and give lots of fresh water and shallow water pans to walk in, which they do go stand in the cool water.
I just went out and fed them all diced cold watermelon and frozen peas. Read in my chicky mag that it helps cool them from the inside and the watermelon gives some electrolytes. I hope they make it through the record heat today! I hope y'all are able to cool down your flocks too!

It's so hot I'm just eating cold boiled eggs (I do 2-3 doz. at a time and chill) and salad and canned tuna with crackers most days. No cooking stuff going on in this place!!

 

[vegetarianchick]

Quote:
My babies stand in the cool spray but the adults don't. They come to stand in the water puddles in the shaded mud though. I don't have ANY trees near the coop but tiny ones that don't shade yet. Have 2 Maples tho and they'll grow pretty fast hopefully, but not enough for this year.
My coop is all metal corrugated tin so gets VERY hot in the sun. Therefore I sprinkle with cold water a LOT. The only heavily feathered breed I have is Henny Penny, my Cochin. She's so tame I can hold her if need be and give her a bath in the water if she pants too hard. My birds pant some this time of day....

My dad put up a 9x12 ft. tarp on the front westfacing part of the coop to make shade for the front of the coop in the heat of the day.

I'm only getting brown eggs now.....no olive ones.

 

[vegetarianchick]

Quote:
Starting eggs under a broody hen with all the heat will probably not be a pleasant experience. When air temps are over 105, the eggs just cook. Exploding eggs make for a smelly mess. Hens in a nest box can get too hot also.

I agree. Being a novice I let my Cochin, Henny Penny, sit on eggs last year and they only lived about halfway through the setting period and died in the shells. It was awful. Best to let them set in cooler days of the year, like springtime. A Marans went broody 3 weeks ago and I locked her in a cage for a week to break that up. She's back to laying now.

 

[vegetarianchick]

old*cowboy :

Just got in from Blanchard. Had a good time and picked up some nice Bantam leghorns in white. And a dozen NN chicks. I bought one of those cages Michael spoke of and like he said, they went high. BUT it was still cheaper than I could make a 6 compartment cage built that nice. It was good to see everybody. If this heat dont break soon I am going to get depressed. I come home and lost 2 hens today. Had lots of shade and water. Both were dead on the nest. I am really getting to dislike this heat. Guy

It's so sad to hear of y'all losing birds. Even if my birds are on the nest, if they are panting heavily, which is quite a bit, I take cool water in my hand and rub their combs and faces with it. They don't squawk, just hunker down some. I can't stand the thought of losing my birds so do what I can every little while for them.

Signs of heat stroke: shaky legs like jello and sudden nausea and sometimes blindness. Unconsciousness can follow rapidly. I've been there twice this summer with blindness and shakiness and nausea. Hits very hard and very fast! Learned to only go out for short minutes to spray and feed cold stuff then cool off period for 30 min. minimum in the air conditioning. I now carry my cell phone with me in my pocket even tho it's only 50 ft. to the house from the coop.
Please be careful in this heat!​

 

[michaeldaugherty]

old*cowboy :

I have been going to a few poultry auctions here of late and have got to thinking how chicken deprived us here in NW Okla are. It is a long drive to any of the auctions down south or east. When I lived in the panhandle used to go to Dodge City to some and Syricuse KS had an awesome on once a month for years. I may be wrong but I think that the guys in Dodge may have been the ones at Syricuse. Anyway they aint squat in the NW quarter of the state that I can find. I have been talking with some guys and gals and might be thinking about trying to get one started in this area. I dont figure it will be cutting into anyone elses sales because it is so far from this area, not all that many people go that way. 3 to 8 hour drive to poultry auction is hard on folks and sure hard on birds this time of year. Like I said, we are just in the talking and discussing phase now to see if it justifys looking more into. By posting this I am trying to see if there are many folks in this area on BYC. Also anyone with any thoughts or suggestions give us a holler. If we get it going, for now will probable try for a spring and fall sale, or at most once a month.

I no peep that tryd having thim out that way an ther just isnt that manny chicken's out ther to have one if it was one time in the fall one time in the spring you mite get some Bis.
I no they tryd one in Woodward an only had a few bird's they just had it one time ..Mt.veiw had one about three yrs ago an put it in all the paper's an had a few bird's for awile but no buyer's . Like they have out this way so peep stopd comeing ..Carnagie had a real good one the first few time's about 15 yrs ago farm peep buy good in the early spring but wen it get's warm out they stop buying . It was in a old store down town an was cool in ther the last one they had was in July an i bot every thing ther cheap..
Blanchard is the Border line for peep that have bird's east of ther the more bird's you get in to... west the les chicken's an chicken peep they are .
One on a week night would work better than one on a weekin buyer's go to the sale's on the weekin an cant make it ..Peep from Texas come up to the sale in Durant an buy an to some of the other sale's that keep's price's up an make's a market for the bird's....
Any way that's my thot's ...I no it would be great for you guy's not to have to drive all night an day to a chicken sale..........​

 

[babyrnlc]

Quote:
Starting eggs under a broody hen with all the heat will probably not be a pleasant experience. When air temps are over 105, the eggs just cook. Exploding eggs make for a smelly mess. Hens in a nest box can get too hot also.

I was told I need to do this or she would get skinny etc. Actually our coop is not super hot, I am not sure why. Maybe the roofing, it is white. Most of the chickens hang out inside when it is really really hot.

 

[NanaKat]

We had 114 degree temps yesterday and near that today.
Besides giving cold treats and allowing the girls to free range at 6:30 am, here are things we are doing to help the chickens.

Wetting down the walls and inside of the hen house cools the inside and the hens and roo seek the shelter. Note the roo in the dusting bin...it's moist too

.

Ice in the water containers and a hose to drip allows the water to slowly seep out moistening both the ground and cooling the air...Chicks surround it seeking the cool.

Leaning plywood against the pen leaving a strip of grass 12 - 18 inches allows a buffer of green grass as well as shade. Lots of bird settle in here after the pens and buffer are sprayed down.

Wetting the dusting bin makes a cool hang-out. Note Studley taking advantage of the mosit shade in th big pen. The chicks are SLW

Wetting down the ground in the "chick yard" keeps their grass green and the ground cooler. Additional feed and water stations keeps them happy too.
Frick and Frack are satisfied.

Spraying down the shade covers and cloths keeps the inside cooler...for a while.

A few of the happy inhabitants:
? A blue Orp pullet ?

Angel the blind EE hen stays on the roost next to her ice filled waterer

When they are cooler, the chicks roam and move about