The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[potagergirl]

I am soooo very upset

Every morning I check the chicks in the chicken tractor outside. I fill there water and food then
talk to them for a while. Which I did this morning and for some it was the last time.

I was upstairs working all morning (no a/c upstairs) though it was hot I thought it was just humid
and did not think about it being very hot. However outside my poor little chicks were dying. I lost 6 today. All from
my splash cochin. I have 3 males left I think will do fine and a 4th that I don't think will make it. None of the hens made
it.
Out of the White crested black polish I have one I'm not sure is going to make it the other nine are doing
very well.
I feel awful being my first time as a chicken owner I feel I have failed and my little babies are gone because of it.
The worst part is I have keets being shipped to me today. How am I supposed to be good with those when I can't even
keep my chicky babies comfortable

. I hate this weather coat one day and extremely hot the next.

 

[flyladyrocks]

The Rio passed.

 

[misbhaven]

thank you everyone for the support and i edited my post so it said roo...I have a broody Dorking now so going to split the maran eggs between the incubator and her for the next couple days..I don't have great luck with them in the incubator so going to try a hen...well just thought she was going broody she was grumpy and hissing etc this morning on two eggs she must have changed her mind eggs were cold and she was out running around not having good luck today

 

[flyladyrocks]

I am soooo very upset

Every morning I check the chicks in the chicken tractor outside. I fill there water and food then
talk to them for a while. Which I did this morning and for some it was the last time.

I was upstairs working all morning (no a/c upstairs) though it was hot I thought it was just humid
and did not think about it being very hot. However outside my poor little chicks were dying. I lost 6 today. All from
my splash cochin. I have 3 males left I think will do fine and a 4th that I don't think will make it. None of the hens made
it.
Out of the White crested black polish I have one I'm not sure is going to make it the other nine are doing
very well.
I feel awful being my first time as a chicken owner I feel I have failed and my little babies are gone because of it.
The worst part is I have keets being shipped to me today. How am I supposed to be good with those when I can't even
keep my chicky babies comfortable

. I hate this weather coat one day and extremely hot the next.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@potagergirl

One more thing I can add. My chicken house is a shed that I can walk into. (Not sure what kind you have.) It is in a place that it gets full sun from about noon - 4 p every day and even with the doors wide open, it gets like an oven in there.

I purchased a shop fan and run it during the days. I there is no one confined inside, I run it pointed at floor level. If there is someone in, I point it somewhat up at an angle so the wind can bounce off the walls. Thankfully my shed also has an inner wire wall so I can leave the main doors open all day. Even so, it does get too hot in there even to be in the nest boxes for long if the fan isn't on.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I found one of my largest, heaviest birds - a hatchery BR - dead tonight out on one of the piles of wood chips that they dig through.

It is very hot here and I put out shallow pans of water for them to stand in..and the 2 BRs are the ones that do stand in it... I also run a fan in the chicken house, etc.

I am assuming it was heat or a heart attack.

I looked her over totally externally. No attack. No marks of rooster cutting/infection whatsoever. She looks very peaceful..not like there was any "scare" or anything like that. Not a feather out of place. She - and the whole flock showed no sign of any illness whatsoever.

She was 2 yo in March.

I DON'T WANT TO DO A NECROPSY.

Must I?

 

[LindaB220]

I found one of my largest, heaviest birds - a hatchery BR - dead tonight out on one of the piles of wood chips that they dig through.

It is very hot here and I put out shallow pans of water for them to stand in..and the 2 BRs are the ones that do stand in it... I also run a fan in the chicken house, etc.

I am assuming it was heat or a heart attack.

I looked her over totally externally. No attack. No marks of rooster cutting/infection whatsoever. She looks very peaceful..not like there was any "scare" or anything like that. Not a feather out of place. She - and the whole flock showed no sign of any illness whatsoever.

She was 2 yo in March.

I DON'T WANT TO DO A NECROPSY.

Must I?

It was probably the heat. I wouldn't worry about it. Sorry.

 

[lalaland]

msbehaven, leahs mom and potager girl,

its awful to lose them. I'm sorry to hear the sad news...hang in there.

 

[potagergirl]

Leah's Mom I am sure it is heat.

With mine the weather in our area had been comfortable with occasional rains for so long
then suddenly today it was over 100 degrees by 11 this morning.

I had been so careful making sure they had plenty of water, plenty of shade, plenty of food.
I would move them around the yard in the tractor making sure half the area was in shade for
their comfort. This morning the sun decided to be blazing hot taking all shade away so several
tried to pile up in the shelter we have in the chicken tractor.
Hubby came in at 11:30 for lunch and saw them. We worked at getting them in the house. It took
3 of the splash cochin a couple hours to recover. The 4th one began to recover about 5 this evening.
I am very thankful she is going to live. I hate that I lost 6 lovely birds today it's something I will never forget.

Tomorrow I am putting a bed of straw on the porch with the tractor over it. Hubby is going to set up
a fan and I am going to put pans of water in. I will absolutely be checking on them frequently tomorrow.
We haven't moved to the farm yet still working on it but I think hubby is going to get the chicken run and coop
ready for them this weekend. I shouldn't have to worry about this happening again.

thank you all for your support and help,

 

[misbhaven]

I found one of my largest, heaviest birds - a hatchery BR - dead tonight out on one of the piles of wood chips that they dig through.

It is very hot here and I put out shallow pans of water for them to stand in..and the 2 BRs are the ones that do stand in it... I also run a fan in the chicken house, etc.

I am assuming it was heat or a heart attack.

I looked her over totally externally. No attack. No marks of rooster cutting/infection whatsoever. She looks very peaceful..not like there was any "scare" or anything like that. Not a feather out of place. She - and the whole flock showed no sign of any illness whatsoever.

She was 2 yo in March.

I DON'T WANT TO DO A NECROPSY.

Must I?

Sorry to hear about your loss.

.I bet it was the heat i live in IL due west of you by about 150 miles , our crazy weather last week cool 60's to 70 then straight up to 90 ..mine were hot also but they all live under a big shade tree the shade all the runs some even manage to escape into my cool garage during the heat of the day kids never close get the door closed..I am thinking of getting a couple misters to put out for cooling the birds....my two old Meaties didn't even go in tonight they chose to sleep outside on the ground (that run is behind another fence has bird netting and a tarp on top, and hardware cloth over dog kennel if a critter gets one of those chickens it was working really hard !!.. my Maran hen cracked the egg she laid today somehow I repaired it hopefully it will incubate they have been nervous without Roo and just the 2 of them..i moved some youngster Lav orps and a young turkey in there, they lived in the pen right next to it figured if they could catch what the Roo had everyone would have it anyway...Last week a loose neighbor dog killed an EE a good 30 feet into my yard.. and I had a White Rock Cockrel about 18 weeks jump in with my young chicks and babysit the whole day , and the next few days he was guarding the youngsters when ever they got free range time.....

On another note does anyone think a bantam EE roo could cover those Maran hens in a couple weeks when i know I shouldn't be getting full Maran fertile eggs anymore...the Maran Roo was with the hens and healthy until Monday