The Quotidian Chicken

[Wynter Willow]

I forgot to post yesterday because life got in the way, so here's two pictures to make up for it! Here's Dairy Queen's cute little son and Vesta the Cream Legbar.
View attachment 4199361
View attachment 4199363

Look at that comb. It’s like a hat. Is this a trait of cream legbars?

 

[Wynter Willow]

Here is Lenore. She is my Lap chicken. This is her this morning getting a good snuggle before her day of frolicking and foraging begins.

 

[Pigeony]

Look at that comb. It’s like a hat. Is this a trait of cream legbars?

Not normally I don't think, she's hatchery quality and just kinda happens to have an overly large comb. She's perfect to me though, she's very sweet and is my most human-focused bird.

 

[Pigeony]

One of my young Aloha pullets running around this morning.

 

[Wynter Willow]

Not normally I don't think, she's hatchery quality and just kinda happens to have an overly large comb. She's perfect to me though, she's very sweet and is my most human-focused bird.

We just got in from a long day. The girls took their best dust bathe today. I have never seen them so happy. They were singing and whistling. They are filthy but so content.

 

[Wynter Willow]

View attachment 4200038
One of my young Aloha pullets running around this morning.

She is sooo pretty. I had no idea there were so many different chickens. I didn’t know much about chickens at all. They are so wonderful. I am happy to be at a place in my life to really learn about them and enjoy them.

 

[Pigeony]

It continues to be so very hot, and one of my favorite chickens got heat stroke yesterday and I barely brought her back out of it. She's spending the day inside and quite possibly longer, poor Helga is just not built for this weather with her floofy beard. I'm not ever adding any more bearded chickens to my flock, the ones I've had all struggle to survive the summer. I'm focusing on heat tolerance going forward.

 

[Wynter Willow]

It continues to be so very hot, and one of my favorite chickens got heat stroke yesterday and I barely brought her back out of it. She's spending the day inside and quite possibly longer, poor Helga is just not built for this weather with her floofy beard. I'm not ever adding any more bearded chickens to my flock, the ones I've had all struggle to survive the summer. I'm focusing on heat tolerance going forward.

 

[Wynter Willow]

It continues to be so very hot, and one of my favorite chickens got heat stroke yesterday and I barely brought her back out of it. She's spending the day inside and quite possibly longer, poor Helga is just not built for this weather with her floofy beard. I'm not ever adding any more bearded chickens to my flock, the ones I've had all struggle to survive the summer. I'm focusing on heat tolerance going forward. View attachment 4200938

Poor Helga, I hope she recovers quickly inside. Gods! Arizona is hot! I stayed a few months while traveling.

 

[Pigeony]

Poor Helga, I hope she recovers quickly inside. Gods! Arizona is hot! I stayed a few months while traveling.

She's eating and drinking and alert, so I'm pretty hopeful considering she was barely conscious when I found her and couldn't really do much more than twitch and open her eyes.

Unfortunately we're due for some extreme heat over the next few days, so I'm hesitant to put her back out very quickly, because it would be just terrible to bring her back from the brink then lose her because I put her out too soon. In the meantime, I'm shoring up my shade and water routine so that none of her friends experience what she went through.

I try to do everything possible to keep them cool, but it's hard and Phoenix heat is unforgiving. I expect to lose a chicken at some point every summer, but I've already paid my dues for this year with Helga's mother dying when it hit 118 a little over a month ago, along with my most promising Aloha cockerel.

I put out block ice, I fill wading pools, I put up shade, I make mud zones for them to scratch in, but it's just never quite enough. Hoping when some of my sapling trees grow up a bit, they'll provide more natural shade because I feel like part of the problem is that my chicken space is too open.