Two older hens dead in one day!

[LoveHuevos]

I have heard of cases of Newcastles in Mexico recently, not in the states yet, just noticed you were in So Cal. The dead wild birds concerned me the most. If it continues, despite taking measures to handle heat stress, I'd definitely call your local animal control.

Are there certain symptoms of Newcastles? We're only 20 minutes from the border.
BTW, you're about 1.5 hours away from me. My uncle lives up there.

Frozen water in 2 liter bottles works great inside the coop

I'm not sure how long those will last in this heat.

Are their eggs still safe to eat?? I sell them to my friends.

 

[Animalian]

Quote:
x2

Mine even try to balance on top so they're feet get cold! lol it was a lifesaver last year when we have a couple of 47degree celcius days. I also hosed down the grass in the yard so they would get damp running around in it and the evaporation off them and the grass around them helped cool them down a little.

Also apparently some hens won't drink water that is too warm so I put ice in their water in the arvo when it's really hot! Just to make sure they don't de-hydrate from their own fussiness! Feeding them watermelon from the fridge will help keep them hydrated and lower their core temperature too.

 

[LoveHuevos]

We installed a fan and are working on getting the misters to spray correctly.

We have a watering system but it's the one with the pipe and the nipples. We haven't bought a pressure regulator because it's kinda pricey, so my dad was thinking of making another watering system with a bucket and floater.
Do you have any experience with either one of those and which do you prefer?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

fellow Desert dweller


Things that I have found to work for my girly-girls: A couple times a day, starting in the cool morning - I run the hose and wet down their shade areas. I also feed a "chicken soup" which I make from their regular feed and plain water - my birds LOVE it - and I know that they are getting a bit of extra moisture with their feed. In our areas - it is so dry, you will not have to worry about it molding if they do not eat it all in 12 hrs (it just dries into a brick

) Empty juice/milk bottles are filled with water, froze and placed out in the shade for them also.


Personally, for us in the hot areas (no lawn to help keep the daily heat from sorching the ground) - I do not like the nipple water systems. I do not think it allows the bird to get as much as they need - the bird takes a couple sips instead of the big gulps from open water (I could be wrong) and it is easy to be dehydrated.


The other thing is LOTS of water areas - a hot bird will chose to stay in the shade and not walk to water. So I have lots, lots of water scattered around our place - all in shade areas where the girls like to hang.

for your losses.

 

[jjthink]

TOOOOOOOO hot for them. Sad............Two years old is pretty young. Much can be done to help them beat the heat - some good suggestions in this thread and there are a bazillion other threads with lots of info.

JJ