I now I seem to be harping on this subject, but we love our little hens and would hate to lose one of them through not being aware of the things that can happen when it get so damn hot.
This past month has been a real challenge as it has been horribly hot, I mean well over 100F degrees and staying in the 90's at night. Chickens do OK in the cold, but very hot weather can kill them. One of our friends lost a hen from the heat.
The backyard chickens are pets and need to be taken care of just like we do our more traditional pets. Here is what I have learned about keeping chickens safe when it is very hot.
Of course, access to lots of cold water, and shade and damp ground. I fill their waterers with half ice then add the water so the water stays cool. We keep the yard watered
especially the area where they like to go and hunker down. We wet down the floor in the chicken yard, and make sure it is fully shaded by using a cover.
The chickens are enclosed in a chicken yard at night, so I feel safe leaving the main door into their coop open. I crack the roof where we collect the eggs so tat air can circulate and have open the nest door and placed a stand up fan right in the open door to their nests. The fan is on a timer and comes n automatically. One side benefit I that this keep the coop well aerated and dry, but it also provides some relief from the terrible heat.
We also learned that chickens like to stand in water to cool off so have a shallow baking pan full of water out in the yard in the shade. On several afternoons when it was 111 degrees I actually squirted the girls with the hose. They did not like it, but it helped them cool down.
We have also loaded the girls into our big dog carrier and brought them into the house. I just lined the bottom with newspapers and threw some pine shavings, put their small waterer in their and they stayed in all day with us. I cold not stand to see them panting with their little mouths open and lifting their wings to try to get cool, staring at us at the back glass door. They chortled and cococoed with delight.
These efforts have kept our two girls happy, healthy and still laying 1 egg a day each. We are also giving them cold yogurt and cold fruit which they love, and of course the ubiquitous raisins.
It has cooled of for the last week, but soaring temperatures are coming again starting tomorrow so we need to keep the girls safe and cool.
The girls like it so much inside they have even started venturing into the dining room from the patio door. They both just stand on the throw run we have there to keep the carpet clean. Haven't ventured any further into the house......yet.
Cool chickens are healthy chickens. Our girls are way cool chicks.
No comments:
Post a Comment