Today’s Run:  Rest Day

The mercury is rising, rising with all its might.  The days are getting warmer but seeing as the first day of Summer has officially past us by, they are now getting shorter, too.  For these small things we can be thankful!

The chickens, however, do not look at the calendar, and thank heavens they do not look at the thermometer~if they did, I might have a chicken revolt on my hands that culminated with then pecking at my door demanding to be let into the air conditioning.  Right now, as I type, it is 2:30 pm and the temp in the shade is 96 F. but the humidity is low at 54%.  There is no breeze, so to speak.  It is just plain ol’ hot out there.

Today’s weather is a precursor of the weather that is on its way.  During the mid-Summer months we average 100 F.-105 F.  Those are common temps.  The ground gets dry and large cracks form.  The whole of Mississippi suffers from the heat.  So, what is one to do for the chickens???

I am training them now to accept my feeble attempts at keeping them cool(er).

I have tried a box fan~they are afraid of the fan and in their attempts to escape it, they make themselves more hot than they were originally…so that is out.

I have tried a dish large enough for them to stand in but they are afraid of that, too.  Hmmm…they do not call them chickens for nothing, do they?

So far the things I have been able to do are simple:

1)  Ice cubes in the water.  The ice does not last long, but they like it.

2) Frozen water bottles.  They sit on them!

3)  I bought ice cube trays and filled them with applesauce.  Frozen, healthy treats! They really like those!!!

 

I am implementing these things now so that when it really gets hot, the chickens are not afraid of my feeble offerings.  I am afraid of overheating chickens laying hard boiled eggs!  I truly am concerned about heat exhaustion, etc. with my flock so any other suggestions are most welcome!