Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Panting Chickens

It’s been so hot out here lately that when we go check the chicks in the late afternoon, they are all panting! DSCF0612 I’ve never seen a chicken pant, but their little beaks are open and they look so hot!  Can you imagine being out in 90 degree days in a coat of feathers??? 

Two days ago, when all three of us went out to see them in the early evening, Charlie flew up onto one of the chicken “huts” as easy as pie.  Time to clip his wings—again!  So, Max and I cornered him and caught him.  He didn’t try to peck at us or be nasty at all---just tried to get away.  Then, as we were doing it (it took all three of us) we noticed two chickens had escaped outside the pen.  So Max and I went out and caught them fairly easily.  That’s when we decided to clip all their wing feathers.  It is a quick and painless deal, but a few of them were NOT happy about it.  Now, at least they won’t be able to fly out.  They can still jump and climb up on many places in their yard to get off the ground.

When I went out the next day, it was like they were still mad at me…DSCF0609 they huddled together inside the metal shed-DSCF0610 --three tried to squeeze into one little cubby reminding me of kids trying to fit as many as possible in a VW bug!  Amazingly, the shed does stay cooler than outside at certain times of the day.  We also mist their outside area (which is already shaded with trees) as well to keep things cool and the bugs to the surface for them to snack on.

Have a great day and stay cool any way you can!

13 comments:

CAROLDEE said...

WOW a metal hut must be hot.. guess that is why they make them out of wood so much. Misting is a big help I am sure. Clipping their wings is probably NOT their most favorite thing but at least it will keep them in the yard. Hope they stay cool.. and you too.. : )

Unknown said...

It's good those chickens aren't in our back yard because, with the heat and humidity building by the minute we'd have fried chicken walking around the pen. I'm ready for October! Stay cool, Sue.

Ramblingon said...

Poor chickies being hot and all..can't think of anything other than what you are doing to help though. I know the misting is a help and hope that can happen frequently. What about s sprinkler that they can get into at will?

JennyD said...

What a great idea Ramblingon had! I was right in the middle of thinking that I'd just bring them in the house and cordon off the room so that they'd cool down when I saw her idea. Good one, Ramblingon!
The wildlife (birds, monks, squirrels, and my one lone rabbit) are all literally panting. I have many bowls of cold water out for them and I chg the bowls every 2 hours, but still they are soooo hot. Hey, I believe it. Even my time to chg the bowls is a killer and I'm panting, too. I can hardly wait for Fall. I am purely hating Summer this year.
xoxo

JennyD said...

(Sue, I owe you an apology. I never should have posted on the Happy Birthday post. That should have been only for your son. I am so sorry. Delete my comment, ok? Let him save it as it is without anything else on it)

Sue Lehman said...

Actually Hubby does set up the sprinkler often, but the chickens avoid the flying water like the plague! They also have a big roaster filled with cool water in their yard, that they can actually get into, but don't.

JennyD said...

A "roaster" filled with water? Well, I think we can safely assume why they don't get into that, LOL. Even with a little chicken brain (I'll be cursed for saying that), I would think that the mere idea of a roaster would make them think twice. Gawd, I am wayyyyy too much into chickens, lol.

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