Chickies battling the heat

We are in the middle of quite a heatwave. We lost one chick to the heat day before yesterday (and also one old hen yesterday, though I don’t think because of the heat.) We swap out fresh, cool water several times times a day, and today I brought them watermelon today (even the chicks had some.)

But the biggest win was when Steve installed a small fan on the side of the baby brooder. They immediately started hopping up on their little roosts to get direct breezes. Baby chicks don’t have their feathers yet, so they can’t regulate their temperatures very well. But those feathers are coming in quickly! I kept the fan on until around 9pm when things “cooled” down a little.

It’s funny how they just instinctively hop on up and sit on roosts. Before we know it they will be pushing big girls out of the way on the big roosts!

Look at those feathers!

This bird loves to look right at the camera.

You know it’s hot because all of the big chickens walk around with their wings lifted like this, poor girls!