Keeping Chickens Cool and What Garden???

Like most of the country, it's been too dang hot!  Today we are having a slight reprieve, but then the mercury is rising again.  Keeping our chickens cool has been a priority.  The 'how to' may be a bit haphazard, but...it's working.

The Big Girls have plenty of room to roam and find shady spots as the sun travels.  They have their holes dug and chill out in them regularly.  We keep their waterers full and feed them treats when we have them on hand.  They particularly love watermelon.  It's cool and full of water. 

I now have to keep a small waterer on the other side of the fence for the Convicts (escapees) as well.  I don't want them to get overheated and not have water to cool their little throats down!

Caught in the act!

Now the Peeps are another story.  They aren't full feathered yet and technically shouldn't be out and about.  However, rather than a heat lamp, we needed to install a window A/C unit!  So, out of the brooder they came and into the completed Chicken Tractor they went!

We put them up by the house first so that I could monitor them closely.

At 80 degrees when we first put them out, they did very well.  At first they were of course scared, but within an hour, they found out that grass and such is fun and the chicken antics commenced.

Exactly what I was hoping for as I am monitoring their behavior as well.  Based on all your comments and thoughts from my Chicken Pickin' post of course.  (Thank you!)

I tried to get a shot of the two breeds side by side so that you could see the growth difference.  This was the best one I came up with:

Cornish X on Left - Freedom Ranger on Right
3 Weeks Old

It wasn't long after we moved them out that the temperatures sky rocketed.  So we had to "Ghetto Up" our pretty little Chicken Tractor fast!

We moved it to a spot that is shaded thru out most the day, covered the run with an old blanket and started using frozen gallon jugs of water.  We simply emptied a bit of the water and froze them.

Eight frozen jugs seems to be the magic number in keeping them rotated in/out and allowing enough time for the re-freeze.  I put one in the coop itself and one outside -in front of a box fan. 

Yes...I felt so sorry for those little panting buggers that we got them a box fan.  The air is so thick you can cut it with a knife!  We even had fog/haze cutting visibility at night! 

They especially appreciate the one inside the coop.  I think it actually stayed cooler inside than out.  Just remember to keep things as dry as possible too.  The jugs sweat.

Above you can see that they liked sitting near the jugs.  Maybe you can also see the difference in the size of the two breeds legs?  It's pretty notable when you see them up close actually.

So, that is how we are trying to help the Chickens make it thru this hot, hot summer!  What are you doing for yours and any other livestock you have?

I'm all ears!

Even if these aren't...after being knocked down for the second dang time!  But at least we had a little bit of rain.  An inch.  Just north of us...8" in one hour.  It now goes down for them as the wettest July on record.  For us...it's now the 3rd hottest on record.  And dry...

I can now up my garden harvest to the .25 oz of peas picked last week and a handful of green beans the other day.  Seriously.  Not even photo worthy.  :o(