The thermometer got up into the 90's today where we live. Pretty hot for my little ones. I noticed the other day that the portion of their run covered with the clear plastic corrugated panels felt warmer than the other parts of the run. I had my DH come out to see if he concurred, and he did. I think the clear plastic was intensifying the sun like a magnifying glass.
So I ordered a few more aluminum panels to lay over the plastic ones during these hot summer months. It makes it a bit dark in one half of their run. But if it keeps them even a few degrees cooler, then it's well worth it. And when the weather cools, I can slide them over and out of the way to give them more light.
I've tried a number of other things to keep them cool. I know that some chickens like to cool their feet so I bought a large plastic saucer and filled it water. But they won't stand in it, they just drink from it. I've tried putting out bowls of ice water for them but they don't go for that.
They do seem to like laying on the wet ground in the shade so I gave the shady corner of their run a good hose down to get it good and wet. They also like melon, tomato and strawberries so I try to keep some of those on hand and chilled to give them so I know they stay hydrated.
I've also read that you can give them sorbet if it's really hot out. Sorbet is preferable to ice cream because you don't want to give them too much fat or sugar. And apparently giving them something ice cold will give them an "brain freeze" and make their neck feathers stand up on end.
Hmmm, I see a trip to the store for sorbet on my list of things to do today.
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