It has definitely been hot and humid here in North Texas. I do my best to take good care of our chickens in this Texas heat. So far, they seem to be handling the heat better than I am. I am finding it hard to spend as much time as I like with them because I am having trouble breathing because of this humid weather.
In the morning before it gets too hot, I set out cool water for them. Later in the day when it is much hotter, I usually give them cold water from the refrigerator. Fortunately, I do have a good spot for the water that gets shade for most of the day.
I like to give the girls frozen bananas as a good treat to beat the heat. Our hen Keypone seems to be a bigger fan of them than our other hen Buster. However, both girls love yogurt. I get a kick out of watching them eat the yogurt. They always end up with white beaks.
Watermelon always seems to be a popular treat for chickens. If our watermelons end up doing well this year, the chickens will definitely get to share them with us. Sometimes if we find good deals on fruit at the store, we will buy some for them. However, it is much more satisfying to give them stuff from our own garden.
Grapes are another great treat, but my husband blames me for giving the girls a taste for grapes after they ate most of them off the vine one year. He was upset that he didn’t get any of them. This year they are growing up in our tree and the girls are not able to get to them. I will share with the chickens, though, once we harvest them.
Another thing that I try to do is provide a pan of water so the girls can cool their feet. They never seem to use this on their own so occasionally I just pick them up and set them in it. I am thankful that we do have a lot of shade around the homestead and I think that must help a bunch. I am keeping a close eye on them and I will provide electrolytes if it appears that they need them.
