I Had a Bad Day

This heat wave we are having has been pretty serious for us.  We topped out about 106 degrees. 

I tried to keep up with everything--watering/cooling all the wilting plants and whatnot--but we ended up losing some. 

Worst of all was that 9 of our 12 chickens died from the heat.  We're not exactly sure how it happened.  The kids moved the "tractor" at 3pm and they were fine--hot but alive.  Then a couple of hours later they were dead.  We had kept a good eye on their water and they get moved and fed twice a day.  The "tractor" was in the sun for a bit though they have shade from a sheet that I keep on top of the "tractor" and there was a breeze blowing where they were.  But it must have been too much.  The three that are left are just fine and don't appear to have anything wrong at all.  Sigh.  Strangely enough, we have left one each of the three breeds that we have... Ameraucana, Gold Laced Wyandotte and Welsummer.

When this picture was taken there was a tarp on top.

We don't put that on unless it's going to rain or is cold.

In the summer I keep a sheet on so that they always have shade.

Digging a grave in the heat for our beloved chickens was not a pleasant task by a long shot.  To say that we are sad and frustrated is an understatement.

Since we live along a fairly busy 2 lane highway we hear emergency vehicle sirens a lot.  Today they were very active.  Too active.  :-(  I hope that these high temperatures come down soon.  Normal upper 80s and lower 90s sounds heavenly.