Meet the Cluckers

 We have 8 Covid Cluckers. Here are their stories.

Princess Laya (Leia)

Sassy and unapologetic, Princess Leia is a favorite among the Covid Cluckers. She is a true adventurer and afraid of very little. This often gets her into trouble. She's always willing to wander off by herself for chicken adventures the rest of the Cluckers could only dream of. Leia and the Claw share a special bond. As a chick, Leia started to fade about 4 days in. The Claw immediately researched and found signs of coccidiosis. Leia spent a lot of time snuggled in the Claw's arms. Today, Leia is very protective of the Claw and demands snuggles whenever she wants them. 

Rex

Rex was the biggest of the Covid Clucker chicks. She was very kind and always looked for a cuddle. She could be found snuggling any of her chicken sisters. Rex is brave and a true leader. She leads with quiet confidence. The Claw refers to Rex as her pocket chicken or her shadow. Everywhere the Claw goes, Rex follows. At night, Rex waits outside the coop for the Claw to give her bedtime cuddles. Even though, Rex and Leia are best chicken friends, they have a silent competition. Anything Leia can do, Rex will try to do better. Rex will greet you at the coop door with a gentle "bawk bawk" and kind eyes. 

Blue

Blue is so chill, you often forget she's there. She's quiet and unassuming. Blue was named after the velociraptor in Jurassic World. Thank goodness she didn't take on any aggressive attitudes like the Blue in the movie. Blue enjoys digging in the mulch and staying out of trouble. Out of all the Covid Cluckers, she is most vocal about being surprised. While, quiet and unassuming, Blue will definitely peck you if you touch her treat ball. It's her favorite toy and she doesn't like to share it!

Nutmeg(aka: Nutterbutter)

Nutmeg is in the middle of the pecking order. She's very shy. She doesn't like having attention given to her, unless it's in mealworm form. You rarely hear a sound from her. We were lucky she grew into her name and is the color of nutmeg. As a chick, she wanted nothing to do with people. Now, she will hop up for a scratch and off she goes. Nutmeg is notorious for trashing the nest box as she lays her eggs. The Claw thinks because Nutmeg keeps so much inside, that she lets that rage go Motley Crue style in the nest box.

Camilla

Camilla is the smallest and most feisty of the Covid Cluckers. Golden Comets should be around 4 lbs/ ~2kgs. Camilla is 3 lbs/ 1.5kgs. She's so tiny. She's also very vocal. Camilla has zero issues letting the Claw know that she's late to let them out in the morning or late with the meal worms or just late in general. Camilla was named after Gonzo's chicken in the Muppets. The Claw has had to calm Camilla down many times. She probably takes after the Claw's Italian side more than any of the Cluckers. We're all hoping that Camilla doesn't start a Fight Club. 

Pom Pom

Pom Pom...is Pom Pom. She was a tiny friend who took a long time to grow. As a chick, she wanted NOTHING to do with the Claws. She would run away peeping angrily at them. She was the slowest of the Cluckers to develop. She doesn't have a bawk. She sings. Yes. She sings a B natural and it's unnerving. For a long time the Claws thought Pom Pom would lay square eggs because she was so strange. Pom Pom is a loner. She's always on the outside of the group and really doesn't interact with the other Cluckers. Slowly but surely, she has started to like the Claw and will jump on her lap for a quick pet and off she goes. 

Luna

Oh Luna...Luna, Luna, Luna. Where do we begin? Luna is an Olive Egger (Copper Marans X Cream Legbar). She is loud and overly dramatic. We are here for this. Luna wants to be loved, but doesn't know how. She's known for pecking the Claw in the butt. Luna refuses to be cuddled unless it's on her own terms and if it's dark (she's scared of the dark). While she looks angry and intimidating, Luna has the tiniest baby voice. When provoked she will crow...that has been so much fun to explain to the neighbors. Luna loves Artemis and doesn't really care about what everyone else is doing.

Artemis

Artemis is a fan favorite. She is quirky and silly. Her iconic "laugh and scream" sounds show her wacky personality. Artemis is a Cream Legbar. She is very proud of her mohawk and distinct feathers. One of Artemis' biggest fears is bedtime. She gets very frightened and needs to be comforted. The Claw is known to rock Artemis to sleep. Artemis is very cuddly and demands attention...loudly. When she lays eggs, she sings her egg song BEFORE and AFTER she lays her beautiful blue eggs. 

I am getting chickens...now what...Breeds

Shut down happened here in the US on March 16th. Naturally, I spoke with the Bearded Claw, stating I wanted chickens. I was told no and here we are. Chickens.

There's more to chickens than just going and picking them up and hoping for the best. I went to friends that had them and asked advice. I looked up the local laws stating what I could and couldn't have. I had to apply for a permit and have a building inspector inspect my coop before I could have my chicken license...yes you read that correctly. My poor husband. Every night it was a discussion about chickens. I would tell him all of the research I did. 

DE under a microscope

Here is some beginner advice before we even discuss breeds. Real talk here. Stay off of the blogs that mention diatomaceous earth for dust baths or pest control. If I see that, I instantly know the blog is full of crap and there is nothing worthwhile to learn there. It's dangerous for chickens and you. There's no reason why you should be using sharp, lung piercing particles around your birds or yourself. You want to disagree? Ok fight me, I have science on my side. Check out what DE looks like under a microscope. You want that in your lungs? No? Then why do that to you animals? I digress. 

So you want chickens. Here's what to consider:

1. What are your local laws about chickens?
• How much space do you need per bird?
• How many can you have?
• Can you have a rooster? If not do you have place to rehome one?
2. What purpose do you want the chickens for?
3. Climate-what's your weather like?
4. Do you have a vet that can see your chickens? Do you have the ability to do the medical care yourself?
5. Management issues

What are your local laws?

Google will be your friend. Why do you need to know the laws? Well if you pick a breed that isn't auto sex or sex linked, you might not know you have a rooster until its too late. Your local ordinances might say no roosters. You also need to know what space you should have per bird and what's the maximum amount of birds you can have. Are you allowed to free range or do you need to keep them confined to a run? You should also know your local laws so if you need to fight for your right to have your birds, you can fluently speak the lingo. If your HOA (this is an American thing) says no chickens, but your state says you can, what can you do to change the rules? 

Birds With A Purpose

Let's Talk About Sex

Ok. Now that you've answered those questions. Let's talk about sex. Yes. Sexing birds is an art. If you can't have roosters or if you know that you only want hens, what do you do? I personally cannot have a rooster. It's a hefty fine here and I can lose my poultry permit if I get one. So that eliminated a lot of breeds to begin with. 

My Blue is a Golden Comet, sex link

Sex Links

Sex links are hybrids. When they are hatched, females are one color and males are another. It's possible to get a rooster, but its like 1%. Sex links are usually high production hens. They are hardy and can handle many different climates. They are friendly for the most part if handled. These will not breed true because they are hybrids. If they hatch chicks, they will not be sex linked. 

Some breeds of sex links: Black Sex Links, Golden Comets, ISA Browns, Red Star, Black Star, Cinnamon Queen. Now if you live in another country, they might have another title. 

Auto Sex: 

Artemis is a cream legbar. Females look like
chipmunks and males are light colored

Auto Sex birds are like the sex links. However, they will breed true through the next generation. The male is one color or has one type of marking and the female has another color or different marking. 

Some Auto Sex Breeds: Legbars, Barred Plymouth Rock, Ancobar, Cambar, Cobar, Rhodebar, Welbar, California Gray 

Dual Purpose Breeds are breeds that can be used for both meat and eggs. Orpingtons are an example of a dual purpose breed. 

Broody Breeds

If your purpose for owning chickens is eggs, you need to consider if the breed is a broody breed. Silkies, while probably some of the CUTEST chickens, are not prolific egg layers due to being broody. A broody hen will not lay while broody. Now not all "broody breeds" will be broody. For example, my Cream Legbar, a breed known not to be broody, went broody randomly. It depends on the hormones of the bird. 

Common Broody Breeds: Silkies, Ameraucana, Araucana, Australorp, Brahama, Cochin, Delaware, Dominique, Marans, Old English Game, Orpington

Meat Birds 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be aware of the breed you are buying. This year I saw so many people who purchased Cornish Crosses (popular meat bird) and thought they would have a bird for a long period of time. Due to how fast these birds grow and the poor quality of life they will have due to that, they need to be slaughtered at around 8 weeks. How sad is it that your pet that you've been raising and dreaming of will need to be slaughtered to give it a humane ending? If you have children do you want to explain that to your kids if this wasn't in the plan? 

Popular Meat Birds: Cornish Cross (called Broilers) These are NOT dual purpose birds. Freedom Rangers are another popular meat bird. 

Climate and Chickens

Knowing how a chicken's comb is will help you determine what breed could be best for you. Small combs are good for cooler temperatures, while large combs are generally better for warmer temperatures. Combs are part of the chicken's cooling process. If you have a large combed bird in a cold climate, you are at risk for frost bite. If you are in a hot climate and have small combed bird, they will be at risk for heat stroke faster than your large comb birds. 

https://impact.extension.org/

Hopefully this article has helped you in some way in your choice of chicken breed. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to contact me!

Sources: 

DE Photo is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Comb Diagram is from https://impact.extension.org/

The Chicken Encyclopedia by Gail Damerow

Fun Stuff for the Coop Omlet Edition

I don't know about you, but I take my responsibilities as a Claw and Crazy Chicken Lady VERY seriously. This means I am going out of my way to spoil my chickens. I have tons of chicken décor, I am decorating the coop for the seasons...and I am spending some serious time looking at toys (enrichment is the fancy term for this) and items that improve the girls way of life. I don't like wasting money or buying something that my girls will hate or not play with. 

Please don't feel that this is a sales pitch in any way. I hate when people only pitch products if they can get a kick back. Full disclosure I am an Omlet affiliate and I joined that program AFTER purchasing several items from this company (You can click my link here, but you don't have to). HOWEVER, I can only speak to the products I have personally purchased. If you want to click on the links it will support me as an affiliate, but if you don't want to here is the link to the website without my info attached Omlet

Things I like about Omlet. 

• The cost. Everything is very affordable. 
• The shipping is fast.
• The products are quality and created with the animals and owners in mind.
• The products are fun and enriching for your chickens and you!
• These products are available all over the world. 

The First Purchase: Auto Door

We went out one night and had to rush home to rock Artemis to sleep and to make sure that Rex made it into the coop. Chicken keeping does have its perks, but it also has its drawbacks as well.

One of those is waking up early to let the birds out and having to leave things at night to put them in the coop. Now in the age of Covid, this hasn't been too much of an issue. However, my family lives quite a distance from my home. We went to visit them and rushed home to put the girls to bed and make sure that the door was shut so no predators entered the coop. It was very stressful.

I told the Bearded Claw that I wanted an automatic door. He rolled his eyes and said yes it would be a good idea. He told me to research and see what I came up with. I showed him several, but they were very expensive and not what HE wanted in an automatic door. Enter the Omlet Auto Door. He wanted it because it looked cool (men...) and was universal.

The Auto Door features:

It's battery operated. You have the choice of a timer, using the light sensor, or manual mode to operate the door. You can delay the closing of the door too. I have girls that straggle and don't go in immediately at night because they need their Claw snuggles. The door also locks and is very secure. The predator proofing on it is amazing. It will also stop and not hurt any chickens if they stand in the doorway as it closes. 

Yes, it does look cool. We did take the front panel off to paint it to match our coop. As much as I love Omlet, the Lime Green was not going with the Forest Green that the Bearded Claw spent so much time accenting the coop with. 

It was super easy to install and the manual comes in many languages! I believe it only took about an hour tops to install and we had plenty of chicken help.

The Toys...I mean enrichment items

Make sure when purchasing chicken toys that you call them enrichment. One it makes it sound so much better and less crazy to purchase enrichment items for your animals, verses toys. Two if you say enrichment to your Bearded Claw, he's more likely to ignore that you purchased toys for your chickens.

Poppy Peck Toys

My girls love to peck. All chickens love to peck. I've found that giving the Cluckers enrichment activities has helped with some management issues. They have to be supervised when they leave their run. I can't let them just free range due to the nesting hawks nearby. 

The Peck toys are a nice size and are easy to fill. The holes in the plastic allow for pellets, worms, scratch, and grubs to pass through freely. I have the hanging peck toy and the ones that look like flowers. They're super cute. The girls prefer the flower ones, so I purchased several more. I like how it keeps the girls busy and not bullying each other. With several toys to choose from, there is an opportunity for all of them to use them. They are also very easy to clean.  I honestly thought at first my girls wouldn't be interested, but I was wrong. These are worth it. As you can see from the video below, they love their toys. Please consider Omlet when you are looking for great things for your chickens!

What your Chickens NEED for winter

Winter...over here in the Land of Pleasant Living, winter is a mixed bag of bipolar weather. It can be a beautiful 60-70F/15-21C  or it can be a Polar Vortex of weather in single digits with 6 feet of snow on the ground. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy aspects of winter, but mostly it's depressing and gray.

This will be my first winter with chickens. I have done a lot research on HOW to winterize my coop and prepare. I'll share what I know and what I will do. I will update as things seem easier or if I think I need to change to deal with an issue.

Coop

Oh the coop. In summer, we want all the ventilation. In winter we still need ventilation, but drafts are an issue. Ventilation allows for ammonia and moisture to escape. Usually this is located in the upper parts of your coop. Drafts are usually found lower on the floor and can move the belly feathers of our chickens. This can make them very sick and prone to respiratory infections. 

Here is a video that's helpful for looking for drafts. I'm lucky my coop doesn't have many and that I can use sand to block them up.

An acrylic sheet covers our windows

Our windows will be covered with plastic acrylic sheets ( but we have holes in it at the top for ventilation). This will allow for the moisture and ammonia from the poop to exit the coop without taking away too much heat. The acrylic is clear so it will allow light to come into the coop and give a gentle warming effect. If you see moisture on your windows, then you don't have enough ventilation in your coop. Moisture and drafts are the enemy. Moisture causes frostbite! (Check out this resource for more information about frostbite)You don't want your roosts too close to the windows. That temperature shift can hurt them while sleeping. 

Really quick while it's on your mind...roosts. Chickens like FLAT roosts, not round. A 2x4 that is flat with the 4" side up is a great roost for them. The flat roosts allow them to fully cover their feet while sleeping. It can help protect the feet from frostbite. 

Radiant Heater

Heater. It's very strange in my state. Some winters it's in the single digits or below. Some winters are very mild and pleasant. However, I think this year we might be in for snow, because 2020. Sometimes it's a dusting...sometimes it's Snowmagedon with 6-8 feet of snow. We never know what we're in for. The heater is for if the girls get wet. Wet birds are more likely to get sick and die. Remember moister is the enemy. A wet bird will bring that into your coop. You want that to evaporate as quickly as possible. The heater I bought was from Tractor Supply. It's a radiant heater/brooder combo. You don't want the coop to be too warm. Your birds will need to acclimate to the cooler weather. A heater and keeping the coop a cozy 60F/15C when it's in the 20F/-6C outside is not a good idea. You'll have birds staying in the coop and pooping in the coop. Not only do you have to worry about the ammonia fumes, but they aren't eating and calories are needed in winter. 

Nest Box

We are putting up nest box curtains. This will keep drafts out of the nest box while the girls are laying. It will allow to keep the heat a bit more regular as well. The nest box on our coop sticks out away from it and has about a foot of clearance from the ground. Pretty soon I will go in and fill in any cracks with some caulk. There are a few since I can see the light coming through. 

The Run

The run should be covered with a roof. This prevents snow and freezing rain to get onto the birds. Freezing rain can kill a chicken, so beware of this. The food should be in your run (NOT YOUR COOP unless you want rodents, because that's how you get rodents). The waterer should be in your run. You don't want moisture in your coop. Now...I don't know how many of you have hauled frozen buckets before. I used to break horses and caring for them in winter was a bear. Frozen water buckets weigh a ton and are just awful to deal with. Get a heated waterer. Some waterers are better than others. I know the little cups freeze. Nipple drinkers are great, but can freeze unless heated. We have a Premier 1 Poultry Nipple Drinker. It's heated. That was my first requirement for the girls. It's not cheap, but I HATE frozen buckets. It's nice in the summer too because the insulation helps keep the water cool.  We will be wrapping part of the run with a tarp if it gets cold and windy. Painters plastic works as well. Breaking the wind is a good idea because it will mess with how the chickens fluff themselves to trap warm air in their feathers. 

As winter approaches I will update what I do. We had a day that was 80F/26C. It was so hot and uncomfortable that we had to remove a lot of our winterization items. I will also update you as we find other things that work!

Broody Chickens

I had someone ask me questions on Instagram about topics to write about. One of the topics was broodiness in a flock without a rooster. I thought to myself oh my, we don't have breeds that typically go broody...except Luna. Luna is a Copper Marans x Cream Legbar. Marans are known for being broody and Legbars are not. Little did I know that Artemis, my sweet and cheerful Cream Legbar, would be the first hen to go broody in my flock.

I found Artemis to be broody when collecting eggs. She got all spikey and GROWLED at me. For those of you who have followed us for awhile, you have seen me rock Artemis to sleep. Growling is the last thing she would normally do. I had to go to my second job, but when the Bearded Claw came home he checked on her. She did the same thing to him. Hours later, I came home from work and set up the breaker.

Update: We were able to break Artemis in 3 days. It was easy to see that she wasn't ready because of the noises she was making. She was also not behaving like her sweet self. Having Artemis growl at me wasn't normal for her. I did floof her breast feathers a bit just to put cooler air under her. She did come round quick. Since we broke her, she hasn't laid eggs, but this is normal. She should return to laying once her hormones regulate themselves.

Artemis, the Cream Legbar is broody

Ever since I knew getting chickens was a reality, I researched everything I could. I would pour over books and forums trying to absorb as much as possible. There is SO MUCH GARBAGE OUT THERE! I found the blog of the Chicken Chick. I liked her no nonsense approach. To me, she is very practical. I will tell you about her method in a minute. She was part of why I was inspired to create this blog. I wanted to give advice based on what we have at the moment and could be used by people around the world, not just America. 

So onto the Broody Hen...

What NOT to do

Artemis is an angry, puffy pancake

Broodiness is created by hormones. It's baby fever so to speak. All that is on a broody hen's mind is to hatch eggs. A broody hen will sit...and sit...and sit. This means that she is not eating or drinking like she should. She will only get up to grab a quick drink, a small bite to eat, and to poop. This is like once a day. A broody hen can lose up to 20% of their body weight. It's not healthy and it's super hard on their bodies. They are susceptible to parasites, infections, and illness in their weakened state. THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS LET A BROODY HEN SIT WITH NO CHANCE OF HATCHING EGGS!

Don't chase her out of the nest box. She will go back. Baby fever causes one track minds! It will stress your bird even more.

Don't dunk her in cold water. Don't stick frozen things under her. Chickens' bodies are 105-107F (40.6-41.7 C). How cruel is that?

What you can do

If you do decide to let your broody hatch eggs, label the eggs so you know how long they've been under her. 21 days is the period it takes to hatch an egg, don't let her sit too much longer than that. REMEMBER HOW STRESSFUL THIS IS ON THEIR BODIES.

You can graft day old chicks to the broody. What this means is that you will slip baby chicks under her while she's sleeping so she thinks she hatched her eggs. This doesn't always work. We know many that want to be mothers, and aren't cut out for it. Be prepared to raise the chicks yourself if the broody attacks or abandons the chicks. You will have to use day old chicks, broody hens won't always accept slightly older ones.

The Broody Breaker Method and what we are trying

The Chicken Chick recommends immediately breaking up a broody hen if hatching eggs isn't going to happen. She recommends placing the broody hen in a dog kennel or rabbit hutch with a wire bottom floor to allow the hen to cool her brood patch. This is called the Broody Breaker.

Artemis and Luna in Club Med: Broody Breaker

I don't have a rabbit hutch or dog crate with a wire bottom. I have my med tent. It's a foldable dog kennel that I have for emergencies. 

I brought Artemis in last night in the dark. I put her in the med tent with Luna. I was worried about reintegration later and stressing her more by being alone. There is a perch, food, and water. They are in my office and I am going in and out of the room on a regular basis and I have left the lights on in the room. I can tell Artemis is still broody this morning, she's doing that weird growl and puffing up still. It's cute to see her temper tantrum. I'm hoping to put her back in the flock in a day or so. We will see. I will update as this unfolds!

Update: We were able to break Artemis in 3 days. It was easy to see that she wasn't ready because of the noises she was making. She was also not behaving like her sweet self. Having Artemis growl at me wasn't normal for her. I did floof her breast feathers a bit just to put cooler air under her. She did come round quick. Since we broke her, she hasn't laid eggs, but this is normal. She should return to laying once her hormones regulate themselves.

To read about the Chicken Chick's Method: https://the-chicken-chick.com/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch/

Sources: Backyard Chickens Forum, The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow, The Chicken Chick's Guide to Backyard Chickens by Kathy Shea Mormino , Google....and I don't want to credit the websites who are giving that terrible advice...just know that there's a lot of nonsense to sift through.

Determined to stop being broody

What your Chickens NEED for Summer

When setting out to create this blog, I wanted to make sure that we weren't just talking about America. (We're very ego centric over here.)

Right now the Northern Hemisphere is making its change to winter and the Southern Hemisphere is making its change to spring. We all learned this in primary school. Here are some tips and suggestions for both seasons. I will start with summer since we just came from that.

Summer with Chickens

It's so exciting, the weather is always something to look forward to after months of winter. Your chickens may not be looking forward to the heat. A chicken's core body temperature runs between 105-107F /40.5-41.6 C. Add in the fact they are wearing a fluffy, down duvet cover and it's going to be an uncomfortable time for them. We haven't even factored in the humidity levels of places yet. 

Water

Princess Leia grabs a drink of cool water

The best way to combat the heat is to have water available everywhere. You have to be careful though, if the water gets close to a chicken's body temperature, they will refuse to drink. Keeping water in shady areas so they don't need to hunt for it is the way to go. I had several drinkers throughout where the girls would stay during the day. Many of them I would freeze overnight so there would be ice water in the morning. I took plastic bottles and jugs and froze them. Then I stuck the frozen bottles in the drinkers.

Let's talk electrolytes. Yes they are important. Should you be giving these to your birds though? If the day was in the 100's/40's I would give them one drinker with electrolytes and the rest fresh water. I only did this if they were panting and had their wings drawn away from their sides. Sometimes electrolytes change the taste of the water. Chickens don't have many taste buds, but the water stays on their taste buds longer than food. I've seen chickens refuse to drink water that has electrolytes. The other thing is people don't give their birds enough credit. They know what they need. Giving them the only choice of electrolytes to drink can lead to an imbalance and let's face it...your birds are already stressed!

Food

Summer is not the time to do strange things with a chicken's diet. Calories are a measurement of energy. In this case, the energy causes heat. You might start to notice your chickens are eating less and not moving around as much. Neither would you if you were in 100F/37C weather in a giant coat that you can't take off. Adding extras like watermelon or fruits, while helpful can cause big issues if over done. I personally have frozen blueberries and put those in water. It forces the girls to drink, they are able to drink cool water, and the berries soak up extra water. However, I don't really want them eating extras in the summer because of calories burning up. I have also put ice in the water. They enjoyed playing and drinking the ice water. But again, you don't want them doing too much. I see the frozen trays with corn and things like that. A chicken's beak is sensitive and banging it around on the ice doesn't seem like it would feel great. Plus it burns calories.

Eggs

I haven't had much experience with eggs being laid in the heat. My gals started laying in August and while it's hot here in the Land of Pleasant Living, it's not as hot as July. Egg production will suffer during the heat. You will see it all. Rubber eggs, thin shells, shell-less eggs, or no eggs at all. Hens will be focused on dealing with surviving the heat, not reproducing (again calories burning!). Consider adding a bit of baking soda to your water (1/4c to every gallon). It will help with the electrolyte loss and it will help with replacing the calcium that is being lost or not ingested due to the heat. Again, make sure there are fresh, clean, and cool water options also available. Keep their diet as close to normal as possible. 

Poop💩

Poop...it's everywhere. We know this as chicken tenders. However, there is normal poop, and there is the watery heat created poops. A chicken will poop out what almost looks like diarrhea when hot. This is a cooling method called excretory heat transfer/loss. This is a good thing. One it means they are drinking water. Two, it means they are trying to cool themselves. You should be looking at your chickens' poop and know the difference between a healthy poo and an unhealthy one. However, if you see them pooping even more frequently and it's watery...they're cooling themselves and are drinking lots of water. 

What to do in an emergency

Most of us do not have access to a vet. When a chicken is in heat distress you might not have time on your side. Please do not cool them down too quickly. They are just like people in that respect. I kept an emergency bucket under a tree in the shade for emergencies. The water wasn't hot and it wasn't cold, lukewarm/tepid. If I saw my girls panting, wings held away from their body, and a weird comb/wattle color, they would get a dip in the pool. I would hold them with their feet in the water. Their feet are a cooling area and cooling those help cool the bird. If it had been severe, I would've dunked them in the bucket up to their neck. Thank goodness I didn't have to do that. Having a place for chickens to walk through water is always a welcome respite from the heat. Many chickens HATE water (unless it's raining and then good luck keeping them dry🙄 ) and will not willingly go into a wading pool. You can use a mister, but if you're like us, it doesn't help in the humid summer we experience. 

Coop Prep

You want all the ventilation. ALL OF IT. Put windows on all sides of your coop and have them wide open. There were days where the heat index was around 105 F/40 C. We had several fans going, the coop was completely open, nest box was propped open, doors open, and I even took the back off the coop and put up hardware cloth. We would hose down the roof of the coop when it was 110 F/43 C inside. We put up tarps to shade the coop (and will use them in the winter to wrap parts of it). Use sand for your litter. It will keep the stink down, absorb the moisture from the wet poop, and it actually acts as a cooling agent in the summer. Keep your fans running at night by your chickens. In winter drafts are an issue. In summer, that's not a bad thing to have in your coop. The airflow will help them when they are sleeping and unable to drink water. 

Place a thermometer in the the coop so you know what the temperature is inside!

The back wall comes off our coop and now has a giant flap window and a fan attached to the wall

Hopefully you have found this to be practical and useful information! I have done my research by reading books by Gail Damerow, Kathy Shea Mormino, and from just my own experience. 

I will cover how to deal with winter in my next post and how to winterize your coop.

Welcome to the Covid Cluckers

 Welcome to our blog! We are the Covid Cluckers. We are chickens being raised in the times of Covid-19. 

Our owners purchased us before the mandatory stay at home orders occurred. They were worried about a viable food source since grocery stores were empty. The overreaction of so many people are the reason we came to be. What our owners didn't realize, was that we were more than a food source. We have helped them every day since our arrival. 

Our owners have worked very hard to research all things chicken. They will be sharing practical tips for raising chickens and just humorous stories of us in general. We want to help you sort through all the garbage advice out there. We know so many of these blogs give random and sometimes cruel advice that is harmful to your flock. We want to make sure that we are inclusive of other countries and their resources besides America. 

Many of you are here from Instagram. We refer to our owners as The Claw and The Bearded Claw.  When we were in the brooder, all we saw coming for us was a claw. That's it. No fancy story, just the Claw. 

Because we don't have thumbs or any way of actually typing (we have tried!) The Claw will be documenting our journey and any tips we find along the way.  Hopefully, you will find what we have to offer useful. 

Enjoy our blog!

The Covid Cluckers and Claws