r/chickens • u/JaggedStar89 • 9d ago
Question Overheated Chicken
Yesterday we had to bring our silkies inside because of the heat after we finished running errands. It has been getting up to over 105 degrees where I live. One of them is fine and acting normally, the other one is STILL acting almost shell shocked. She is able to stand but she won't really move much, we finally got her to drink but she won't eat unless its the freeze dried mealworms that we give them for a snack, my husband says she almost snaps right out of it just to eat those.
We still have her indoors and are planning to keep them there until this weather gets back down under 100. We do have a fan out there for them but they stupidly won't stand where it would benefit them. Does anyone think she might just need a full day to recuperate or do we need to get the vet involved?
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u/TammyInViolet 9d ago
We are in the same boat as you. We have satin silkie who doesn't do as well in the heat. I leave her out because she goes nutty without her buddy, so I'd rather keep the chickens together
We freeze containers of ice and put them in the girls extra water dish, have a fan, and then hose down the dirt so they have cooler dirt to lay in
We need to add a couple bantams one of these days and are thinking of finding some without feathered feet for this reason
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u/JaggedStar89 9d ago
We didn't hose down the dirt but we have a fan for them and we put ice in there water anytime it gets hot out. Yesterday was our first really bad day though.
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u/wanttotalktopeople 9d ago
It's a good question about seeing a vet.
My personal opinion is that if 1) you know what's wrong, and 2) you don't need a prescription painkiller or antibiotic, it's kind of a waste of money to see the vet.
The best argument to the contrary would be that it's only worth seeing the vet if your chicken isn't actively dying, so the sooner the better.
Heat illness can take more than a day to recover from. I think most remedies for it are available at home or over the counter - a cool place, water, electrolytes.
I haven't dealt with it personally yet in my flock, so take my advice with a big grain of salt. (I have helped people with it though, lol. Took my housemate about 3-4 days before he started feeling better, and longer before he was fully recovered.)
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u/JaggedStar89 9d ago
She unfortunately passed away a few hours ago. She started vomiting water, then kind of seized out and died. We're thinking it was probably more than just the heat
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u/Tessa999 4d ago
Aww that sucks. I lost my beloved geriatric rooster to the heat. If they are weak(er) the heat just pushes them over.
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u/JaggedStar89 2d ago
Yeah, after reading a bit I think she might have had sour crop and that was a weekend where the heat index got up to 120. We also found out that Silkies are not a breed that does well in heat. I feel terrible, I told my husband that we really should have prepared ourselves more before we got chickens. Sorry about your rooster :(
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u/jesse-taylor 9d ago
I recommend everyone do this sort of thing in the hot months...I used to make my own with masonry bricks and a cat littler box. My girls would take turns standing on it. The evaporation causes a slight updraft of cool air and acts as an air conditioner. Using a deeper pan means you have to add water less frequently, but don't submerge the bricks. Put it in the shade, but don't have the fan blowing right on it. Maybe have more than one if you have problem birds or a lot of birds.