This guide is intended to help people new to incubation learn how to properly incubate and hatch eggs.
It will walk you through how to incubate and hatch most common types of poultry, such as chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, etc. Read Article
Forget the ice cubes and frozen water bottles, if your chickens live in triple digits, ice is going to melt in minutes and be of no help at all. In Arizona, we have to be much more clever than that!
Mist systems aren’t always helpful because some chickens will avoid them, but I still use them. The best way to help your chickens survive the heat is to give them a more natural way to keep cool. Dig them a shallow pond and put a hose on a slow drip. This will bring up worms, and that’s a sure way to keep chickens interested in staying right where you want them. You don’t have to go through a lot of trouble, keep it simple. Watch the sun, and make sure your little oasis will be in the shade during the hottest part of the day.
Put a drinker in different places so there is always water in the shade. If you can’t find suitable shade, make some. Make use of mesh shade tarps, shade cloth, shade sails, etc. Be creative, I found an old pallet, covered it with shade cloth, leaned it up against a fence, and put a drinker under it.
Today it is 107, and by the end of the month it will be 115+, these are brutal temperatures and can be fatal to chickens. With something as simple as a shallow pond, they will be fine. Wherever you live, there is dirt, water, and I’m guessing you own a shovel… it’s that easy!
Tip: if you have bushes or trees by your chickens, spray them with water during the day. Your chickens will be drawn to the cool air around the trees and have a chance to recover from the heat.
Here’s a simple how-to video on how to put on leg bands. This is the best way to identify your birds or keep track of multiple flocks. My birds all look identical, each leg band has a highly visible number making it easy to know which hen is which. They come in various sizes and colors so it’s not at all hard finding your specific preference.
Many chicken keepers use brightly colored zip ties, including me, but I must admit, they are hard to get on and off and they get brittle with age.
You can get leg bands at Murray McMurray
TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources 