Loss

We had a huge loss of meat chicks overnight and early this morning.  The weather has been crazy unpredictable from one extreme to the other.  Last couple days we had been melting in high heat and humidity.  I had rushed to get the chicks outside because they were sweltering and dying inside the greenhouse.  Then in a blink of an eye, the weather turned freezing overnight and I went out to the tractor to find three dead.  One thing about broiler chicks is they are not the smartest birds.  Instead of huddling for warm under the shelter, they chose to huddle out in the open, exposed to the elements.  I fed them and gave them fresh water then went off to do the rest of my morning chores which included rotating fences for the sheep and horses.  Hence I was gone a long time.  When I went back to the chicks to remove the dead ones I was shocked to find at least eight more dead chicks.  It is a windy and cold morning and they were not holding up well.  So me, hubby and the Bambino went about moving the remainder all back into the greenhouse where they are free ranging and looking ten times more comfortable.

The little buggers don't have enough feathers to protect them from the elements (particularly when the mercury level wants to drop below a comfort zone) and would like to keep them indoors until they reach 5 weeks old.  But if the weather gets sweltering once again I'm not sure what I'll do.