LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) -It has been a summer like no other this year in Southern Nevada. We broke records a few times this month, and those record breaking temps are deadly for pets and humans.
FOX5 has also learned the temperatures are killing backyard chickens.
Rusty and Dusty and the rest of the chicken clan at Linzy Stahl’s backyard are not too fond of the heat.
The chickens are not stepping on egg shells to let you know they are hot.
“They will pant very heavily almost like a gasp sometimes they will open their mouths sometimes they will hold their wings out to cool themselves,” Stahl said.
Stahl has a range of chickens and turkeys and three of them died, but it was not “fowl” play, as the intense heat is to blame.
“I have never lost chickens like we did this year,” Stahl said. “We spend a lot of time out here with them to see them in distress and to lose them it is heartbreaking.”
Since most of her chickens come from out of state, not all of them can tolerate the heat. The chickens with the most feathers can’t cool off easily, so after the three chickens died, Stahl had a swamp cooler installed outside their coop.
As FOX5 saw for ourselves, it did not take too long for the chickens to flock to it.
Stahl said the chickens also get frozen watermelon treats to cool off along with cold water to drink and stand in. The chickens also get minerals in their water and sometimes has to bring them inside and put them in a dog kennel until they are healthy enough to go back outside.
Stahl stresses it is important for chicken owners to know what to do to prevent heat stress on chickens.
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