It's H-O-T out there! Temperatures this week have soared to well above 100 degrees, putting our poor chickens in a state of distress. In fact, John came home on Monday to discover that we'd lost a laying chicken, bringing our flock down to 5. I guess it gives us away as "unseasoned" farmers, but we feel this loss greatly. We know that we have a responsibility to care for our animals, and we appreciate the foods they provide us in return. So, a loss makes us reflective. Are we doing all we can to keep our animals comfortable and healthy?

So, here are the meat chickens, enjoying the breeze created by their new box fan.

And, the fan on the laying hens. Of course, this doesn't help venitlate the house, where the chickens go to lay their eggs.

The coop is built to allow some venitlation here, but it's still stifling inside.

We're also adding frozen cartons of water to the coops during the hottest parts of the day. Hopefully, we can make it through this hot season without losing our entire flock.

If anyone has a suggestion for keeping the flock more comfortable during these extreme temperatures, I'd welcome advice!