Ice cubes anyone?

OK, every day my husband considers that I have reached a new level of insanity, however, this morning I excelled myself. We have been struggling with the heat out here, and the calima seems to be relentless this time. Therefore, I have to think of ways to ensure that everything has fresh clean water all day, and also make the ground bearable for the chickens to walk on.

Only last week one of the chicks died, and when we discovered him, his feet were all burnt from the intense heat. These animals do everything possible to stay out of the heat, however helping them is a huge priority, but it must be done in cost effective ways.  Trying to combine natural methods, with cheap ways to keep everything cool is a priority.

I was sent a fantastic link yesterday by a friend of mine in the UK, outlining how to make mint ice cubes for the chickens. Its not as crazy as you may think, and as I grow fresh mint, this seemed like an excellent idea....hence why my husband thought I was mad when he walked into the kitchen this morning to find me chopping mint, placing it in ice cube trays and topping up with water.

Innocently he asked what I was doing, which typically does end in a bizarre answer, and today was no different when I smiled, and replied "making ice cubes for the chickens!" at this point he shook his head, smiled back and wandered off chuckling....he who mocks!

So off to the freezer went the ice cubes, until they are set and ready for the chickens... apparently the fresh mint has excellent cooling properties. With the ice cubes set and placed into a bowl, I entered the orchard obviously more excited than the chickens. They stared at the latest offering from the mad woman, and slowly begun to peck at the ice. I decided that even if they didn't like the ice cubes, it would keep the chickens distracted for long enough to stop all escape attempts!