Some months ago my friend, Jaynie, gave me a pair of mottled d'Uccles. Little D's as we call them. There is a black male, named Shoester and his blue mate Prissy. Jaynie kept telling me how adorable these little guys are. How entertaining they can be.

So I have a pair of little D's and she was so right. They are everything she said and more. Even the hubs, who thinks I'm nuts, likes them. 

Priss has decided she wants to set on some eggs. So that's where she spends most of her day. In the afternoon its time for a break and she stands at her door jump/flapping straight up in the air to let her wishes be known. I open her door and she makes a bee line for her destination, the first day was the sand pile for a good dust bath. Yesterday it was to the mud holes I made for the chickens to keep cool in.

She started making all these sounds of utter delight running from one mud hole to another. She was so vocal about it all the birds out free ranging came running thinking that I was there with goodies. They gathered around her and studied what it was she had that they didn't and once they figured out it was just mud they all looked at me like it was my fault.

In a couple of weeks I'll get to see what kind of Momma she is and not long after that we'll have a whole passle of little D's to keep us entertained.

The stuff? The stuff is the heat. Its bad here. The Silkies are up in their coop with the AC on. Remember the mud holes? I turn the sprinkler on, it helps cool the air a bit while on but the more important thing is the wet ground, the water puddles and the eventual mud. Its gone a long way in helping the birds keep cooler. 

The only birds I have confined are the Silkies but they have AC, the others all have the opportunity to find spots to spend time in an effort to remain cool. 

Its time to go out and do my rounds once again. Its also getting close to that time of day that Prissy is ready for her afteroon break. Keep your birds cool by any means that works for you and remember to keep the human well hydrated too.