Better Day, Recovery, Going Forward

Only lost one bird today, but that bird had weak legs and was very stressed from yesterday's disaster. It refused to move out of the sun and looks like it just gave up. The extra shade and less crowded conditions did the trick. The day was not quite as hot as forecast which was good. The real issue with the disaster day was the wide temperature swing, probably 45+ degrees after the cool spell. Must certainly remember this in the future when an extreme weather change is forecast. Had we been home, instead of out making a produce delivery, I might have noticed when the first bird died and could have tried to make some changes. Besides the extra tarp/shade cloth idea, it would have been good to have an old camper shell , hoop, etc for portable shade to separate the birds and give them more space. I will try to latch on to materials that may be suitable for small portable shade areas to be used as needed. Worst case, I'll just build a wood frame covered with metal roofing for this purpose. The bunching behavior has to be mitigated somehow in a stressful situation. They will crowd, climb, bunch up in response to any perceived or real stress. The Salatin pen seems better suited as they can move out of the shade, test the sun, and quickly go back under the shade if they consider the sun to be too hot. I may be doing more of these pens going forward. Right now the Salatin pen is in the market garden where the birds have a chance to work the soil there.