Tayler Scherr found herself unexpectedly clearing out her home office after encountering a surprise batch of chicks on July 10. Scherr, who raises chickens and ducks at her ranch near Glendive, Montana, found the newly hatched chicks amid the hottest weekend of the year.
Her flock includes free-ranging roosters, making new chicks inevitable, though the timing was later than preferred. “I decided they were outlaws,” Scherr said, explaining why she named them Thelma, Louise, and Bonnie.
Their arrival coincided with a record-breaking heatwave in southeastern Montana, with cities like Glendive, Billings, and Miles City reaching 115 degrees, just shy of Death Valley’s temperatures. “Walking outside was about equivalent to walking into an oven,” Scherr remarked.
Chicks usually need warmth, often provided by heat lamps, but this unexpected heatwave made them listless. Bonnie, in particular, struggled with heat stress. Scherr brought the chicks indoors to cool them off, turning her home office into a makeshift intensive care unit. Despite efforts to revive them, Bonnie didn’t survive, highlighting the attachment risks when caring for animals.
Such extreme heat events are increasingly frequent due to climate change, notes Kyle Bocinsky, director of climate extension for the Montana Climate Office. Livestock, poultry, and wildlife suffer similarly, as seen with 2.5 million chickens in France dying from heat. Only 70% of Montana homes have air conditioning, one of the lowest rates nationwide, leaving many ill-prepared for such heat waves.
Montana’s historically cooler climate means the state lacks infrastructure to handle heatwaves like Arizona or Texas. “An event like 115-degree temperatures in Montana is rare, but less so than 30 years ago,” Bocinsky said.
The Montana Climate Office, which monitors weather across the state, notes that this event exacerbates drought conditions as high temperatures accelerate soil moisture evaporation. Though Montana has enjoyed wetter conditions this summer, Bocinsky warns that these temperatures will quickly dry out the soil.
In Glendive, Thelma and Louise survived and returned outdoors, while Scherr hopes for no more surprise hatches until fall.
—
Read More Montana News
