Arizona Chickens - Page 2736

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevs-chickadees 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pupeluv 

How many of you let your chickens free range during the day? Do you lose any to hawks?

Mine free range all day too. We hardly ever see hawks and when we do they don't stick around for long. They would have plenty of the sky rats to prey on before any of the chickens around here. We also currently lock them in the coop at night but it's more to control the rooster's vocals at the break of dawn. As soon as he's gone they are free to come and go as they please.

Mine are out all day too.  I haven't seen any hawks but I did have a coyote jump into the back yard over the block wall.  He fell in the pool and then I chased him off and I haven't seen him again.

I guess he figured there are easier meals elsewhere.

Well, I don't know enough about the breeds to know what kind I want...LOL I want a calm and gentle breed that I can hand tame. I want ones that will sit on my lap. I need them to be quiet and not high strung. I live in an HOA and I don't want noisy ones if I can help it. :) I have a test that I do with all my new animals. If they fall asleep in my hand or like to be held well then, they are mine! I want young babies. Mine they say were 5 days old. I also want large eggs and good layers. It won't take much to enable me....LOL 

I walk out and see my 4 week old buff opington chick sprawled over out on its side, legs outstretched. I thought it was dead. My heart dropped! I ran over to it and it got up and looked at me like "Hey! Why are you disturbing my sleep?" LOL I didn't know they do that! I also saw that my 2 4 week old chicks are now sleeping/sitting with my rescued quail all huddled together. I am glad the quail has company but I am not sure how enthused she is about it! :)

Thanks SS I will be careful what I get for Blue Bell's eye.

Quote:

Originally Posted by parentwarrior 

Well, I don't know enough about the breeds to know what kind I want...LOL I want a calm and gentle breed that I can hand tame. I want ones that will sit on my lap. I need them to be quiet and not high strung. I live in an HOA and I don't want noisy ones if I can help it. :) I have a test that I do with all my new animals. If they fall asleep in my hand or like to be held well then, they are mine! I want young babies. Mine they say were 5 days old. I also want large eggs and good layers. It won't take much to enable me....LOL 

As many answers you get, so will you get chickens. 

From my quite limited experience I have found that they are much like people.

Two of the same breed from the same batch can have entirely different personalities.

One Dot ( a Red Broiler who has no business being friendly and laying every day) loves me and will set contentedly on my leg, her sister could care less & while I can pick her up would rather be elsewhere.

Same with the spitz.  Two of them are friendly - two very skittish

WHERE IS EVERYBODY!?!?!?

So we went outside to putt the cluckers to bed and round up the peepers and what do we find???

Three of the spitz had taken up roost in the big girls coop.  

I consulted with the Control Tower and she said let 'em stay!  

Going to have to keep a pretty good ear out tomorrow morning for a bunch of crashing and squawking & come the rescue if need be.  

Are those crickets I hear?    How old are those spitz now?  That's a big step for them!  One of my cockerals was stalking the outside of the big coop tonight and I thought he'd get the nerve to go in, but he went back to hang with his brothers in the tractor after all the ladies went to roost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pupeluv 

How many of you let your chickens free range during the day? Do you lose any to hawks?

I used to be very vigilant about locking up the birds when I wasn't outside.  In the past couple months I've become somewhat complacent about that and letting them run free for the day.  We have Cooper's hawks in the yard every day, multiple times a day, but they don't mess with the older girls.   I do worry about Red Tailed hawks and Harris's hawks, but they don't come into the yard much--I see the latter a lot but they stay high.  Other people here on this thread have lost birds to hawks in the past.  Probably the highest risk I have is from stray dogs coming over the wall.  Of course they are all locked up well at night.  I think that if you decide to free-range, you have to accept that the risk of losing birds is higher. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fuzzybird 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puffycheeks 

NO contact lens solution made of sterile saline solution  will not sting.

Is Visine the same thing?

NOt 100% sure but I dont think so?