Arizona Chickens

[Twinklin]

WooHoo! Awesome on your 3rd hen laying! Maybe her egg color will change over the next few days, but it doesn't look like it will be blue

I'm feeling better about the cream colored egg now. It is a really pretty egg and a great contrast to the brown eggs I currently get. The shape was perfect and quite large, it's even bigger than Phillie's eggs are now and she's been laying for many weeks. It was just a bit of a let down initially because I wanted that blue egg so badly. I'll see what Eleanor gives me today... hopefully she will be patient and remain in the box to lay and not have another accident in the muddy part of the yard.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Here is my setup for the bigger coop. We just added the nesting boxes today, but still need to add a lip to the top ones to keep the hay in. This is 10x10.



And here's the smaller coop. It is basically a tractor coop that we enclosed in another dog kennel for extra room and extra protection. This one is 5x15 for the whole thing.

I agree with the others that you should put up a wind/rain barrier for the area around the nest boxes and roosts. I'd probably put something up across the entire backside and half-way (meaning back to front) on the two sides. Tarps, plastic tablecloths, shower curtains, or heavy (6 mil or better) plastic will work for this. Is the top covered with anything more than shade cloth? If not, I think it would be very good to cover it with wire. Also, is there anything to keep diggers out? If not, I'd suggest a wire apron extending out some distance (18" to 2') 90 degrees from the bottom of the fence wall. It could be buried or simply pinned down on top of the ground. Something like 2" X4" welded wire would be fine to keep dogs and coyotes from getting under. Maybe you have all of these issues already addressed, but it's hard to know from the pics. Finally, before next summer it would be very good to have shade cloth covering the entire south and west sides of your enclosures. With the amount of shade that will make, it will greatly increase the amount of usable area for the chickens. As it is, it looks as if there would be too much sun exposure for the chickens to survive a hot summer day here in AZ. It looks like a great start for chicken enclosures though.

 

[pipemum]

Twinklin, it is a gorgeous egg, but i would have been disappointed too. The color is very similar to the one my Polish/silkie juat started laying, though Tangle's is more elongated and probably smaller, but mot as small as i was expecting. . I always thought the bantams laid little round eggs, have no idea why that notion was in my head.

Did 6 broilers as game hens yesterday. Used my drill plucker. Worked great on the breasts and backs, not much else! Friend helped, ahe was an okay gutter, horrid plucker! Was kinda fun event, though killing the first two was teally difficult. The first one's body jumped the cone and flipped around a garden bed like it was dancing. Horrendou, yet there was humor there. TThankfully i did that one before friend showed up, she would have freaked. Made a milk jug cone after that, worked betyer than the first one.

Didn't think to weigh the bodies individually, but i weigweighed two bags w two birds, each bag was 3lbs 6oz, so each body was probably 1.5lbsish. Looked good.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

katmotley, there are a couple of other things that that come to mind about your enclosures. First, I'd be a bit nervous about the roost placement as it is. Something can reach through the fence and grab a chicken that is close to the outer wall (even through chicken wire). I would either cover the part by the roosts with hardware cloth or move the roost away from reaching predators. Maybe you could make the roost free-standing away from the wall. Second, it's not clear how the chain link is connected at the top, but I'd make sure it was secured at least at every other link to the top rail of the structure. 14g galvanized wire loops twisted around the two would be good and maybe this could be done as you put a wire cover on the top. Finally, it looks from the pics of the slightly sagging shade cloth that there isn't much support over the top. On the larger enclosure I'd put two cross pieces to support the shade cloth and wire that you will have over the top. You could use galvanized top rail for chain link fence to span the middle. It comes in 10.5' lengths. You can cut it to length, bludgeon the ends flat and drill a hole in them and connect it to the two sides with galvanized tension bands. Use the galvanized carriage bolts which are found right there with the chain link fencing materials. (put the tension bands on first to determine the length of the cross pieces and where to drill the holes). It will look like the pic below. All the materials are relatively inexpensive and will go a long way towards keeping your chickens alive. Seems like everything likes to eat chickens.

 

[MandyFitch]

Looking to rehome my boys, two French Blue Copper Marans, nine weeks old. Feathered legs. I got them from RedRocketRooster who got them from The Garry Farm. She mentioned that they were from Greenfire lines.

T-Rex was huge from the get go and he's already looking out for the girls. No-name is bolder with people and rapidly catching "T" in size. Both will eat from my hand but they are not laps chickens. They are really pretty, though. I'm also going to rehome my nine week old silkies. I don't know their sex but I have a black, a blue and a white. They're gorgeous and complete dufuses.

Definitely not lap chicks.

 

[MandyFitch]

By the way, what's the going rate for a cockerel? I posted on the FB Backyard Farmers Group and have already been asked how much I want for them. I really just want them to go to good homes.

 

[Demosthine]

Mandy, the Stock Shop will pay you $8 each and sell them for the same. Craig's List is often free to $10 each. A great true-to-breed can go for $25 each, though.

 

[Demosthine]

For those that were interested in the seed, the photo below is 12 days after seeding. It is growing through a 1/4" layer of composting horse manure and being watered lightly every day and heavily every three days. My rabbits are loving it and the Houdini chickens seem to like it, too.

 

[MandyFitch]

Mandy, the Stock Shop will pay you $8 each and sell them for the same. Craig's List is often free to $10 each. A great true-to-breed can go for $25 each, though.

I'm afraid to sell them on Craigslist, Dem. I don't want them to get eaten!

There's a woman in Alabama I met on BYC who will buy them and pay for shipping but I've been afraid to try that. I might just, tho. She loves how pretty they are. Have any of you ever shipped a birds before?

 

[Demosthine]

You have to be NPIP Certified and have each bird tested for diseases. You'll receive a certificate of health once the results come back.

I'm not sure if they actually to ensure you meet these requirements or if they just verbally ask you. Regardless, they are extremely strict in actual enforcement, so I would not take a chance.