Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

I know I told them last week that it disturbs them , this is the same one who gave me her sick chick. It's exasperating and she outright said she wouldn't tie them up to me I think that's mean to tie them up too, but you can secure them properly in a fence it doesn't take much to bury the fence a bit my dog never gets out.... sigh

One of my neighbors have 2 of those little dog's that can fit through those big squares in part of their fence. They come into my yard and head straight back to where my coop is at. I keep waiting for my 3 yard roosters to try to breed those 2 little dogs because they are mature enough and frustrated because they can't get in to where the hens are at.

 

[Geranium]

Hand feeding the chicks some "treats" (chick feed)!

 

[SonoranChick]

@Geranium oh my goodness they're already getting so big! They really are looking good. Nice & healthy

Yesterday was my baby shower and it was a whopping 104* out, and then randomly at about 8:30 at night it started RAINING! This weather is so crazy! I bet the chickens are confused...I know I am. I think we will be getting pine shavings sometime this month to put down in the run. I'm still apprehensive to start doing deep bedding, but I am 100% certain I will not be cleaning that area daily when baby comes in just over a month. Deep bedding is a decent option for now, and then once spring or summer hits I will put it all in the garden or compost beds and figure something else out, maybe go back to sand. I'll keep sand in the coop, they are rarely in there except to sleep and lay.
Also, we had a long black racer snake (that's what we call them...the super fast black ones, no venom) that came into the run the other day! I have a feeling he has visited before, the chickens seemed pretty unfazed. He hung out in the misters for a bit then found his way out.

 

[BlueBaby]

@Geranium oh my goodness they're already getting so big! They really are looking good. Nice & healthy

Yesterday was my baby shower and it was a whopping 104* out, and then randomly at about 8:30 at night it started RAINING! This weather is so crazy! I bet the chickens are confused...I know I am. I think we will be getting pine shavings sometime this month to put down in the run. I'm still apprehensive to start doing deep bedding, but I am 100% certain I will not be cleaning that area daily when baby comes in just over a month. Deep bedding is a decent option for now, and then once spring or summer hits I will put it all in the garden or compost beds and figure something else out, maybe go back to sand. I'll keep sand in the coop, they are rarely in there except to sleep and lay.
Also, we had a long black racer snake (that's what we call them...the super fast black ones, no venom) that came into the run the other day! I have a feeling he has visited before, the chickens seemed pretty unfazed. He hung out in the misters for a bit then found his way out.

So, the snake wasn't after your eggs?

 

[SonoranChick]

@BlueBaby I don't think so. He came in and went straight over to the misters, wound up in the rocks, then scooted out. The nest box is on the other end, up the ladder and in the enclosed coop, which a snake could get to but it would have to work hard to do so. What do you think a broody hen would do if a snake tried to come in for eggs? My girl isn't broody anymore but I'm wondering, would she chase him out?

 

[BlueBaby]

@BlueBaby I don't think so. He came in and went straight over to the misters, wound up in the rocks, then scooted out. The nest box is on the other end, up the ladder and in the enclosed coop, which a snake could get to but it would have to work hard to do so. What do you think a broody hen would do if a snake tried to come in for eggs? My girl isn't broody anymore but I'm wondering, would she chase him out?

I don't know if a broody would get off the nest to chase a snake off or not, but I bet if the snake tried to enter the nesting box, she would peck it. If it happened at night, it might be another story. Hopefully a poisonous snake wouldn't be the one and bite her in the process.

 

[SonoranChick]

Even more reason to hope for some cooler weather to send the snakes away for the winter! I don't mind the non-venomous visitors at all (they eat the mice and pack rats, and can take over territory of rattlesnakes and push them out) but I wouldn't like it if they came in for the eggs.

 

[BlueBaby]

Even more reason to hope for some cooler weather to send the snakes away for the winter! I don't mind the non-venomous visitors at all (they eat the mice and pack rats, and can take over territory of rattlesnakes and push them out) but I wouldn't like it if they came in for the eggs.

I agree, but I'm pretty sure that they are starting to breed this time of year? So, you will have to keep your eye's open to watch for that.

 

[FeatherPugs]

@SonoranChick Racers are pretty skinny right - at least the ones around here are. I've only seen one in the long number of years we've been here - a red racer - mouth didn't look big enough!
@BlueBaby - a broody hen would kill to the end if they had guts enough to come near them/their babies or eggs. There are a few YouTubes out there.......
Sometimes the king snake that lives at the neighbors mostly will come into the yard - seems to have done it often and the girls just ignore it. Makes me jump but not them!

 

[meetthebubus]