Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

Totally agree with Bluebaby - I've come to find out (in my very minimal hatching experience) that helping is not the way to go for ME. If a chick can't make it on its own there's a reason for it. I have helped and none that I've helped hatch survived more than a day or two.

Trying to fix a leg or some other issue close after hatching - I would try but not get my hopes up too much. I learn alot thru trying to fix things so I don't consider it a bad thing even if I can't fix it. It's nature - nature produces abundantly because it knows not everything will survive.

I agree. In nature, only the strong survive, and human's can't always fix everything.

 

[Geckolady]

Totally agree with Bluebaby - I've come to find out (in my very minimal hatching experience) that helping is not the way to go for ME. If a chick can't make it on its own there's a reason for it. I have helped and none that I've helped hatch survived more than a day or two.

Trying to fix a leg or some other issue close after hatching - I would try but not get my hopes up too much. I learn alot thru trying to fix things so I don't consider it a bad thing even if I can't fix it. It's nature - nature produces abundantly because it knows not everything will survive.

Belly is walking around with the other chicks now. I braced his legs with an H shaped band-aid, and he's gotten part of it off. He can walk and run, even though that leg is not quite in the position it should be. It might improve as his belly gets less chubby. And if he's never quite perfect--well, I'm not perfect either.

The two that I helped at hatch as still in the incubator and still too weak to get up. I give them Save-A-Chick several times a day, hoping they'll improve.

 

[Geckolady]

A happy update--I cut the rest of the brace off of Belly, and his gait is close to perfect.

 

[springvalley123]

We have a bit of winter coming back. My low temp is supposed to be 30 tonight. I have to re-winterize the garden hose system for the back (trees and chickens), and I'm going to add more draft protection and hang a second heat bulb for the chicks. a 20 degree drop in the low temp overnight! Winds from the east at the coldest point of the day--that never happens here but it's supposed to tomorrow morning.

 

[BlueBaby]

We have a bit of winter coming back. My low temp is supposed to be 30 tonight. I have to re-winterize the garden hose system for the back (trees and chickens), and I'm going to add more draft protection and hang a second heat bulb for the chicks. a 20 degree drop in the low temp overnight! Winds from the east at the coldest point of the day--that never happens here but it's supposed to tomorrow morning.

With everything else being crazy, why not the weather too, huh? Just be safe.

 

[CaroleW]

We have a bit of winter coming back. My low temp is supposed to be 30 tonight. I have to re-winterize the garden hose system for the back (trees and chickens), and I'm going to add more draft protection and hang a second heat bulb for the chicks. a 20 degree drop in the low temp overnight! Winds from the east at the coldest point of the day--that never happens here but it's supposed to tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the heads up - I have some preparations to do for the freeze & wind now!

 

[9d84runner]

Hey everyone! I need some input on my coop for the summer. I am not new to chickens but I am new to having chickens in Arizona. We moved to Yuma, AZ 4 years ago and I've been really good at not getting chickens because I was worried about the heat. For my birthday, my husband and son got me chicks... They were good and only got 3 thankfully because I have been stressing about the heat... My husband built me this coop which I guess someone at the store told him they have the same coop and perfect for adding fans/mister up high.

You guys are probably like, geeeez get to the point lady! SO! Will this work? It is an open air hoop coop. Front and back are open and before it started getting warmer it is completely open with a shade cloth over the top. I just added the tarp because it did get over 100 a few days ago and they needed real shade. However adding real shade to this coop seems difficult. I would of been happy with a normal coop but my husband LOVED this design the guy at the feed store showed him... I will be adding a fan to move air around, not sure about misters as I do have a sprinker that sort of comes in side (its not aggressive sprinkler, its more the a mister since its next to our tiny fruit tree). I did go inside and hung out for awhile the other day and it said it was 100 and seemed cooler to me inside but thoughts?

I hope this is the right place to post this. Someone told me to ask in the Arizona State post so I hope this is it. Don't mind the mess, we were still building the nest boxes in the back.

 

[springvalley123]

Hey everyone! I need some input on my coop for the summer. I am not new to chickens but I am new to having chickens in Arizona. We moved to Yuma, AZ 4 years ago and I've been really good at not getting chickens because I was worried about the heat. For my birthday, my husband and son got me chicks... They were good and only got 3 thankfully because I have been stressing about the heat... My husband built me this coop which I guess someone at the store told him they have the same coop and perfect for adding fans/mister up high.

You guys are probably like, geeeez get to the point lady! SO! Will this work? It is an open air hoop coop. Front and back are open and before it started getting warmer it is completely open with a shade cloth over the top. I just added the tarp because it did get over 100 a few days ago and they needed real shade. However adding real shade to this coop seems difficult. I would of been happy with a normal coop but my husband LOVED this design the guy at the feed store showed him... I will be adding a fan to move air around, not sure about misters as I do have a sprinker that sort of comes in side (its not aggressive sprinkler, its more the a mister since its next to our tiny fruit tree). I did go inside and hung out for awhile the other day and it said it was 100 and seemed cooler to me inside but thoughts?

I hope this is the right place to post this. Someone told me to ask in the Arizona State post so I hope this is it. Don't mind the mess, we were still building the nest boxes in the back.

View attachment 3061103

Glad you found our thread! Hoop coops are great, very flexible.
Tarps do block the sun's rays. If you find it builds up too much heat, consider replacing it with a double layer of good shade cloth, it'd probably repel rain staying bone dry inside and allow some of a breeze. I had a coop made out of the arc of a 14 ft trampoline and the 2 layers of shade cloth kept it completely dry. I was surprised, but I think it was the curve of the arc that allowed the doubled shade cloth to do this. Also, if you can have a fan, you could have a small outdoor swamp cooler instead. Even a fan probably won't be enough for Yuma, bearing in mind that even Andalusian chickens start to feel heat stress (panting, wings out) at 90 degrees. Most breeds show this same stress at 80-85, let alone 100 or 120 degrees. These coolers are about $150 probably by now. (oops, they've gone up! the one below is similar to what I had in black canyon city

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hessair...er-for-500-sq-ft-in-Sandstone-MC18S/317051471

That way you'd worry a lot less. You can also put a small thermometer in the coop, the kind that registers its hottest and coldest reading, and you'll know if the coop gets hotter than outside or not, at any point in the day or night. Speaking of, roosttime is the heat of the day in most areas of AZ where it gets hot, so late afternoon sun will be very important.

 

[azurbanclucker]

If you are going to keep them in there full time you're going to want a mister setup or a small swamp cooler. The key is to have a damp area in the coop and also a dry one so they're not constantly soaked and can move in and out as they choose. Also some shallow pans or a play pool with 2-3" of water in it for them to stand in and cool their feet. Toss in some frozen treats (make some salads, put them in water, freeze, toss the ice blocks in the pool) Watermelon is also a good treat cold or frozen. The desert is a harsh mistress, and no matter how good you do, you will lose some birds to heat. July/Aug are the worst, but it's going to be hot from april to halloween, so be prepared and have frozen goodies and cool treats in constant supply. And gatorade. My girls like frozen orange in their water. extra electrolytes in the summer is a good thing. When it's hot, no corn. no fatty treats. They take more energy to burn and you want your girls working less and staying comfortable.

You may want to reinforce the chicken wire next to the door on both sides too. With that much wire and no support, it would be pretty easy for a coyote to get in there.Really any place around your coop permieter where a predator can lean/push/pull open a spot should be reinforced. Keep an eye out for burrows too. Chickens attract all kinds of critters and there are mice, rats, and sneks. Your neighbor's house roof looks like newer construction so I'm guessing you're out in the foothills or the county in one of the new build subdivisions. You will see more displaced critters as a result of that, and they'll happily move in by your coop with easy access to food and water and shelter.

I'm with @springvalley123 on the shade cloth and thermometer (and you can get wifi thermometer kits super cheap even) . A couple of layers of that will give good coverage and be more breathable than the tarps are. Those tarps will still trap heat, even with front to back airflow, where the shade cloth will allow it to also vent from the entire surface of the cloth because it's a more permeable membrane.

Another thing I would strongly suggest is an emergency indoor chicken shelter. If you get an overheated birb, you can bring them inside to cool them down and have a place to keep them while they recover. A dog crate works fine for this, some place out of the way and quiet.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Also, do me a solid and fedex me some Chile Pepper so I don't have to come home and get it.?