Arizona Chickens

[GreatWhiteAfro]

Ok, I thought I would ask you locals this question. Should I be worried about rattle snakes now that I have chickens? I live in Casa Grande and our neighborhood cul-de-sac opens into the desert. And we have seen a few. Or am I being paranoid?

 

[countrygirl74]

Ok, I thought I would ask you locals this question. Should I be worried about rattle snakes now that I have chickens? I live in Casa Grande and our neighborhood cul-de-sac opens into the desert. And we have seen a few. Or am I being paranoid?

I had read that only guineas are really good at keeping snakes out, so I don't really know how a hen or rooster would fare... we have lots of snakes around here, mostly king snakes that I am always picking up and saving from my dogs! I want them to live because they keep the rattlesnakes away. Just for the added protection though, I put hardware cloth around the bottom walls of the entire run and then finished the rest of the "walls" and roof with chicken wire (well, actually stucco wire, because it's a lot easier to work with and get huge rolls for a fraction of the price).

 

[GreatWhiteAfro]

I should h

I had read that only guineas are really good at keeping snakes out, so I don't really know how a hen or rooster would fare... we have lots of snakes around here, mostly king snakes that I am always picking up and saving from my dogs! I want them to live because they keep the rattlesnakes away. Just for the added protection though, I put hardware cloth around the bottom walls of the entire run and then finished the rest of the "walls" and roof with chicken wire (well, actually stucco wire, because it's a lot easier to work with and get huge rolls for a fraction of the price).

bed asked that differently..are the chickens going to attract more snakes? I didn't know if a larger rattler would see them as an option. I've only seen one king snake since I lived here and my cats found it before me. My son has a Honduran milk snake for a pet, he's really nice looking.

 

[turkeybreeder]

hi looking for a blue orpington thats not too expensive
or if i borrow it for a week or two to cross with my cornish
chickens i can leave a deposit and when i bring it back
you can return the deposit and if you like some
chicks that i hatched you can have some

 

[Phottoman]

FINALLY, my DAYS OFF !!!

So ... I went into Kingman to do a few things, and brought a flat of my Barley Fodder with me to show Linda, the manager at Stockton Hill Feed, and the new chickens were there. How cute. But when I asked, I was told they were all spoken for. But Linda (Darn her anyway) piped up with "No, I have five RIR's and you can have them if you want." Seems that although all the chicks were spoken for this time, someone didn't pick theirs up, and she knew I wanted to rebuild the flock.

Darn, I just HAD to look, didn't I? So .... I am starting to rebuild my flock I guess. They are now here in the room with me, in a cage large enough for 10 chicks. I have to rebuild the brooder I dissembled last year in July when I had thought twenty chickens would be enough. I am just realizing how much I missed the sounds of baby chicks scratching and chirping quietly. That sound sure is comforting.

Of course that was before my flock was decimated by God only knows what. I lost eight chickens in an hour and a half several months ago, then another one two weeks ago. It seems one of my sisters was visiting the other sister next door, and her dog dug under the fence and nailed my chickens, and ate them. I found the hole under the fence, and the pile of chicken feathers in her yard, so the hole now has a beautiful cactus growing in it, and I just DARE that chicken eating dog to show itself on my side of the yard again.

Then I lost a rooster and the twenty birds are now down to nine, BUT, yesterday I got FIVE eggs from those nine. They are finally starting to produce again.

What I was told last year (a year ago this month as a matter of fact) was that those first two birds were RIRs, but they give me delicious green eggs, so there is some EE mixed in their DNA. Does anyone remember the story I told a year ago when I bought those first two birds and brought them home? My wonderful GF named them "Delicious" and "Delectable." They were, my dog discovered them that night. I went back and got two more and re-named then the same, and those are the ONLY TWO of my birds with names.

I think I will have to find an incubator cheap, and this year raise my own chickens.

If I can get a rooster that is easy to get along with, I'll mate him with anything I have in the yard, then start incubating six eggs a month and raise them for meat.

But I have to build my flock back up to twenty girls first, then add a rooster ... we'll see.

Sorry, I seem to be just rambling here, but I wanted to be selfish and just talk about what's happening here, not asking anything nor answering other's questions. Ain't that just terrible of me?

Skip

 

[kacklinkelly]

Skip - it always feels good to be back on track. Congrats on your new reds and
here's hoping they are all pullets. I have one and she is pretty funny and quite
tame. She's the only one that lets my 6 y o grandson catch her every time.

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

Would you be able to share some video/sound of SHim crowing? I'm not questioning you, just curious.

No problem.... Will try tomorrow morning.
I took these when I got home from work today.

 

[Demosthine]

FINALLY, my DAYS OFF !!!

So ... I went into Kingman to do a few things, and brought a flat of my Barley Fodder with me to show Linda, the manager at Stockton Hill Feed, and the new chickens were there. How cute. But when I asked, I was told they were all spoken for. But Linda (Darn her anyway) piped up with "No, I have five RIR's and you can have them if you want." Seems that although all the chicks were spoken for this time, someone didn't pick theirs up, and she knew I wanted to rebuild the flock.

Darn, I just HAD to look, didn't I? So .... I am starting to rebuild my flock I guess. They are now here in the room with me, in a cage large enough for 10 chicks. I have to rebuild the brooder I dissembled last year in July when I had thought twenty chickens would be enough. I am just realizing how much I missed the sounds of baby chicks scratching and chirping quietly. That sound sure is comforting.

Of course that was before my flock was decimated by God only knows what. I lost eight chickens in an hour and a half several months ago, then another one two weeks ago. It seems one of my sisters was visiting the other sister next door, and her dog dug under the fence and nailed my chickens, and ate them. I found the hole under the fence, and the pile of chicken feathers in her yard, so the hole now has a beautiful cactus growing in it, and I just DARE that chicken eating dog to show itself on my side of the yard again.

Then I lost a rooster and the twenty birds are now down to nine, BUT, yesterday I got FIVE eggs from those nine. They are finally starting to produce again.

What I was told last year (a year ago this month as a matter of fact) was that those first two birds were RIRs, but they give me delicious green eggs, so there is some EE mixed in their DNA. Does anyone remember the story I told a year ago when I bought those first two birds and brought them home? My wonderful GF named them "Delicious" and "Delectable." They were, my dog discovered them that night. I went back and got two more and re-named then the same, and those are the ONLY TWO of my birds with names.

I think I will have to find an incubator cheap, and this year raise my own chickens.

If I can get a rooster that is easy to get along with, I'll mate him with anything I have in the yard, then start incubating six eggs a month and raise them for meat.

But I have to build my flock back up to twenty girls first, then add a rooster ... we'll see.

Sorry, I seem to be just rambling here, but I wanted to be selfish and just talk about what's happening here, not asking anything nor answering other's questions. Ain't that just terrible of me?

Skip

Boy Skip, sounds like quite the year of trials and tribulations. I'm not sure my wife would let me start a new flock after all that. Heck, I'm not sure I would want to start... Nah, nevermind. I would have been down there that same weekend buying new chicks. I'm hoping one of my new Marans is a rooster, but he has to be a quiet and docile one if he's going to stick around. I can't have him waking all the neighbors up at all hours of the night. I'm not lucky enough to live in the middle of nowhere, so my neighbors are a concern.

And you can ramble any time. I love reading other peoples' stories.



In the meantime, my wife dropped a bombshell on me this tonight. The Silkies should be laying any day now. When I added them to my signature, I put the date we bought them from Katie, instead of the estimated date they hatched. That put my numbers about seven weeks behind. As it turns out, they are all about 19 weeks old! I wasn't too worried about fixing the ramp going to the coop until she mentioned that. Now I need it fixed tomorrow, otherwise I'll be hunting through the yard for those darn eggs! My Dad gave me a great idea. Instead of using the counter top anti-skid stuff, he said I should put on a coat of that spray-on bed liner. It should give them excellent grip without having to adjust the cross pieces of wood and just has to be sprayed off with the hose to clean it. I don't think I've heard a better idea all week! It may be more work than the counter stuff, but in the long run...

And I really need to add my Marans to the list. They are getting so big. I really need to post some updated photos this coming week. Tomorrow is a really busy day, though.

We've been getting about 10 eggs from our 2 girls each week, so I can't complain. Knock on wood, there hasn't been a single day without at least one egg. They are still smallish, but that's ok. All in due time. I'd rather smaller eggs than the unhealth, who-knows-what eggs from the store. And these are such a beautiful tan color!

 

[Demosthine]

No problem.... Will try tomorrow morning.
I took these when I got home from work today.

I absolutely love him! He reminds me of a beautiful monsoon storm. I'm going to have to go back and look at the breed you mentioned.

NnnnnnOoooooooooo!!! That may be the start of chicken math!!!

 

[countrygirl74]

I absolutely love him! He reminds me of a beautiful monsoon storm. I'm going to have to go back and look at the breed you mentioned.

NnnnnnOoooooooooo!!! That may be the start of chicken math!!!

It's funny you should mention that - I named my brand new little blue cochin girl Monsoon when I picked her up about a week and a half ago. And yes, chicken math is terrible. I was set to only get about 8-9 new babies, but I am already planning on standing in line tomorrow before the feed store opens to get my hands on a couple more that I decided I wanted. At least I know I have to draw the line somewhere due to space!
Also, on the silkies, my one and only little white silkie hen (Cloud) was the first out of my entire current flock to lay. She is 20 weeks old and I got my 2nd egg from her today. So hopefully you'll see some soon!