Arizona Chickens

[Gallo del Cielo]

Here is a pic of most of the geese, and a few of the guineas hanging out in the tree

I think we're getting a better picture of how things sound at Bob's Henhouse.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

. Just checked on Felisha our broody, there are 11 eggs..

So NOW we will either have 5 hatch with in a day or two.. Then the others
with in a week or mre after.. At this rate she will be hatching out chicks for
about two weeks..
Has anyone had this happen to them? I could borrow a incubator if needed..

I would get the incubator going, just in case. While I've never experienced this exact situation, I suspect Felisha will abandon the remaining eggs to take the first chicks out exploring after they are a couple days old.

 

[kpgoldstar]

About the "lemon" there is also a type of gene that is causes slow feathering but I do not know much about it. Especially important would be if that gene is sex specific. But do tell us about the progress or not on that little bird.

I will certainly let you all know. She looks the same tonight as the last couple of days. Everyone else too. I will just wait and see how things progress. Thanks everyone for your concern and knowledge.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Hi Gallo and Pastry.. The boys are doing well. Wish they would spend more time here but since we don't have high speed internet or all heir friends in close proximity they prefer their mom's house.
Gallo, as LKD said, no, I didn't know her, I was just looking at turkeys in the freezer and she said she wanted to get a heritage turkey instead of a store bought. That prompted me to tell her that I had about 11 at home, along with chickens, geese guineas etc.

re: old computers and such. I had a TI994/A that I used to play with and write code for. And, as much as I hate to say it I still have floppy disks, both 5 1/4 and 3 1/2. Figure there must be a museum somewhere that could use 'em.

My older brother was the Commodore 64 and 128 geek.

Angelray, I have carried roosters upside down by their feet when rounding them up to put them in their own coop, but not for very long, but just so I could carry more at a time. We had a Polish that would attack the boys and I. After showing him he was not the boss, we would carry him around on his back like you would a baby, preventing him from moving. He settled down after that

City Farm, my daughter and my husband live down that way. They are just south of the 202 and Country Club. It's an all day event for us to go see them or vice versa. I just took pictures this a.m. to post after I get caught up here in a little bit. Oh, just to nit pic, "The LOVE of money is the root of all evil"

Kev, you appear the expert on solar water heaters, what brand of passive set up do you have? Is Solahart still in business? I haven't seen them in ages.

Bobby Basham, any relation to or know of a Tom Basham that lived in Phx?

LKD, cute pics, captions.

Hi, I dont know if I would be considered an expert, although I've only really ever seen three types. Big tank on the roof weighing hundreds of pounds, glass panels, and Fafco's worthless plastic black mat. My opinion is the glass panels are the best and actually work but companies want over a thousand dollars to install them. That takes a long time to recoup any savings. Plus the tanks only last 6 to 10 years with the warranty expiring after 6. I don't have a solar water heater, was tempted when the gov. was giving rebates and I could get it for cost but if I did anything now it would be a long black garden hose on the roof with a bypass valve system for those cold nights. Even a stripped down big box store water heater has a yearly average cost of $525; lets say that is conservative and double it to $1050 a year. That is less then $90 a month to heat water and we know the water in the valley is not that cold to start with.

 

[maryhysong]

. Just checked on Felisha our broody, there are 11 eggs..

So NOW we will either have 5 hatch with in a day or two.. Then the others
with in a week or mre after.. At this rate she will be hatching out chicks for
about two weeks..
Has anyone had this happen to them? I could borrow a incubator if needed..

that is one of the reasons it is recommended to separate a broody from other birds, also mark the broody eggs with permanent marker (pencil rubs off in the nest) and check daily for new eggs. ;=)

 

[flower]

. Just checked on Felisha our broody, there are 11 eggs..

So NOW we will either have 5 hatch with in a day or two.. Then the others
with in a week or mre after.. At this rate she will be hatching out chicks for
about two weeks..
Has anyone had this happen to them? I could borrow a incubator if needed..

I agree with Gallo ! Go get that incubator ! ha ha live and learn

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

Pipemum, for the moment they are just grass powered lawn mowers. they are pretty fun to have around. Everyone has heard of the "Christmas goose" for dinner, thought maybe after I find out who pairs off to breed I may process one or more. I got them as day old the middle of April, so I haven't had any eggs yet. Thought I may even stuff a pillow or two.

Gallo, well, yeah, there is almost always someone squawking or crowing or screeching or making some noise around here. Unless it gets too loud I kind of like it.

Kev, I always preferred a passive system. I like the Solahart because of the stainless steel tank, no pumps, etc. I always had trouble with pumps going out. Love the thermosyphon system. I too don't like plastic out here getting cooked, and losing a little heat every time you transfer it. the tank on the roof is a fair amount of weight, but so is an a/c unit, shingles or tiles, etc. If you can plan for it you are in good shape.

City Farm, more pics to follow.

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

Hi Fuzzybird, thanks, yeah, they are funny birds.

 

[MagicChicken]

. Just checked on Felisha our broody, there are 11 eggs..

So NOW we will either have 5 hatch with in a day or two.. Then the others
with in a week or mre after.. At this rate she will be hatching out chicks for
about two weeks..
Has anyone had this happen to them? I could borrow a incubator if needed..

When I realized my broody was determined to sit I collected eggs for a few days, marked them and set 14 eggs under her all at once. Didn't have a separate place to keep her and she was (and still is) in with the other pullets. They kept laying in the nest box. (One time I found three birds in there, all piled on top of each other.) Every time I found the brood off the nest I'd pull the unmarked eggs. Poor girl was trying to cover 20 eggs at one point.

The marked eggs began to hatch a day early. Two days after the anticipated hatch date half the marked eggs had hatched, no new chicks had appeared for nearly a day, and the broody was still sitting. But the chicks were getting hungry. And the broody wasn't paying attention. So I picked up the chicks one at a time and put them on the floor next to the nest box (which is a covered cat litter box). This got the broody' attention but she still sat on the remaining eggs. Once I got all the chicks out I pulled the broody out of the nest and took the remaining eggs. You could see her mentally reprogram herself for the new chick-rearing duties. A few minutes later she had collected the chicks and was showing them how to scratch in the litter.

All but one of the remaining eggs were clear. The other one was rotten. (Looked like creamy cottage cheese inside.

) So they were never going to hatch. I am convinced she would have sat on them until the chicks died. But they are all happy and healthy and running around, and she is being a great momma hen so far. They are almost two weeks old now.

The clan is still in with the pullets (and the chicks' father). I have a feeding area set aside with 2"x4" fencing that the chicks can get through. The adults can stick their heads in but can't get all the way through, and the chicks have an adult-free safe feeding zone available at all times. They tend to follow momma though, and she is not in the safe feeding zone with them. It's not an ideal situation and I will have a separate area set up for them in a few days. Which is good, because they have grown a lot and are now brushing the sides of the 2" openings when they run in and out. In another week they may have a tight squeeze. They need their own place. The pullets seem to prefer chick starter grower to their own mundane layer feed. Greedy, they are.

If your hatching eggs aren't marked, you can just wait a couple of days after the first chicks start to hatch and then pull the remaining eggs and dispose of them. Or pop them in an incubator to hatch them. Good luck!

 

[Bobby Basham]

No Bashams out here that I know of...all my folks are back in Pennsylvania, thank goodness. There are at least four Robert Bashams listed locally in Tucson...never met any of them. I was told there's another Robert Basham on the East Side somewhere that plays piano/organ, and I'm the black guy that plays piano/organ in mid town, maybe on a bit more of a "soulful" nature...LOL! I can spank a Hammond B3 pretty good.

I get a kick out of folks when I get on the elevator with David Basham, a tall white guy and defense attorney, and we greet each other as Mr. Basham. Some folks just roll their eyes, while others who have been around awhile know.

Then again, I can play Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bach and others, so I can hang with all folks...Music is universal. Who'd a thought, with us country farm folk back in the 50's, Momma loved BB King/Jazz/Blues while Daddy loved Charlie Pride...where did the Classical come from? LOONEY TUNES, OF COURSE! All that crazy classical caught me as early as 5 years old. Hungarian Rhapsodies, Strauss Waltzes, Liszt piano pieces...my goodness, what a menagerie and I was hooked. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona