Arizona Chickens

[LadyKotaDoria]

Wow...those love birds are beautiful! Were those someones pets that got loose, or are they naturally here in AZ?

No, love birds are not native. Were climes and food is available, pets will establish themselves. Most of the time they are escapee from Aviaries. Parrots are social birds and will breed in colonies, therefore when several birds escape they are ready to multiply. When pets escape, if they are lucky will hear a colonies and join it...... If she is accepted, and increasing survival.

Find out what are their favorite foods, set out several love bird houses close to each other, it will probably take a year for the first resident. Recently escaped that are rejected by the flock will hang out near them. They may be your first residents.

There are parrot colonies all over, in San Diego, at about 4:30 a matted couple would be heard and seen flying inland over my boat.

In Florida the Gambian Pouched Rat is now established. They are really neat rat. Something like 1 out of 4 make great pets from wild stock in Gambia. the Florida wild population come from the pets, there is a good chance on finding a good pet friendly one in Florida wild population. Interestingly, few people think "oh that would make a great pet". I wonder why!

could it be do to being BIG.and a RAT?
They are used for land mine detection, trained to sniff out cancer, TB, and a couple of other things. And they are that size. BIG!

 

[tsuninight]

that rat looks bigger than one of my freakin cats. Just no. I guess I grew up on a farm and rats were the enemy. I had a pet rat for awhile as a kid, but she was cute black and white "little/normal" rat. BUT I have chickens, some people have rats. To each their own I guess.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

that rat looks bigger than one of my freakin cats.  Just no.  I guess I grew up on a farm and rats were the enemy.  I had a pet rat for awhile as a kid, but she was  cute black and white "little/normal" rat.  BUT I have chickens, some people have rats. To each their own I guess.

might be. In the wild only about 3-5 pounds, 8-10 pound, with vet and good food. Here are some pic's. The one with Pres. Buch could have incress the pet populatin making it worse in Florida. Compounding the invasion is that they are long lived, but for cost of training a good thing.

Rats live for 1-2 years in wild, Gambian Pouch Rats live 5 in wild. They are very smart for a rat, escape artists. Apparently they are eaten, tastes like chicken

 

[ItsMr2u]

Does Litchfield Park allow them? I'd have thought not, but don't really know.

I dont live in city limits of litchfield park.

 

[tsuninight]

So I have a broody question. My Silke, Fireys, started going broody this weekend. It took me a couple days to figure it out since I figured she was just taking her time laying her daily egg. That isn't, however, the case. she's in there until we throw her out at which point she gets a drink, eats something and goes right back in. Now my Barred Rock, Peep, has joined her. Funy enough they don't care when we move them to take the eggs, or anything like that, but I'd rather not have to throw them out of the coop to get them to leave. I've heard of many ppl giving fertile eggs to their broodies, but is it the best way to getting them to resume their yard roaming ways, or do they just get over it on their own? We locked them out of the coop for a few hours yesterday and Peep was fine. She just solved the problem by hanging out on top of the coop and fluffing her feathers out to max velocity ... chickens are HUGE when they fluff up lol. Fireys spent 3 hours running laps around the coop until we opened it back up near sunset.

Any suggestions on how to break the broody, or is the beset way to deal with broody behavior to find a couple of fertile eggs for them to sit on/hatch? Well or ignore them, and is ignoring their behavior okay too?

 

[Angelray]

Funniest thing!

I was outside chicken watching & my lakenvelder obviously needed to lay her egg, but was getting chased away from her favorite spot. After 15 minutes of her searching I decided to throw down some scratch & distract the other girls. She runs over for scratch in a squatted position & gets pecked! She then runs over to the water dish & after a few little grunts drops her egg right on the cement patio!! Too funny.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

So I have a broody question. My Silke, Fireys, started going broody this weekend. It took me a couple days to figure it out since I figured she was just taking her time laying her daily egg. That isn't, however, the case. she's in there until we throw her out at which point she gets a drink, eats something and goes right back in. Now my Barred Rock, Peep, has joined her. Funy enough they don't care when we move them to take the eggs, or anything like that, but I'd rather not have to throw them out of the coop to get them to leave. I've heard of many ppl giving fertile eggs to their broodies, but is it the best way to getting them to resume their yard roaming ways, or do they just get over it on their own? We locked them out of the coop for a few hours yesterday and Peep was fine. She just solved the problem by hanging out on top of the coop and fluffing her feathers out to max velocity ... chickens are HUGE when they fluff up lol. Fireys spent 3 hours running laps around the coop until we opened it back up near sunset.

Any suggestions on how to break the broody, or is the beset way to deal with broody behavior to find a couple of fertile eggs for them to sit on/hatch? Well or ignore them, and is ignoring their behavior okay too?

You can put a broody hen in a wire-bottomed cage for about three days and that will generally stop broodiness and get them back to laying. Ignoring it is fine, but they will continue to be broody for some time.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I have the one hen raising chicks--the chicks are 3 weeks old now, and at some point, the hen will have to go back into the layer flock. I've already noticed that she's the low girl on the pecking pole now. When she's back in the flock fulltime, do I leave her to work it out with the other hens? Anything I have to do to reintegrate her? The broody and the layers interact when they are ranging around the yard, so it's not like they are isolated from each other...and they can see each other from the layer run to meatie pen.

The broody was trying to lead her chicks up the ramp into the layer coop, and the layers were kinda nasty to her. That's about when I started to wonder if there were going to be problems with throwing her back in the regular run. I only have 6 layers, total.

I asked if anyone had any fertile eggs, and was offered some, but have to decline due to timing. By the time I can pick eggs up, the other broody will be ready for chicks. I think I'll pick a couple chicks up from the feed store at the end of the month. Not sure what to do with the chicks when they've grown...either dinner or give away. Wish I had the space to keep a roo and just let the chickens do their thing. I'd have a big ole' flock of dual-purpose birds. Plenty of meat, and plenty of eggs...though, dang, at 6 birds I already have plenty of eggs!

I've had hens of various ranks (top to bottom) and I haven't really seen any problems with them re-integrating to the flock after raising chicks. You'll generally see them spending more time away from the chicks and then suddenly they'll start roosting with their old flock mates.

 

[tsuninight]

I've had hens of various ranks (top to bottom) and I haven't really seen any problems with them re-integrating to the flock after raising chicks. You'll generally see them spending more time away from the chicks and then suddenly they'll start roosting with their old flock mates.

They haven't stopped laying. My girls take their egg a day seriously. They just don't want to leave the coop. They just hang out in the egg laying spot trying to take up one corner of it.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

They haven't stopped laying. My girls take their egg a day seriously. They just don't want to leave the coop. They just hang out in the egg laying spot trying to take up one corner of it.

I never had a hen lay eggs once she's gone broody. They don't sound too dedicated yet.