Arizona Chickens

[Diannastarr]

 

[mckenzy]

Picked this from the garden today. BYC members helped me keep the Beeps out this year and now instead of eaten plants and vines, we have fruit and veggies!!!

 

[K9Dave]

I could probably help you find some good set of tools, but for me it's a little tough to watch. Even though I worked in the medical field off and on for 20 years, I still don't think my stomach very strong for some of these simple surgeries.

I'm looking in the very near future culling one of my roosters and culling one of my new friends father's roosters who offered me a few to cull, lol. Even been offered some free culling classes to boot!

Fresh and organically fed, free range free chicken sounds yummy!

This sounds familiar. Lol.

You will always have separate flocks when there is different ages.. The best think for that is space.. Lots of space for them to hide or get a way..

Update on my chicks you gave me. They spent a week or so in a kennel locked and now they do whatever they want. Doing well. Very flighty. Thanks again. Can't wait to see what they look like when older. Are they good alerts to strangers when older? I've heard that of some bird, not sure which one.

Who is wanting the BYC seed box. We will have it for a bit if you want to stop by before it leaves Tempe..private message us for time & date,, Tea in the Garden with a few members would be nice..

I will like to snag a few things possibly. I do t do that gross tea you have Dephane but I'll have a beer or something. Lol

Any chance the box is heading to Tucson? I have some ridiculously hearty sweet banana pepper seeds to put in that do very well here, and some small cactus pieces. The cactus would be paper spine and spruce cone varieties. A bit uncommon but easy to grow.

I love peppers and would love a few seeds. I can possibly get the box to Tucson as well.

There was a member on the caponizing thread who was ordering good kits from overseas. I don't know if she still is. I got the kits from her but haven't tried it yet. It occurred to me, I still need the pen space *duh* to raise up capons and this year I just didn't have it. I had even held back some cockerels that I would have otherwise culled, to caponize. Then reality struck. Maybe next year I can give it a try but I am always short on pen space.

I wasn't very satisfied with the tools this member had. I have bigger hands and couldn't hold it well. All so it's pretty weird doing full out surgery on an awake animal and looking at its insides while working is kinda strange, not gonna lie. Ha. I was told that the age was the determining factor on when to Caponize. 9-15 weeks if I remember right but don't quote me. I was also told that there are videos of people doing both sides in 30 secs.

If there is room for others I would be interested in joining up with y'all, I have some ducks that if I don't sell I am going to need to cull. Duck sounds tasty to me. I hope I sell them first, but if not, yum?

We're wanting ducks by I think the owner doesn't want any drakes. What do you have?

From what I have read, a pound and a half (for a large fowl chick) is a good time to caponize.  My birds hit that size in just a few weeks. Too small and the wee bits are a bit too wee.  Too old and the birds are already maturing, crowing, etc.  It is possible to caponize a more mature bird but the testes are harder to get out intact.  It will prevent him from crowing if you caponize before they have matured enough to crow.  Not sure if it will totally stop a mature bird from crowing.  

I haven't actually tried caponizing yet.  I did get the tools via the person on one of the caponizing threads.  Problem with my breed is they mature slowly, and when they are only a pound and a half I can't tell the girls from the boys. 

So, if you live within city limits, can you caponize your cockerels and keep them without penalty? Do they still get rooster plumage?

 

[DesertChickens1]

look who I found stuck in the pigeon coop

 

[MagicChicken]

Happiness is waking up to a rooster chorus at 3:30 am and discovering for once it's not your birds making all the racket. The noise is coming from the neighbor's yard up the street.

Extra treats for the quiet guys in the morning, for being good

 

[MagicChicken]

look who I found stuck in the pigeon coop

Poor guy can't win. It must have looked like such an easy lunch... then it turned into a really bad day....

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

look who I found stuck in the pigeon coop

How did you get him out without being sliced and diced?

 

[ChuskaMtns]

look who I found stuck in the pigeon coop

Hope it didn't do too much damage. I've been having a very large hawk hanging around the past couple days. Yesterday while I was cleaning coops it landed on the fence about 20 feet from me. All the chickens already took cover under bushes or into coops but I couldn't believe how bold this hawk is! Impressive wing span too. Must be very hungry to be hunting my Orpingtons.

 

[a little chiken]

Happiness is waking up to a rooster chorus at 3:30 am and discovering for once it's not your birds making all the racket. The noise is coming from the neighbor's yard up the street.

Extra treats for the quiet guys in the morning, for being good

don't you live near me? maybe it was my group. they seem to be extra vocal as of late.

 

[DesertChickens1]

How did you get him out without being sliced and diced?

I grabbed one of the poles I use to get the birds out the coop, ducked in between two coops, and flipped the door open with the pole, not talon marks on me!

Hope it didn't do too much damage. I've been having a very large hawk hanging around the past couple days. Yesterday while I was cleaning coops it landed on the fence about 20 feet from me. All the chickens already took cover under bushes or into coops but I couldn't believe how bold this hawk is! Impressive wing span too. Must be very hungry to be hunting my Orpingtons.

He didnt actually do any damage! He didnt even kill any pigeons, i think he was too scared. This guys been hanging around for quite a while, killed quite a few birds too, I wanted to kill him but Paul said not to cause its illegal, so hopeful he got scared enough to not come back!