New Mexico

[babyhueyk]

Just geting started at this I have 16 Cortnixquail now. With chicks on the way.

I am a 68

year old retired truck driver with time on my hands.

This seems like a good way to fill it.

 

[Zoomie]

Hi, New Mexico peeps... have not been here for a while, just too busy on the farm. Hope you are all having a nice summer.

I had some nice news and thought I'd share... Last year I got some Svart Hona chicks. From those I ended up with a gorgeous cockerel and a very nice pullet. She started laying a while back, but just recently I gathered eggs and put them in the incubator and yesterday hatched them out. My incubator is small, only holds 7 eggs, and although all 7 hatched, one chick did not live through the night. BUT I still have six nice lively chicks. I'm really happy about that! If I can manage to get a photo of all 6 in the same frame I'll post it, so far, they are amazingly agile for something less than 24 hours old.

As far as altitude: I live at 7,600'. I make sure my chickens are in the coop at night, mostly to protect them from predators of course but that also happens to be when it gets the coldest, and I've not had any frostbite or anything like that due to cold. I never use heat at all. My coops are well protected from the wind, I think that helps a lot, because it does indeed get super cold here sometimes. I've had: Dominiques, Welsummers, Marans, Barnevelders and the Svart Höna. There is a lady who lives relatively nearby (only 20 miles away!!! LOL) who has all KINDS of chickens, she is working on a breeding program to produce a chicken with a rose comb that tolerates both heat and cold and lays well. I have not been by there in a while to see how she's coming along, but I know she goes to the state fair and shows her birds there and often does really well. So I think a person could raise just about any breed of chicken here, and as long as they have a good coop they will do well.

 

[Peter.J]

I started out with something kind of like yours Justin, but now that we have the space i decided to build a big coop/run. Technically it doesn’t have a true coop, just one area of the run with the roosts is blocked from the weather on three sides and a roof. I joke around and call it the winchester mansion as it just seems to keep growing; its all 8 foot sections so it’s modular in some way and easy to add another 8x8 area... If you could add one more chicken you might want to get a rooster, they are pretty cool to have around. I just learned of a rooster crow collar which is supposed to quiet them down and apparently works good. But personally i like the sound of roosters...

 

[Bubblestop]

Hey all! I’m in Alamogordo. Been here 5 years almost. Love this little town. Just found out I can have hens in town...... you know what happened next! Lol

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Hi, I'm in tularosa, n.m. I'm new to this site too, I've sure been enjoying it so far I've had chickens now for most of my life, however, took a long break for about 8 years, and got started again last year when a friend gave us his 5 chickens. This spring I got chicken fever bad and went in search of eggs, i have hatched 30 out so far

 

[Peep_Show]

As I'm typing, I'm hearing the unmistakable noise and -- sure enough -- straight overhead up-close and personal. My guess is they're scoping a place to land. Nice morning for a flight.

 

[aellis4902]

Hi All!
Magdalena here!
Happy Wednesday!

 

[Bigfish502]

Bird netting can also help protect crops from hungry chickens. If the crops are planted in decently high raised beds and the birds are on the heavier side you could also clip their wings (doesn't work all the time but some times it has successfully kept my girls out of the raised beds).

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello everyone, we finally got our coop and run ready and have a flock of 5. We got them at Quality Baits. They had a great selection when we went there in July. They are not letting folks see the birds. They just bring them out to you, from what you select. Thank you!

I have been wondering how do you guys in NM keep their water from freezing in winter. I don't have electrical where their coop is. Will need to run one from the house but will be a long cord. I know its far, but I am wondering how can I prepare?

I found it is a lot easier not to keep water out at night since the birds are asleep and not drinking and water will freeze solid over night. Years ago, our days were a lot colder and at first I was hauling up warm water every few hours to replace what had frozen. This got tiresome, so I purchased heated dog water dishes. However over the past 2 or 3 years, I have only turned them on once or twice during the winter season, our days just aren't staying as cold. You can also purchase heated chicken waterers, either on line, or possibly TSC has them.

All this said, my coop is directly on the ground in contact with the earth and the floor tends to hold in heat. So when I fill waterers first thing in the morning with warm water, rarely do they freeze during the day anymore. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Sadness Child]

Also what did you get, I got 1 Cuckoo Maran pullet, 2 Welsummer pullets and 2 SR polish from them. I believe one of the Polish is a cockerel