Pretty much been taking a break from BYC. Been on FB instead, and now taking a break from that! Just don't have time to take care of all the birds and sit on the computer both.
One turkey will be a very unhappy bird. They are flock birds and should be with more of their own kind, just like chickens. I sell my poults for $15 if less than 15 are purchased. I have a lot of adult turkeys for sale but not for $20!!
My suggestion is get them from someone who lives in a hot climate and has been breeding for enough seasons so that the ones that don't take the heat are weeded out. My Black Copper Marans and Blue Copper Marans have handled the heat well but I got some chicks a couple years ago from a NW breeder...
Plus a lot of people coop out their birds early and aren't even there on Sunday. Are you entered @MagicChicken ? I have turkeys to process for Thanksgiving, so I can't go
Flies bloomed over here again. They are horrible. After the last really bad bloom, I started getting the fly predators again. They've been bad, and I have a lot of birds, so I'm getting a bag every week. And I also put up the stinky fly traps. Still lots of flies. They are attracted to the...
http://www.asknature.org/strategy/32df43605fa6de230f3c3b4fd2b49f80 This article has a good description of this defensive mechanism used by horned lizards. It seems they use this as a last defense and handling them gently probably does not inspire in them a need to do this. I've also handled them...
The nipples operate on low pressure, so you don't want them in a pressurized line. Run your PVC line into a storage tank with a float and run the PVC for the nipples out from that. Or put a pressure regulator on the line. Keep out of direct sun, it will deteriorate the PVC and the water will be...
I lost quite a few Barred Rock hens to the extreme heat this month, so I'm keeping all the rest I have. I didn't hatch any this year, just took the year off hatching chicks to concentrate on my turkeys. I hope to resume hatching this fall or winter, I've held back 5 males, one won Super Show...
Looking good there. I still have the sire to these, he is a dark mahagony so that's where that color is coming from. I kept one of his sons from last year and one daughter. Are you getting any size on the hens from that line? All mine are way too small, I haven't had a decent sized hen from...
This is the worst year for me for the chickens and heat since I've been keeping chickens. I lost 6 in the first heat wave and 2 Barred Rock hens went today. They all have water to stand in and mister but some of them just can't take it. I can only do so much. Hopefully the ones that survive will...
Most waterers are designed in such a way that it is comfortable for a bird to perch on top. Then they make a mess in the water below. I have found that if you hang CDs so they dangle a couple of inches over the top, that discourages them.
Ugh, 112 degrees predicted for here on Saturday. Every year I lose at least one male that is housed in my small 4'x4' bachelor pens from the heat, due to their design. So last night in the dark, I moved 9 of them into the bigger pens. Two pens had been emptied out so put 2 Ameraucana cocks in...
Some people will just take hatchery birds and breed them. It would take many generations to get a good, show quality, bird starting from poor stock if you even get there ever.
Feed stores buy from the big hatcheries and just label them as the hatcheries do. Remember the big hatcheries are just about volume and production. Their birds are not bred to the breed standard: they are always smaller than they are supposed to be, frequently don't even look like they are...
I've got a couple of Black Ameraucana hens and at least one Blue Ameraucana hen I'm selling. They are about a year old, lay nice blue eggs. I'm in NW Tucson.
It is not Pima County or City of Tucson that deals with this, it is the Dept. of Agriculture. Here is the application I copied and pasted. It is free, they just want to have you on file.
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTRUE
Central Licensing
1688 W. ADAMS
PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85007
(602) 542-6408...