Arizona Chickens

[mclevinson]

Quote:
Mine just finished killing their sod. They sure did have fun doing it. I'm leaving the remnants there so I can water it when it's hot to cool their tootsies. Oh, and so the flies have a place to breed. How late in the year can I apply nematodes?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Mine just finished killing their sod. They sure did have fun doing it. I'm leaving the remnants there so I can water it when it's hot to cool their tootsies. Oh, and so the flies have a place to breed. How late in the year can I apply nematodes?

Free sod!

After 7 nearly months the sod in my run is finally succumbing to the heat, the shade from the grape vines and the relentless chicken scratching. It didn't help that they spent most of the last three weeks locked in the coop/run (my six adult hens plus the 10 six to nine week old youngsters). Surprisingly though, it still looks better than the small patch of "lawn" we put down at the same time in our courtyard (largely protected from the chickens).

As far as I know, you can apply the nematodes at any time.

 

[ca]

Quote:
Gallo,
are your adults and youngsters mixed? Are they getting along? What did you do for an intro? Do you have roosters in that mix?

 

[mclevinson]

Quote:
Gallo,
are your adults and youngsters mixed? Are they getting along? What did you do for an intro? Do you have roosters in that mix?

I want to know about integrating youngsters too. My six are 4 weeks old and I either need a new coop or to integrate them. Soonish.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
Gallo,
are your adults and youngsters mixed? Are they getting along? What did you do for an intro? Do you have roosters in that mix?

They get along....except with their "mom". I have a 4'X8' tractor where I kept the broody and chicks (in the courtyard area away from the other chickens) for the first four weeks. I'd let the chicks free-range in the courtyard everyday and the older hens would often stare at them through the wire gate. Then I put the tractor into the yard where the free-ranging older girls could see them for a couple days, followed by letting everyone free-range together. It was funny because when the older hens saw their tractor they were excited to get back into it (they usually spend their afternoons inside it on the opposite side of the yard from their coop). Right after I first opened the tractor door they went inside and mingled with the younger chicks and hung out together. Around week 5 the broody mom suddenly had enough and re-joined her flock in the coop one night at roosting time. It was like a switch was flipped. She went from being the most amazing mother to a crazed chick-hating terror whenever she was near them. O.k., maybe she wasn't that bad, but I expected her to be nicer to the chicks than the other hens. Then around week 6 we went to San Diego for a few days. As we were leaving and driving down the block I saw two stray dogs and panicked. The tractor was not dog proof so we turned around, collected up all the chicks and put them into the big coop with a special area for the cat litter box they slept in and also for the water and food that couldn't be accessed by the big girls. I was torn about introducing them that way right when we were about to leave, but it seemed the right thing to do. We had a house/pet sitter so they did have someone watching over them. By the time we returned, they were all roosting with the big girls (at the opposite end of the coop). So, overall I'm very pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. Besides their mom, the other hens either just ignore them or treat them as if they are part of the flock. Sometimes the interactions have been downright sweet to see.

Now the flock is changing. One pullet went to live with an existing flock a few blocks away from me. Three pullets went last week to live in Show Low!

I was sooo happy for them; they'll never have to experience another hot day for the rest of their lives. I ended up with what I think will be four roosters (of the original 10). They leave for their new home just outside city limits tonight at 6pm.

I'm both sad and happy about that. Of course they are amazing little guys. I'll really miss their antics. That leaves two pullets that will remain with the flock. I kept one pure Delaware and one Delaware X BA cross. The latter girl is all black with some white lacing around her breast area. We think she's beautiful, even if she is a mutt. I'm quite relieved that we found good homes for them all and I'm glad they'll be gone. This past week they discovered how to get into the garden and have been having a great time digging up all the smaller plants.

 

[mclevinson]

Quote:
Gallo,
are your adults and youngsters mixed? Are they getting along? What did you do for an intro? Do you have roosters in that mix?

I have a 4'X8' tractor where I kept the broody and chicks (in the courtyard area away from the other chickens) for the first four weeks.

I can do that. I can do that quickly and cheaply. I can do that tonight. Probably 4X6 though. Easier to get the lumber in the car. I have the wire already.
Oh, can they sleep in there too?

 

[LarryPQ]

Hilariousness. I am Facebook famous today. We did this cake a while back:

http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/blog/

but it is running in FarmBell today. I guess it has been shared a bunch of times, because someone just posted it on my stink-eye thread and then someone else found it on their friend's facebook.

THe internet is a strange, strange imaginary land.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
I have a 4'X8' tractor where I kept the broody and chicks (in the courtyard area away from the other chickens) for the first four weeks.

I can do that. I can do that quickly and cheaply. I can do that tonight. Probably 4X6 though. Easier to get the lumber in the car. I have the wire already.
Oh, can they sleep in there too?

Yeah, I made mine in a single day. I made a rectangular frame with 2"X3" lumber, then bent two wire concrete mesh panels over it (in the concrete section of Home Depot), framed out the front door and put wire over the whole thing. It has casters on the back end to wheel it around the yard. It was actually the day brooder for my first chicks 18 months ago. I re-habbed it recently right before the new chicks hatched and put on a new roof and roosts inside and covered it all in hardware cloth. They used the roosts during the day and slept in the tractor at night, but slept in a kitty litter box with a lid on it and pine shavings in the bottom.

Here's a pic of it after remodeling and from the inside last year:

LareePQG, I remember that cake! Didn't you make it with pastrymama?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Where and how did you get free sod? Lucky you!!

 

[LarryPQ]

Once apon a college time, my housemate worked at Home Depot. He said when they had plants and stuff they couldn't sell, dump int he trash, or get the distributors to take away, they would put it out front and hope someone stole it.

..90% crap, but...

My HD has had a pallet of sod sitting unwatered by the display sheds for 2 weeks. So I asked if it was trash, or what?

And they helped me load it up for free!