Arizona Chickens

[MagicChicken]

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Prevents hot corners and gives multiple angles of breeze possibilities. One of these is an 8x8 coop, the other is 6x6. On the 6x6 the whole front is open, but there is an insulated shade barrier a couple of feet from the front that covers the entire width. This one does not stay quite as cool, but that could be for several reasons, starting with the smaller size and not being under the shade canopy of a very tall African sumac.

I really like this design. Gives them an option of being in/out of the wind from any direction. But how do you protect it from those driving horizontal rains we get in the summer? Like the ones that drench my porch 10' back from the edge of the porch roof? Is the coop under a much larger roof for rain protection?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Thanks! Love the information you shared. I went out last night w/a flashlight. ha!
Others are right, I got a bit itchy just reading all your information.
So, I take it that you spoke with Carl Olsen over at the U?
I was a grad-school in that department and know Carl. He really knows his stuff.
Good old "Bug-Man"!!
Again, thanks for sharing.......

Yep, Carl the Bug-Man!

He really is awesome and nobody knows native AZ insects like he does. I emailed him the pics and he sent back an ID within minutes. He even directed me to the Veterinary Diagnostics Lab. for ideas on how to treat them. He was so helpful, as usual. I'm glad you didn't find any ticks last night!

 

[Mikey D]

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Prevents hot corners and gives multiple angles of breeze possibilities. One of these is an 8x8 coop, the other is 6x6. On the 6x6 the whole front is open, but there is an insulated shade barrier a couple of feet from the front that covers the entire width. This one does not stay quite as cool, but that could be for several reasons, starting with the smaller size and not being under the shade canopy of a very tall African sumac.
I was these coops and they are a great idea!

 

[Mikey D]

Quote: Sounds like a Disney movie ----

---- then they lived happily ever after!

 

[Mikey D]

Soooo...

I'm letting the cluckers out this AM and see an App Spitz with blue ears. I thought Floppsy was the only one with blue ears. Turns out it was an un-named spitz that died - Floppsy is still with us.

Which leads me to the question - what did it die of?

 

[GrannysRoost]

This week 5 of my girls turned 25 weeks old. All but one are laying. One is regularly laying double yolkers that are 64-65 grams. The other 3 layers are laying 45 gram eggs. My Australorp turned 23 weeks old and has been caught twice today doing an egg song on the edge of the coop but no egg. He 22 week old brooder sisters are hanging with her in the coop. They've been doing the scoping out process for a few weeks. Hopefully we'll get 2 white eggs and another brown egg added to out daily batch. Taco is the one that is 25 weeks old and not laying. She shows no interest of the coop except for roost time. I think she may hold out longer than the rest of the girls. Catatori (EE), is over a year old and has been nesting. She's laying daily (6 per week) but after any of the girls lay an eggs she like to go in an keep the eggs warm. Last night she just stood up and stood in the nest while my husband collected the 3 eggs from under her (1 of which was hers). He left the golf ball for her to sit on and she did

. I don't get the whole broody thing but am thinking if she's wanting to go broody, she's just not ready. She's laying every day, she only sits on the eggs or balls through out the day but not all day. She's easily scared of the nest.


Question: Can you tuck quail eggs under a broody chicken?

Question: How many quail should you start with to be self sustaining for meat birds for a family of 2 adults and 2 children eating quail meat rather than chicken 3 x per week.

Question: Does anyone here raise quail for meat? Do you have online photos of your setup?

Just curious how feasible switching to quail as our main dinner protein would be. Space, cost, food, ect.

1. Not sure if I would put those tiny eggs under a full-sized chicken to hatch with flippin' around...I got silkies for part of that reason but none broody yet, they are just laying...
2. No clue, I have not hatched any since March and have 5 roos to be food when my chef son-in-law comes to butcher in a few days...starting to incubate more...but my breeding pen has 6 hens 2 roos that I hope are fertile....due to hatch in about 3 days and sold..we'll see....we get 4 to 6 eggs per day...
3. I am raising for meat at a point, but too many get really stinky...no pics yet.
4. You probably need less space as I am downsizing ducks, chickens, turkeys, etc., due to food cost. Food for quail is minimal with 13 right now. We have raised 4 x 2 (3 pens right now) and the 8 live comfortably in there...but need to clean the pen...now off to set more quail eggs...sheesh me!

 

[Mahonri]

I have a pretty blue Icelandic I'll sell. She is beautiful and purebred but does have a frey gene that makes some of her feathers look a tad different. She's laying nice small white eggs.

I also have an extra red sussex pullet, and a couple of purebred Ameraucanas (18+ months old) that I'm ready to let go of. PM me if interested.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Well, I've had babies peep so pitifully, and refuse to leave her side, that mama changed her mind...and ended up spending more like three months than the usual 6 weeks.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Sonoran Silkies, If Poppycock turns out not to be a cock would you have a paint rooster I could buy? I ask the same to Aurorarose?

I have one or two pet quality paint cockerels, but most breeders have not been happy with the results of paint to paint breedings. They tend to be happier with paint to black, and I do have a breeder quality young black cock available.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: The larger one is maybe 8' west of the house (house wall, flowerbed, sidewalk, maybe 2' of what was never much of a lawn due to shade. And right between 2 huge African sumacs, one to the south and one to the north. The roof used to be a tarp with a pole to raise it in the center, so that hopefully water would run off the sides. And I usually ended up with a bucket bailing water off the tarp. One rainstorm several years ago some of the coop's struct was damaged due to the amount of rain. A few months ago my son and his friend helped put on a real roof, which is ultra nice because I can now stand up inside (the walls are 4' high. By adding a peaked roof that is probably 8' at the center, I can stand upright everywhere except at the very edges. We've had rain and wind since it was added and I haven't had any problem with soaking wet chickens. The coops with completely wire sides tend to have much more of a problem. During winter rains I cover the sides with clear shower curtains. That also helps hold in heat. Not needed in the summer, lol.