Arizona Chickens

[MagicChicken]

Happy 25th Anniversary, Mahonri!

 

[pastrymama]

is anyone looking for a muscovy drake to add new color to their ducklings? i am afraid mine need to go. they are very pretty blue, no super scary caruncling yet, but ready to breed. 4 months old. send me a pm if interrested, i am in north phoenix. small rehome fee. they are very sweet and easily led into the run. i just don't have a drake pad and don't think the fireman will go for yet another pen. i already have 4.

i also have a few cuckoo silkies approaching 3 months(golden cuckoo, silver grey cuckoo) also one solid black and one partridge. straight run. can go now.

ducklings: silver appleyards, welsh harlequins and magpies. they are 2 1/2 weeks now, but hopefully by 8 weeks i should know the sexes and will be able to offer a few pairs. i can't keep all 15!!!

but i would if they were all girls

interrested parties should send me a pm please.

 

[Billiam]

Have a nice day!

Awesome!

 

[Mikey D]

Quote: You's guys are kill'n me!

 

[Mikey D]

Okay, doing some more obsessing, er, planning..... Someone talk me out of this and help convince my husband it's GOOD to see the chickens and the coop from the house/yard. Because I'm trying to come up with a plan to conceal it as best I can, and am in the process of designing a coop that fits into the corner of the yard so it can be concealed by a desert broom already there and so I can have my split floor plan (where they can access one run on one side or the other run on the other, but not both at once so there's a chicken garden and a human garden).

I love the advice I got upthread to make sure I can access the area under the coop to clean -- if I make the coop 2-3 off the ground, that should be plenty to get under there with a rake... Maybe? That's the first concern.

The second is square footage... If I make the two back walls 7 ft (they will be up against the block wall in the corner), then I'll have about 18 sf of inside coop space. Considering I'm starting with 3 chickens, MAY go up to 5 and figure I'll only ever have 8 at the most (if I really can't come up with a good "exit" strategy for the ones who stop laying/have to keep them as pets), is that enough space? It's way less than I was planning on, but it seems like enough if they have a nice long run. (The runs will be 3 x10 or maybe a few feet longer, depending on how I decide to construct all this....)

Is there any reason why the coop shouldn't be in a corner up against a block wall? I'm planning to plant vines along it to keep it cooler in the summer.

Sounds like shade to me! It will eventually look splotchy but if you mist the block walls (even indirectly) they'll act like swamp coolers.

Just be sure you plan tons of ventilation.

 

[Mikey D]

taking a breather.... this has been quite the month.

Israel from June 1 - June 11.

Son #1 got married on June 20th in SLC and we had an open house for them here last night.

June18th, my receptionist's mother died and her funeral was the 22nd.

Too much to do and too little time.

Got the coop cleaned today, went to The Feed Barn, The Pet Food Depot and Western Ranchman. I buy something different at each. Put a new AC unit into the big coop. Put some cloth over the pop door to help keep the cool in and my Barred Rock figured it out immediately... she is so smart and taught the others how to push it out of the way to get to the run... BUT... most are staying inside now. I set it on 85 so it runs till it hits 81, shuts off and then doesn't turn on again until it gets up to 87, they'll survive in the big coop.

I feel badly for the easter chicks in grow out pen 1 and for the NYD Icelandics in grow out pen 2 as they are right in the heat... the pens are semi-shaded by the oleanders on the south but there is only one side open... the north side and it is warm. I keep putting Ice in their waterers and they all crowd around.

I've got two EEs, two australorps and1 PW leghorn that I need to sell from my Easter hatch.

I had a guy that I thought was going to buy my black sumatra hen but then, he stopped e-mailing me...amazingly, she continues to lay in all of this heat. I'm down to about 6 eggs a day with 30 hens! Lets see what the AC does for me.

It's our 25th anniversary today.

Have a great weekend and Happy Fourth!

Luv y'all,

M

Congrats on the 25th!

I've actually got 2-1/2 swamp coolers in my living room waiting to be made into 2 good ones. They are small window units by master cool and one of them is going into the coop/run.

 

[Mikey D]

And as if I don't have enough projects...

Our first re-model...



It was 112 today - how hot do you think it's going to be when I ascend into the attic?

 

[parentwarrior]

i freeze chicken treats for the hot times, and i just put a box fan by the run to spread the mist around.
just wanted to share, i LOVE LOVE LOVE the superstition ranch market in mesa near greenfield and main. i encourage everyone to check it out. the other day i got a dozen cast off mangos for $1. yep. awesome!! i salvaged some to freeze for my smoothies, but the rest i kept whole, scored and froze for a mango popsicle treat for the ladies. i also picked up a cast off honeydew for 15 cents that i just cut in half and tossed in the run. they're so happy.
i've been freezing a lot of their ordinary treats too. right now there is a whole head of lettuce in the freezer for their afternoon munch-fest.

I didn't know you could freeze lettuce. I am going to try that! Thanks!
Kris

 

[parentwarrior]

Okay, doing some more obsessing, er, planning..... Someone talk me out of this and help convince my husband it's GOOD to see the chickens and the coop from the house/yard. Because I'm trying to come up with a plan to conceal it as best I can, and am in the process of designing a coop that fits into the corner of the yard so it can be concealed by a desert broom already there and so I can have my split floor plan (where they can access one run on one side or the other run on the other, but not both at once so there's a chicken garden and a human garden).

I love the advice I got upthread to make sure I can access the area under the coop to clean -- if I make the coop 2-3 off the ground, that should be plenty to get under there with a rake... Maybe? That's the first concern.

The second is square footage... If I make the two back walls 7 ft (they will be up against the block wall in the corner), then I'll have about 18 sf of inside coop space. Considering I'm starting with 3 chickens, MAY go up to 5 and figure I'll only ever have 8 at the most (if I really can't come up with a good "exit" strategy for the ones who stop laying/have to keep them as pets), is that enough space? It's way less than I was planning on, but it seems like enough if they have a nice long run. (The runs will be 3 x10 or maybe a few feet longer, depending on how I decide to construct all this....)

Is there any reason why the coop shouldn't be in a corner up against a block wall? I'm planning to plant vines along it to keep it cooler in the summer.

Mine is in the back corner like that and each block wall is about 7-8 feet long. I had a trellis already in the corner that we expanded into the corner and out a bit and then made sides and covered top with sheets of stucco wire under the trellis so the cats cannot get in and we put wire fencing on the sides. It is a large enough area. In the winter the block wall in the back of the cage will hold the heat in and keep them warmer and in the summer the front of the cage with the misters and fan away from the block wall will keep them cooler. My guy's are not uncomfortable in this heat. The block wall blocks the monsoon winds and storms. I think it works great but I have only had it up since like April. I am a newbie at this.
Kris

 

[LMS]

Sounds like shade to me! It will eventually look splotchy but if you mist the block walls (even indirectly) they'll act like swamp coolers.

Just be sure you plan tons of ventilation.

Well, I was thinking that since it will only be a few feet away from the wall(s) that the back and sides would be open/hardware cloth for ventilation. Then the front can be solid wood (or T1 or whatever that stuff is called), and have a window on it for cross-ventilation in summer. In winter, I can tack up plastic sheeting a la Gallo del Cielo's recommendation to keep them warmer. The idea of hosing down the wall is a great one -- thanks!