Arizona Chickens

[Drjennidvm]

Looks great!  

I agree, very nice! Those will be some lucky cluckers!

 

[RoussoHomestead]

I agree, very nice! Those will be some lucky cluckers

They spent their first day in there today but didn't venture around much, I think they were overwhelmed.

Still at a bit of a loss on interior design. The blocks present obstacles to mounting nest boxes easily.

We will figure it out somehow

 

[squeakyballs]

Does anyone here keep bantams? How do they do in the heat compared to standards?

Banty EE eggs look so cute!

 

[squeakyballs]

They spent their first day in there today but didn't venture around much, I think they were overwhelmed.

Still at a bit of a loss on interior design. The blocks present obstacles to mounting nest boxes easily.

We will figure it out somehow

They'll get used to it

 

[Vinegaroon]

Well back at ya about the username "gallo" pretty big Tom Russell fan myself. Thank you for the tilapia links

 

[Fuzzybird]

Does anyone here keep bantams? How do they do in the heat compared to standards?

Banty EE eggs look so cute!

Never had much trouble with bantam types myself.

 

[RoussoHomestead]

That's good to know. Was thinking of building a coop inside the coop to give them more security.

 

[Rezia]

Sorry to interrupt, but does anyone know of a person selling fertilized eggs (a mix) near AJ?

 

[squeakyballs]

I don't know of anyone locally, but I've purchased fertilized eggs from Bargain several times. She does a great job shipping them.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...es-extra-big-gentle-and-fluffy-byc-only-price

and

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...f-the-listed-breeds-some-rare-breeds-included

 

[Demosthine]

Well, I just thought I'd check in this week. All is going well. The dogs are becoming accustomed to the girls being out in the yard. I think it helps that the coop only has chicken wire on the walls and is on the porch, so they get some separated exposure. I started letting them mingle in the yard a bit last week and there was only one small incident where the Shepherd went after Sunshine, the Production Red. I've had them out the last two days while I was working and there were no problems. It's all strictly supervisor visitation at the moment, but it's looking good.

I just laid down the seed for winter. I know it's a bit late, but the weather has been so weird that I'm hoping it takes off anyway. I have the sprinkler going full force at the moment, so we'll see.

Back to the coop... I framed the nesting boxes today and have a temporary door set up on the back side. The walls are all wrapped in chicken wire for the moment too. I'll put the side panelling in all at once. I still have another door and the "schoolhouse porch" to figure out first. I also started the roosts for inside. I will be having them go up at a 45* angle with one at 12" and one at 24". Once the sloped roof is on, there should be room in the rafters for them to be at 36". That should make them plenty happy. The first two levels are 18" wide and the rafters should be about 36" wide if it goes the way I have planned. The coop's Design Page is a bit behind, but it shouldn't take long to update this coming week.

It's funny, as it started getting dark today, they were out roaming the yard. They all decided to come home to the coop and flew up the two-feet to the door. They finished feeding amongst the bedding and drank. Guess they were done for the night. That's a good start for them being comfortable and knowing where home is.

All in all, I'm very pleased with how things are going. My wife isn't nearly as attached and interactive with them as she had been, but she's taking a lot more responsibility for keeping the coop clean, plus the food and water filled. That still surprises me, but I'm grateful for it.

Night all.