Arizona Chickens

[Gallo del Cielo]

Heya!

Are Mikey and Laree still around? I'm here lurking from GA and getting caught up on all of the AZ happenings and realized I haven't seen Mikey lately on here, or Laree for a looong time. Can't wait to see my DH and my chooks in a week, and still hoping to be able to transport them all here to SE coastal GA...and to find someone to build a Chicken Citadel. (Cue imposing Music.....)


It's gotta be hard core security + enclosed run (no more free range

) , with snakes, foxes, raccoon, alligators (?) and other creepy scary things I don't want eating my ladies.....

We haven't seen Mikey or Laree in ages. I suspect Mikey got busy with the school year, hopefully he'll update us on his life and awesome projects over the winter break. I've noticed that we haven't seen AZBootsie in a very long time either. I hope they are all okay.

Your depiction of the potential predators reminds me of working in the swamps south of New Orleans. Someone had dropped off a pair of domesticated ducks in a lagoon at our field site and I loved seeing them foraging as I worked along the water's edge. One morning, while I was watching them, the water below one opened up as an alligator seemingly inhaled one of the pair and disappeared with it to the deep. It was so sad to see that lone remaining duck in the following days. Then it too was gone. Southern swamps are filled with all kinds of potential peril to poultry. I found that mosquitoes were the worst.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I have a double walled galvanized steel one that is HUGE like 15 gallons or something. Something on it broke and when you put on the outside cover all the water drains out so I had been leaving that off because I bought poultry water cups and was going to put in an automatic system instead of spending another $50+ on a galvanized deal. Well turns out the poultry cups are harder to install and use than I originally thought and have been problematic so the good ole galvanized deal is still in the run. After this happened I covered the open top it with a 5 gallon bucket and went and bought a new one.

Have you thought trying nipple waterers? You can make one for less than $5 if you can get a free bucket. Training of older birds can sometimes be tough, but if you start chicks on them it isn't a problem. I like them because the water stays clean and the risk of falling into one is close to zero. If you were closer I'd give you one.

I hope you don't see any more birds with respiratory issues and your two girls are symptom free today.

 

[KingR0o5t3r]

Oh and I forgot to post...the babies are popping out of their shells so if you are interested in day old chicks PM me. I have BBS Orps, Lakenvelders, Golden Campines, Black and Blue Barred rocks, Blue Marans, Sex linked marans, and white leghorns. I will post pics tomorrow. OMG Lakenvelder chicks are just about the cutest things I have ever seen in my life!

Does BBS Orps mean Blue/blue splash orpington?

 

[Mahonri]

Quote: Yup. Blue/Black/Splash Orps

 

[squeakyballs]

LONG RANGE "Mayan" WEATHER FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEK....

Are the Mayans coming already?

 

[KingR0o5t3r]

Yup. Blue/Black/Splash Orps

How much do you charge for hens?

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

TT! Please confirm, you are in Phoenix area? My girls will be 10 wks next week, do you think it will be to cold for them? I have their pen next to the back door, I leave it open so they can go out side. I have a blue thick vynal sheet, I bought when I was living on a boat. It is quite remarkable, I seemed to have trained them not to leave the vynal sheet into the house. They get really noisy when they adventure in, other wise they are very quite. They run out first thing when I open the gate and door, the last two days in a few minutes the rum back in. Until it gets warm (70 deg) they do not want to go out side. I wonder if I am making them soft? I have not turned on the heat as of yet. I have a light for heat, they have a choise to the temperiture.

As for Simpson Stronge Ties, yes, that is what I am talking about. You also use them. On the nailer. It ties the structure to gather. In places were tornados, hurricanes and high windstorms are common, there are systems of heavy straps and J anchors that are designed to help hold buildings to gather. On the Keys double wall with a 14" studs (2x4 stud wall with a 2x6 stud wall with studs offset, J bolt anchors, if I remember right was 3' on center). 10" double stud walls is not needed here, but by code of occupant structures they are required. My wood shed dose not have them. I plan to add them this summer as well as insulation and sheeting. I do not remember what the strength ratio increases by adding sheeting on the interior. I was working as a civil draftsman for several years before I got tired working with turkeys, and changed jobs to driving a cross county truck.

It just makes good seance to build once well.

 

[squeakyballs]

Ladykotadoria - I'm in Tucson. It isn't going to be very cold in Phoenix tonight. It can actually get much colder than it is going to be tonight and your chickens will still be fine. They don't need supplemental heat at all. Just make sure they have an area that is out of the wind and rain.

In 2010 Tucson got down to 18F, and it was quite a bit colder than that at my house - one of my young roosters refused to sleep in the chicken house, and I couldn't get him out of the mesquite tree even with a ladder. He spent the night outside in the wind and cold and was fine.

Living in a boat must have been amazing! My husband would like to do that someday.

 

[maryhysong]

I have a double walled galvanized steel one that is HUGE like 15 gallons or something. Something on it broke and when you put on the outside cover all the water drains out so I had been leaving that off because I bought poultry water cups and was going to put in an automatic system instead of spending another $50+ on a galvanized deal. Well turns out the poultry cups are harder to install and use than I originally thought and have been problematic so the good ole galvanized deal is still in the run. After this happened I covered the open top it with a 5 gallon bucket and went and bought a new one.

Well glad you found that girl before she was done in.

Look at your waterer. You know there is a metal peice that sticks out on the outside that you are compressing when you lower the top onto it? There is usually a little rubber seal right there; check to see if it's cracked or anything; if you can get it out you might be able to get a replacement at a hardware or plumbing supply place. If it looks ok, then check for any little peice of grit trapped in that part.

I have two of these kind and the ducks get them so full of gunk, it even travels inside the reservoir. Also a lot of trash gets trapped between the inner and outer parts. I have to dump and rinse both parts every day. The other thing to double check is that it sits perfectly level; if it's off even a little bit it will all run out.

 

[Mahonri]

The rain seems to have stopped... I spent a bit of time this afternoon putting a tarp over my grow out pen where my month old top hat special is growing out. So glad I did... it poured here for about an hour.... and I knew there were leaks from previous storms.. went out about 20 minutes ago and they were all happy and warm under the light.