Arizona Chickens

[Mahonri]

Pretty little serama mix.

No doubt about it at all.

Roo.

 

[MaddBaggins]

MaddBaggins, this is bat country!

Awesome coop, awesome avatar! Welcome!

Thanks!
Not too worried about bats. Tons in this neighborhood(Speedway/Pantano), but the run and coop will be fully enclosed.

Made some more progress on the Green Dragon Roost. We lost one of the Barred Rock chicks this morning. She died in our hands. We tried nursing her along, but she just couldn't make it. My daughter (10yr) took it hard, but I reminded her we still have 15 chicks that need our love and attention.

 

[countrygirl74]

Been working on the new hoop coop this week. Got to hurry - the chicks will be out of the brooder in another week. This is what it looks like so far. The hoops are cattle panels, covered in 1/2" hardware cloth. It's 8' wide by a little over 12' long. I used 3 cattle panels. It's tall enough for me to walk through the door frame comfortably. (I'm 5' 6".) And I should still be able to walk inside when there's 5 or 6 inches of deep litter in the thing. So far, so good...

That's looking great! I wish I had thought of using cattle panels for a hoop coop! Silly me...

I already use them for an arch for my berry vines to grow over. Makes a really nice little shady hideaway and a good climbing trellis.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

A couple of years ago, I went to Tropica Mango and bought a Arizona Sweet orange tree as a Christmas present for my husband. We planted it. We fertilized it at the proper times. We watered it. The first year, I dutifully picked off all of the blossoms. More water. More fertilizer. The second year, we let it set a few fruit. I painted over the tear when a branch with three oranges on was ripped off during a windstorm. I covered it when we got a hard freeze this year. I worried when it got nipped by cold in spite of my best efforts.

Then, came the day I had dreamed of for years. My oranges were ripe. They were a bit large for an orange, but not freakishly so, given that they were the only two oranges on the tree. I sat down, and started to peel the first one. The skin was a bit thick, as I'd expected. Then, freed from its skin, I beheld the naked orange. I split it in half, ready to pull off a section. I noticed that it was pink. This was.....not what I'd expected. I thought, clinging desperately to hope "Maybe its one of those fancy Cara-Cara navels". I separated a small section, raised it to my mouth, and bit down. My orange tree is a grapefruit. A juicy, tasty, pink grapefruit, but still a grapefruit.

There is, I have no doubt, some deep and profound lesson about life to be learned from this experience. And I will learn it. Once I get finished being totally and completely vexed. Because grapefruit.

That would be very disappointing; not because you don't want a grapefruit, but because you paid an extra amount to purchase an Arizona Sweet orange tree from a local, non-chain, nursery that has a pretty good reputation. If you had purchased at Home Depot or Lowes, it would have cost quite a bit less and your expectations also probably be quite a bit less. I would suggest giving Tropica Mango a call.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Can not help you on the "guess" of chicken breed. But saving eggs with pointed side down for a week or two or maybe three should be fine. Temperature between in mid to low fifties. But I heard stories of refrigerate eggs Trader Joe's and eggs up to a month being on the countertop being incubated successfully.

Did you know that the NN/silkie cross will result in birds carring the silkie gene and only 25% of will have naked necks. Of that percentage, they will need to be mated to make the third generation into maybe a SG

Naked Neck/Silkie cross should be 50% with naked necks and 100% split for silkie plumage. Breed the F1s with naked necks to silkies and you will have 50% F1 showgirls. The other 50% will be split for silkie plumage. If the Naked Neck is pure for that gene, 100% of the first cross will have naked necks. It is a dominant trait, and will show if present in even one copy.

Small numbers of hatchings play havoc on expected percentages.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Thank you all so much for the great information. I hadn't mentioned before that my turken hen carries the silkie gene- so my thought was 1 in 4 should result in showgirls- I may be wrong...I'm used to reptile genetics-still dominant/recessive...I'll get used to it- that's why I come here.

I have some better pics of my mystery chicken now...again s/he's 17-18 weeks and very tiny 4.5" tall

Mystery is a cockerel.

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

Was such a nice day today. The chicks went outside to play and be chickens. No more living in the house. Tonight is their first night "away from home". They are living with the silkies for now.

Almost 8 week old Blue Marans


This one has lots of copper on it's neck.




The whole gang!!
My B/B/S Orpington barely has a tail. Still trying to figure out roo or pullet



Miss Sophie my BA (2.5 yrs old) came right over and hung out with the chicks as if they were hers. And they took to her as soon as they saw her.



How many silkies does it take to hatch an egg?



And for something to laugh at. The black silkie had her egg stuck to her and was walking around with it. Silly girl.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Sweet! Great pics!

 

[Mahonri]

Anyone else had this horrible intestinal garbage that's going around?

I'm afraid I WON'T die.

 

[cbnovick]

Anyone else had this horrible intestinal garbage that's going around?

I'm afraid I WON'T die.

I get what you mean...few things worse...So sorry you're sick after the rough last several days and all...ugh I heard on the nat'l news there was a Noro virus going around...I have not heard of but one case here in our 'neck of the woods' I have a 4 yr old and 15 yr old too...fingers crossed we're spared this year. Last year my husband and 4 yr old had a 24hr vomit thing...my daughter and I did not get it. I have a phobia with v***ting, so I get uber anxious when it's circulating. Usually it's short lived though intense....HORRID...hoping you get comforted and all better SOON!!