Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Hi all! I'm not sure anyone will even remember me - it's been quite a while since I was last on. Long story short, I left BYC because my Dad was refusing to help me build a chicken coop, and wouldn't let me build it myself because I'm a girl. Lovely, right? Well, I finally just went out and bought a coop and 6 hens (2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 White Leghorns, and 2 Black Australorps) without telling him. Surprise! He actually seemed okay with it, even though I hadn't discussed it with him. Then later that night when I asked him if I could get turkeys, he agreed. So now I've got 20 turkey poults coming next week. No birds to 26 in just 24 hours! 

In the meantime, though, I absolutely love my chickens! I guess I didn't realize quite how personable they can be - even though I was always reading that here - and its so funny to me when I go out to feed the other animals and take care of them, how they chirble at me. Both of the RI are SUPER personable and would honestly prefer that I just carry them around with me everywhere.

Anyway, I just wanted to stop in and say hi. I don't have a whole lot of time for online stuff anymore with all the animals (we now have a total of - including turkeys - 61 animals with a calf on the way) and the fact that I am, myself, due with a planned baby on October 30th. So I'm quite busy much of the time!  I hope everyone else is doing well!

Happy Chickening!

I hope you invite us over for thanksgiving.. Or come by here

 

[City farm]

I lost my moringa tree in the 4 day cold weather we had here in Wittmann. I wonder if any one had Moringa tree make it? Seems a lot lost their trees. I have one more sapling in the ground but if that dies I give up. Never know when we will get a run of real cold weather. They seem to be so cold intolerant.

 

[City farm]

I lost my moringa tree in the 4 day cold weather we had here in Wittmann. I wonder if any one had Moringa tree make it? Seems a lot lost their trees. I have one more sapling in the ground but if that dies I give up. Never know when we will get a run of real cold weather. They seem to be so cold intolerant.

Aarrrhhh! My iPad seems to be touchy ,

So I was thinking what about planting enough moraniga trees, then turn them into a hedge? That might work for the winter?
Just a thought..

 

[City farm]

Well thank you. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. Not that I am an expert by any means. If my pics are unclear in anyway, and you wan't a better view of something for reference puposes, i'd be glad to snap some more detailed ones if you want. The way I constructed the coop may or may not be what you want, but I remember when I was in the midst of building it and wished I had some really good close ups of something and didn't... I just constructed many things the way that made sense in my brain. lol
Believe it or not, it's not the coop I'm most proud of... it's the wooden gate to the chicken yard. It was incredibly difficult to build. The wood was so dense and old that I was melting screw heads off while putting it together. It weighs about 150 lbs. I told my girlfriend Lisa that I wanted to sell it on etsy for about $2000 (it cost me the price of the screws and hardwear) and she said absoulutly not (she is the design artist and did the painting). Oh well. It does make a statement for sure!

Ok I do have a question, i really like the stain, but also the color.. Do you have two coops? Or did you stain it then paint?

 

[City farm]

LOL!  I had been trying to kill my African Sumac and wasn't successful.  Didn't water it for six years.  It kept hanging on.  Then I built a chicken coop next to it and thought, "hmmm... if I could get that thing to grow this coop would have some shade on the west side..." so I started being nice to it, and apologizing to it, and watering it... for a year... and then it froze nearly to the ground.  Go figure.  It's not dead.  It's just very, very short.  Good shade for the ants.  Not so much for the chickens. 

Ok I just totally craked up.. I had to re- read it to my DH.. He just looked at me??

" good shade for the ants". I DO NOT know why that is so funny.. Thank you for that!! I have tears...

 

[City farm]

LOL!  I had been trying to kill my African Sumac and wasn't successful.  Didn't water it for six years.  It kept hanging on.  Then I built a chicken coop next to it and thought, "hmmm... if I could get that thing to grow this coop would have some shade on the west side..." so I started being nice to it, and apologizing to it, and watering it... for a year... and then it froze nearly to the ground.  Go figure.  It's not dead.  It's just very, very short.  Good shade for the ants.  Not so much for the chickens. 

We did loose our African sumac to too much water.. We have Texas root rot. It is a fungas that lives in soil here in Arizona.. I think we are up
to 4 trees. I believe there is another name for Texas root rot. Not sure of it..

 

[Mahonri]

For bcluff!


Well, this weekend I'm going to be real nice.

Over my five years on BYC, I've had folks here on BYC be VERY nice to me, (The Sheriff, kathyinmo, laree, NotAFarm, SCG, pasofinofarm, and many others etc..) so I'm passing it on.

I can no longer keep roos so.....

There is an FFA group in the East Valley (bcluff and the gang) that are looking for "project chickens".

So, they will be picking up my entire flock of Icelandics. 1 pretty roo and 9 hens/pullets.

I got them originally to help preserve the breed. While I love watching them and their antics and they are most certainly "EYE CANDY"... with the gorgeous young roo crowing to beat the band each morning and doing nothing yet with the ladies, I decided I'd let them go where I know they'll stay pure and this land race chicken will be preserved.

My wife will miss those pretty little white eggs, (they lay almost as well as my leghorns) but they are going to a greater good.

So to the rest of you... continue passing forward the good!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: I bsolutely agree that you do not want a translucent roof. It will make the coop MUCH hotter. Not such a bad ide during winter, but a really bad idea in summer.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Wonderful news! You can now shope at Williams & Sonoma for all your back yard chicken needs. Their chicken scratch a real bargen at only $24.99
"Chicken Scratch is what brings wandering chickens back to the coop at sundown. Known by many as "chicken candy" because of its addictive flavor, this scratch is a GMO-free organic mix of sunflower seeds, corn and whole grains. In the winter, the extra calories from scratch also keeps chickens warm. But it should not be the only source of food.
Chicken scratch is a treat used to bring chickens back to the coop and is not well rounded enough to be the only source of food.
1 12-pound vacuum-sealed, resealable bag of hand packed organic hen scratch.
Made in USA."

it must be really good stuff. ?¿ Really! Just think! 12# for only $24.99!

right, I'm sure we are all going to be on line ordering chicken food from Williams & Sonoma. they have a really nice ceramic waterer for chicken, I'm sure the water is better coming out of it then anything from the feed store

I should replace my galvanized oil pan and Lowes bucket that I use for water. Seems awful cruel of me to use such a cheap setup to water my birds.

 

[MaddBaggins]

We did loose our African sumac to too much water.. We have Texas root rot. It is a fungas that lives in soil here in Arizona.. I think we are up
to 4 trees. I believe there is another name for Texas root rot. Not sure of it..

Shouldn't that be Arizona root rot?