Arizona Chickens

[hemet dennis]

Quote: Here's some information on gray water systems in Arizona.

http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/law/index.htm#arizona

And gray water systems in general.

http://greywateraction.org/content/about-greywater-reuse

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I have a weird question. Talked to a guy that I met via Craigslist, who bought a few chicks from me about a week ago. He said he had a few of the newborn chicks die off since he bought them, and was a bit upset, because he says he has chickens that are nine years old and he has NEVER lost a chick, or had a sick chicken in his flock. Says he has a ton of chickens on his property, and some are nine years old.

Do note that these chicks that I sold him were grabbed pretty much direct out of the brooder, and were less than 24 hours old, so I didn't have time to raise them for a few days before they went to their new home and scan for any weakness in the babies. He said oddly that only the pale colored ones died and the darker ones were fine . . . bizarre! I wish I'd had a chance to "vet" them for a few days before they went to new homes, but since hatcheries shove them in a box and ship them across country, I figured they would be OK?

But that's beside the point, I'm still baffled because he says he's never lost a chick or adult, never ever ever and he says he owns tons of chickens and buys them all the time! A friend of mine told me that illness can be carried by wild birds, and by mosquitoes, so you can't really ever isolate your coop totally. He said that was crap, and he'd never heard of illness spreading unless it was directly from another sick chicken making contact with a healthy one, so he just quarantines them for a couple of months before introducing them to his main flock, and says because of that he has never lost a single chicken to illness in years.

So my question is: Have any of you long-term chicken owning folks been fortunate enough to NEVER have a sick chicken or a dead chicken?

I can see that if you bought vaccinated chicks from ONE hatchery years ago, and never ever ever ever brought in another chick since then. But this person did say he had bought other chickens off of Craigslist, plus hatcheries, and introduced them to his flock. Is he just the luckiest chicken owner on earth? Or have others of you had chickens for many years, bought from various sources, and never had a single one turn up sick or dead? Totally curious . . . . and completely jealous. LOL!

If you have had a BIG flock for several years and have never had a sick or dead chicken, pipe up! I really want to know your secrets!

Is quarantine the 100% cure??? Does that mean never a sick or dead chicken ever again?

Most chicken ailments can spread through the air or via intermediate vectors (biting bugs, wild birds). There are a few that are specific to chickens, and probably a few that only spread through direct contact. I cannot imagine that with a lot of chickens from many sources, that he has never had one become ill. One question I would ask is how often he has raised newly hatched chicks, and then verify the conditions he had them in. All too many people do not realize that they need a heat source, especially at this time of year when it is hot during the day, but cools off at night.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

S came over @ 5:00AM to remove then plug for the queen, the suger plug was almost gone so he put some marshmallow in it to give them time to establish. Also rescue the bees that did not get in the hive. They were very quite, he had no problem in retreating the queen box that had fallen to the bottom.

There is a meeting every 3rd Thursday of the month at the Garden Center at 7:00 (19:00), Arizona Beekeepers ***. If any one is interested. We are going to start going next month. It is more difficult for S to get a way. He is on call for mom 24/7. The DropCam is supposed to help him with being able to leave the house. He still feels uncomfortable leaving her so long.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Kev: Soap can be an issue, so you need to buy (or make) biodigradable laundry soap.  its a little more expensive, but the cost of water helps to offset it.

 

You can add Borax to your laundry, it boosts your soap, and is used to add to soil. One of the things it dose is change the PH. It is used as a buffer, but sine 20XX it can no longer be added to food.

 

[maryhysong]

I have had eggs hatching every week and have Welsh Harlequin ducklings, some Muscovy ducklings and a lot of Easter Egger chicks for sale. I'm in Globe-Miami, but coming down to Queen Creek one or two days a week now and can bring them down and meet you. PM me if you are interested!
Welshies

EE

Muscovy

 

[kevs-chickadees]

S came over @ 5:00AM to remove then plug for the queen, the suger plug was almost gone so he put some marshmallow in it to give them time to establish. Also rescue the bees that did not get in the hive. They were very quite, he had no problem in retreating the queen box that had fallen to the bottom.

There is a meeting every 3rd Thursday of the month at the Garden Center at 7:00 (19:00), Arizona Beekeepers ***. If any one is interested. We are going to start going next month. It is more difficult for S to get a way. He is on call for mom 24/7. The DropCam is supposed to help him with being able to leave the house. He still feels uncomfortable leaving her so long.

Where is the garden center located?

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Bee Keepers Association
3rd Thursday at 7:00 (17:00)

Valley Garden Center

1809 N 15th Ave
Phoenix‎ Arizona‎ 85007

Next 6 meetings: 05-16 ~ 06-20 ~ 07-18 ~ 08-15 ~ 09-19 ~ 10-17

 

[NoSkiveez]

Hey Guys! I'm back.

Its been awhile since I've been around. I had taken a break from life to deal with everything from teenage kid to health. I actually thouggt I was done with birds. After we had a dog destroy almost every chicken, all the turkey and a house cat I just didn't want anything outside that could be killed. I even thinned out my overgrown goat herd to 3 goats.

I've got a handful of chicks from a friend. Many are young cocks that will vacation at Freezer Camp in a few months, but there are about 15 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes.

Soooo....that means I need to buy a new incubator now (cause I seriously thought I didn't need another chicken so I got rid of all of the incubators).

I've still got a sweet spot for Faverolles, so maybe Ill take the plunge and get some eggs later on.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Hey Guys! I'm back.

Its been awhile since I've been around. I had taken a break from life to deal with everything from teenage kid to health. I actually thouggt I was done with birds. After we had a dog destroy almost every chicken, all the turkey and a house cat I just didn't want anything outside that could be killed. I even thinned out my overgrown goat herd to 3 goats.

I've got a handful of chicks from a friend. Many are young cocks that will vacation at Freezer Camp in a few months, but there are about 15 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes.

Soooo....that means I need to buy a new incubator now (cause I seriously thought I didn't need another chicken so I got rid of all of the incubators).

I've still got a sweet spot for Faverolles, so maybe Ill take the plunge and get some eggs later on.

. I am rather new to BYC and chickens. Looking forward to your addition. BLUE LACE, how wonderful.

 

[MagicChicken]

Hey Guys! I'm back.

Soooo....that means I need to buy a new incubator now (cause I seriously thought I didn't need another chicken so I got rid of all of the incubators).

I've still got a sweet spot for Faverolles, so maybe Ill take the plunge and get some eggs later on.

If you're looking for incubators, check out the Reptipro 6000. It's a small cabinet-style incubator that holds 32 eggs. You can get turners for it. Unit plus two turners is around $200. I'm hatching a batch of chicks in it now - they're coming out healthy and right on time.

If you read reviews of the Reptipro you will see complaints about condensation problems. This can be easily controlled with proper water management. It needs very little water to maintain proper humidity levels. If you fill the water tray you get major condensation problems that can possibly short out the electronics. If you put a tiny amount of water in only one of the small water tracks in the water tray, you get perfect humidity control and no condensation. I'm impressed. You can use it as a hatcher, too. I am doing that now, but I will be getting a separate hatcher for the next batch o' chicks. Cleaning chick fuzz out of the fan looks like it may be a bit of a pain. But it's a great little incubator.