Arizona Chickens

[MaddBaggins]

No egg today. Bummer.
The girls love the bricks in water. It's filthy pretty quick though, they poop all over it.

 

[Mahonri]

14 eggs today.

I will be selling all of my chickens and moving to north Phoenix within the month.

Sad to loose this awesome hobby, glad we'll be closer to the kids schools.

 

[maryhysong]

14 eggs today.

I will be selling all of my chickens and moving to north Phoenix within the month.

Sad to loose this awesome hobby, glad we'll be closer to the kids schools.

That is sad; might be interested in the Wellies, looking for some better ones than I have, what do you have as juvies?

 

[desertmarcy]

14 eggs today.

I will be selling all of my chickens and moving to north Phoenix within the month.

Sad to loose this awesome hobby, glad we'll be closer to the kids schools.

WHAT! No Chickens!

You have been a regular foundation on this thread, what will we DO? You can't have chickens at the new place?

 

[desertmarcy]

I lost my first chicken to the heat today

I went out in the late afternoon, and she was gone, but it just happened, because she was still limp and warm. Not to waste, she got plucked and cleaned and is in the frig resting.... it was one of my special EE crosses from last year, Ameraucana X Orloff. Beautiful friendly birds. One of her sisters was about to keel over too, that one got a dunk in a bucket and a drink. I hope she revives. I checked on her after dark, and she didn't have the strength to get on the roost, so I put her on the lower rung and she was able to hang on. It wasn't even that hot today compared to the last couple of days. But with all this talk of the misters making yucky mud and disease in the coop, I turned it off today because they all had big muddy puddles of water yesterday. I guess that was a mistake...
I didn't lose a single bird to the heat last year. Wonder what is different, age of the bird? Cumulative heat stress? We had lots of 105 degree days last year. I think it only got up to 99 or 100 here today. Guess I'll take that one inside tomorrow if she doesn't look perky by morning.

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

I lost my first chicken to the heat today

I went out in the late afternoon, and she was gone, but it just happened, because she was still limp and warm. Not to waste, she got plucked and cleaned and is in the frig resting.... it was one of my special EE crosses from last year, Ameraucana X Orloff. Beautiful friendly birds. One of her sisters was about to keel over too, that one got a dunk in a bucket and a drink. I hope she revives. I checked on her after dark, and she didn't have the strength to get on the roost, so I put her on the lower rung and she was able to hang on. It wasn't even that hot today compared to the last couple of days. But with all this talk of the misters making yucky mud and disease in the coop, I turned it off today because they all had big muddy puddles of water yesterday. I guess that was a mistake...
I didn't lose a single bird to the heat last year. Wonder what is different, age of the bird? Cumulative heat stress? We had lots of 105 degree days last year. I think it only got up to 99 or 100 here today. Guess I'll take that one inside tomorrow if she doesn't look perky by morning.

Oh my gosh I am sorry you lost a chick to the heat. I hope the other one pulls through. I think sometimes we have to weigh the risk of losing your birds without the mister, and using the mister but having wet ground and decide what is the least of the two evils. Is there any other way to help the girls stay cool all day in the hot sun other than the mister?

 

[desertmarcy]

Oh my gosh I am sorry you lost a chick to the heat. I hope the other one pulls through. I think sometimes we have to weigh the risk of losing your birds without the mister, and using the mister but having wet ground and decide what is the least of the two evils. Is there any other way to help the girls stay cool all day in the hot sun other than the mister?

They have a place to retreat that is 100% shaded and lots of ventilation. That's about the best I can do with all the birds I have. Some of them are just not going to make it in this climate, that is a fact. She was 1/2 Orloff, and the Orloff breed was developed for COLD climates...haven't lost an Orloff yet, though, knock on wood. My poultry house is long ends north and south with pens on the east and west sides of a central hallway. I think the west side birds have a tougher time, and that's where this one was. The pure Orloffs are on the east side.

 

[cbnovick]

I lost my first chicken to the heat today

I went out in the late afternoon, and she was gone, but it just happened, because she was still limp and warm. Not to waste, she got plucked and cleaned and is in the frig resting.... it was one of my special EE crosses from last year, Ameraucana X Orloff. Beautiful friendly birds. One of her sisters was about to keel over too, that one got a dunk in a bucket and a drink. I hope she revives. I checked on her after dark, and she didn't have the strength to get on the roost, so I put her on the lower rung and she was able to hang on. It wasn't even that hot today compared to the last couple of days. But with all this talk of the misters making yucky mud and disease in the coop, I turned it off today because they all had big muddy puddles of water yesterday. I guess that was a mistake...
I didn't lose a single bird to the heat last year. Wonder what is different, age of the bird? Cumulative heat stress? We had lots of 105 degree days last year. I think it only got up to 99 or 100 here today. Guess I'll take that one inside tomorrow if she doesn't look perky by morning.

Sorry Marcia...I figure I'd rather have a live bird with parasites than the alternative...parasite issues can be 'fixed' easy enough. what I have been doing is intermittent misting of the birds and sand runs...let it dry between...since i regularly dust and worm my birds, I am not real worried about the birds getting bogged with them. It could be that she had an underlying issue that caused her to be more stressed even in temps below 105...hard to say...I must say my 'heat champs' thus far have been my Good Shepherd Barred Rocks. You have so many birds to tend, it must be difficult to pamper them through the heat...despite my measures, I am still a bit worried about this summer...I wish I could move my pens under our 2 big shade trees...but my husband won't go for that...so, I have been letting them out to free range at around 2pm after I soak them with the sprayer...that sure cools them down to almost no panting in a hurray. I know they are hitting the danger zone, if they have water spilling from their beaks when they peck at the ground...too much water intake to get cooled down...Don't know what I am going to 'rig' for my chicks hatching over the next few weeks

I may need them to brood under the trees in their pen...even my shed and gargage get to 100 by 3pm...I do have a few small fans I could put in their brooder cages...I will probably end up with about 20 chicks.

Hope your other hen pulls through...did you give her elecrolytes in her water this evening??

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Oh, and tell me: did I get fleeced?  The 50lb bag of organic feed was $33.  It's my first 50lb bag of anything but dog food.  I just read a thread where people are buying 100lb sacks of feed for $13. 

I'm sure you are right. Hickmans Eggs probably pays $13.00 per 100#, but I do not think it comes in bags. In fact maybe less, wholesale and 20 ton at a time one item. $33.00 for 50# sound about right. I've been buying quantity for years to bring down prices. When I had my budgies I bought 50# to # 100# sacks of seed, and mixed it myself. But I only have 12 pullets and 2 Roos, if I did that now it will go bad before I used it all,

 

[BY Chicken Lady]

They have a place to retreat that is 100% shaded and lots of ventilation. That's about the best I can do with all the birds I have. Some of them are just not going to make it in this climate, that is a fact. She was 1/2 Orloff, and the Orloff breed was developed for COLD climates...haven't lost an Orloff yet, though, knock on wood. My poultry house is long ends north and south with pens on the east and west sides of a central hallway. I think the west side birds have a tougher time, and that's where this one was. The pure Orloffs are on the east side.

It can be so tough, there is just so much that you can do other then let them hang out on your couch under the A/C all day. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

I do hope the others can tolerate this awful heat. The fact that it just doesn't cool down at night really doesn't help matters either. Keep us posted.