Arizona Chickens

[flower]

Anyone have an idea yet what breed my beautiful Grace is yet?

Not the best photo but I will guess Silver Laced Wyandotte based on coloring and rose comb.

PS wrote color without the "R"

 

[flower]

Quote from City Farm
The girl that has a white under coat has been laying gorgeous olive eggs steadily for days. She is become sweet

The black one Sofia, her feathers are comming in very nice.. Still skittish & makes lots of noise when I hold her.. I plan
on having some neighbor kids over to help with that..

Hey thanks for letting me know that your hens are doing OK. Does Sofia lay her nice round blue eggs for you ? They are different from the more pointed eggs ? My flock looks very shabby now in full molt. Our nights are 50 to 45. It is so nice for me who prefers cooler weather.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Hi everybody!
I just joined BYC today. I am in Lake Havasu and we have been looking to add backyard chickens for quite some time. I think we are finally ready to take the plunge! We have been looking at coop designs and pretty much decided which route we want to take. We think we want to start with 4 hens, Rhode Island Reds. I raised chickens growing up, showing them in 4H, selling eggs in my neighborhood. Now we just have to get the coop built, order chicks and we are on our way! Any advice in keeping them safe during the grueling summers is welcome. We have lived here for 24 years so we are accustomed to the heat and hope with some special care, our hens will be able to do the same. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on this forum.
Kristine

.
You will find heat a hot subject here, and you will find it easy to get information. I used fans, mister, and shallow pans with earthen bricks in water about 2" above the bricks.

I love my RIR she is my best layer. This site is full of the best people in Arizona.
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Twinkin: My little boy is also 10 yrs, that pic was taken a few years ago. He is also a Medical Alert Service Dog, you know how stubborn they are. He will not lesson, they are part cat. Very smart, just stubborn. He will no lesson to me and will not give up. When he knows something is wrong this trait in tripled. 10-15 min after I take my meds he goes back to what ever he was doing and seemingly forgets about me. Normally he is not very affectionate boy. He is like my late husband, wants to be with me all the time, a little cuddling when in the mood, other then that he doesn't want to get carried away. But when I'm stressed or sick it is totally different.

 

[MandyFitch]

Random rambling, feel free to jump to my question at the bottom!

By brooder is rapidly becoming too small. I move the chicks from the bathtub pen to the outdoor pen in the morning so they get a completely cleaned pen twice a day but the bathtub pen reeks by the time I get them out of there in the am! I waited last night until after dark to bring them in since it was a warm night. They sleep in a big pile outside the glare of the brooder light which means it's too hot but I can't get the lamp farther away from the broder so I just point it in a corner and they can get as close as they wish.

My parrot cage is small for twelve chicks. I could move them to the coop during the day but it's around the back of the house and then I wouldn't get to sit out and watch them comfortably. Not that the mosquitoes are making anything comfortable these days. Is there any organic way to make mosquitoes go away??

So my question: Is this correct? First week 90 -95, Second week 85-90, Third week 80-85, Fourth week 75-80 and so on? The lows in Scottsdale are getting down into the 60s. With the brooder light, and watching to be sure they are not huddling and crying, is it okay to put them out when it's colder than they like? They are capable of huddling into one fuzzy pile. If they huddle but don't complain, is that okay?

I appreciate your advice. BYC is the best!

Edit to add: They are just starting their third week

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

MandyFitch: I have been getting braver, I put my brooder out side lat week. I do not use a light for warmth, I use a reptile heating ceramic fixture.

I built a 2'x4' brooder with 1 1'ft side, when they can jump out I figure they have enough feathers. The ceramic elements come in 75 to 250w, the best price is on E-Bay, under "chicken brooder" . I like this heating unit because they sleep at night and avoids the need for a night light or a difficult transition out of brooder in into the dark of night. Those temps are by the book and safe.
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I can not till for sure on the comb, it looks like single comb? T

his is a picture of D'Uccle Millefleurs, dose this help. It looks like clean legs. The only thing I am confident in is a MilleFleurs coloring pattern. As for breed I am still in 1st great learning. I hope I helped.

 

[heidisue]

When

Random rambling, feel free to jump to my question at the bottom!

By brooder is rapidly becoming too small.  I move the chicks from the bathtub pen to the outdoor pen in the morning so they get a completely cleaned pen twice a day but the bathtub pen reeks by the time I get them out of there in the am!  I waited last night until after dark to bring them in since it was a warm night.  They sleep in a big pile outside the glare of the brooder light which means it's too hot but I can't get the lamp farther away from the broder so I just point it in a corner and they can get as close as they wish.

My parrot cage is small for twelve chicks. I could move them to the coop during the day but it's around the back of the house and then I wouldn't get to  sit out and watch them comfortably.  Not that the mosquitoes are making anything comfortable these days.  Is there any organic way to make mosquitoes go away??

So my question: Is this correct? First week 90 -95, Second week  85-90, Third week 80-85, Fourth week 75-80 and so on?   The lows in Scottsdale are getting down into the 60s.  With the brooder light, and watching to be sure they are not huddling and crying, is it okay to put them out when it's colder than they like?  They are capable of huddling into one fuzzy pile. If they huddle but don't complain, is that okay?

I appreciate your advice.  BYC is the best!

Edit to add: They are just starting their third week

When we bred quail and ducks it was 98 for the first two days, 95 for the rest of the week, 90 the second week, etc. We tried to get it within one degree either way. So, for the third week I would go with 84-86.

 

[heidisue]

Oh and missed your second part! In my experience huddling is bad, complaining or not. A lot of the birds would complain loudly when hot, but when cold they would just huddle. They were pushed from the huddle if they were a noisy one

 

[Twinklin]

Twinkin: My little boy is also 10 yrs, that pic was taken a few years ago. He is also a Medical Alert Service Dog, you know how stubborn they are. He will not lesson, they are part cat. Very smart, just stubborn. He will no lesson to me and will not give up. When he knows something is wrong this trait in tripled. 10-15 min after I take my meds he goes back to what ever he was doing and seemingly forgets about me. Normally he is not very affectionate boy. He is like my late husband, wants to be with me all the time, a little cuddling when in the mood, other then that he doesn't want to get carried away. But when I'm stressed or sick it is totally different.

Mine is really sweet to me and my boyfriend but he's standoffish to strangers until he gets to know them. He refuses to be anywhere he can't see me or my boyfriend. If someone is sitting in a recliner or on the couch where he can squeeze in next to them he is there. If he can't fit in the chair, like if I'm in a desk chair he's either on the couch right behind me or on the floor next to me. If I get up at all even just to use the bathroom he follows me. If I'm in the bedroom he makes himself comfy on the bed and if I leave he'll try to get me to come back by barking. When he realizes I'm not coming back in he reluctantly comes out to find me. He's been with me almost every day for 10 years. Only a few week long vacations we've been apart. He's moved with me from PA->SC->NC->AZ. He's my little rock. Helped me get though leaving my husband and all the other huge changes in my life. I just pray he's got a lot more years left in him. I don't know what I'll do when he's gone.

 

[FeatherPugs]

Hi everybody!
I just joined BYC today. I am in Lake Havasu and we have been looking to add backyard chickens for quite some time. I think we are finally ready to take the plunge! We have been looking at coop designs and pretty much decided which route we want to take. We think we want to start with 4 hens, Rhode Island Reds. I raised chickens growing up, showing them in 4H, selling eggs in my neighborhood. Now we just have to get the coop built, order chicks and we are on our way! Any advice in keeping them safe during the grueling summers is welcome. We have lived here for 24 years so we are accustomed to the heat and hope with some special care, our hens will be able to do the same. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on this forum.
Kristine

Welcome aboard!! Your heat is even hotter than mine in Eloy! Check around your area and see what others are doing. I used fans and misting. But believe me experience matters!
Enjoy the adventure - its a great ride!!

 

[LindaMurphy]

Hello there. Welcome to BYC. I have only been raising chickens about 6 months myself but I am loving more and more. They are my babies. Look forward to getting to know you. I am in the Surprise area. I have only been part of BYC for a short while but I enjoy the banter and info that I find here. I seem to be on here more than Facebook now ;-)