Arizona Chickens

[desertmarcy]

I just put a new ad up in case anybody is interested:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...gled-russian-orloffs-new-hampshires-delawares

 

[pipemum]

My bcm laid her first egg today. Not super impressed w the color. If the brown splotches spread, it'll be nice. The base layer is just a bit darker than my barred rocks.

All the eggs from today:

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Solar power is actually more affordable then one would think. You just need to look past all the advertising mumbo jumbo. Remember,companies will spend thousands and thousands of dollars on advertising and guess who pays for it? definately not them,its passed down to you. Also consider a company that DOESN'T give rebates. That just means the price is that much higher so you think your getting a deal with the rebate. Fortunately the rebates for solar water heating are almost gone so people can quit being sucked into that mess. Rebates equal inspections which equals city and government people dipping into the pie.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hey kev, do you know much about solar water heaters? Anyone?

 

[desertmarcy]

Hey kev, do you know much about solar water heaters? Anyone?

We have two of them on our roof. They are the passive type. What do you want to know?

 

[City farm]

Just started a fire if anyone would like a roasted marshmallow..

 

[Arizonachicken]

Oooooooh! If I wasn't super tired, I'd be there, City farm!

 

[busymom791113]

I am not sure I am posting in the right place... I need some advice on BYCs in Mesa, AZ in an HOA... HOA says no, city says yes... Anyone have any experience with Sierra Ranch ll ?

 

[kpgoldstar]

Thank you all for your answers about my chickens eating my tomato plants. We opened up the fencing surrounding the lawn for our almost 6 wk old chicks to free range in the entire backyard this morning. They feared for venturing beyond their previous containment. I tried to get them to follow me to the other side of the pool so we could establish a walking path that would avoid the pool. No one would follow. I picked one up and carried her to the other side hoping the others would follow. Nope. My little Dottie just stood there, terrified that she was all alone and her sisters never came to her rescue. We took them back to their lawn, but opened the fence on the other side. They barely entered the part that had been fenced off before.
Then we decided to pick them up and put them in our small fenced off herb garden. Every morning before I go to work, I adorn their run with sprigs of basil, thyme, tarragon and oregano. They spend all day picking through the stems and leaves, eat all the seed heads, etc. They loved it in there. They munched on my rogue volunteer asparagus and found a moist spot in the dirt to do a dust bath. Their run and coop is sand and I see circles of where they have bathed, but they were having a hayday with that soil. I was thinking the moment we removed the fencing they would become hoodlums and race all over the yard, doing their small flying tricks and land in the pool. None of that happened. We realize since they are still young, it will take some time for them to be completely comfortable in the yard and explore and forage beyond their comfort zone.
I am no longer worried about their safety or them ravaging my tomato plants since we could barely get them a couple feet beyond the previous fencing on their first day.

 

[Bobby Basham]

I started writing code on a Comadore 64 and "upgraded" to an Apple IIe with those floppy disks. I still write a majority of my code by hand because it is cleaner and nicer that way. So yeah, many memories from an age already being lost...

I'm an IT major from days gone by and started out writing Basic and COBOL on one of those old thingies...Was Commadore made by Radio Shack? I still have an IBM computer from the 90's that uses the 5" floppies and the smaller 3" hard plastic disks, plus a decent size (for the day) hard drive. I used to use it regularly to type up all my choir lyrics and other documents (WordPerfect 5.1), and keep the keep the Bible King James Version on it. I keep it plugged in and connected to a nice older HP LaserJet 5 printer, some still in use at our office. It's still a useful tool for me on occasion for simple tasks. I still keep an old 1978 IBM Selectric III on hand.

I was talking to some of our younger coworkers and they didn't know what the little "bumps" on the F and J keys were for. I told them back in the day, all the old typewriters had them to find the "home row" keys. That's where you started in typing class.

I appreciate the older technology for what it was back in the day, whether it be old cars, audio, video, art etc. Collectors dig this stuff. Look at all the vintage car shows, blues/jazz festivals, Renaissance festivals...Oh, and tommorow is the Annual Record Show at the Lodge on Stone Avenue. You'll find alot of rare recordings and equipment there. Old and rare is still going strong, and it seems like some of the younger generation are hopping on the bandwagon. They would be blown away if they saw all my equipment plus 45's, 78's, LP's, cassettes, 8-tracks, reels. I may hop on over to the record show after church since it's just a few blocks away.

There I go, babbling a long essay again. On a chicken note, I'm into about 900 pages of 1,200 of the Delaware Thread, and they will be my first breed of choice. The feedback there is totally awesome, and I want them all the more. I know that Hatchery stock is not pure, but I've been reading alot of positive input about the Delawares from Privett Hatchery, and that's where I believe ACE Hardware (South Houghton) gets their small batch of 25 sexed chicks every week. I like the fact that they're not skittish and flighty, more nosey and inquisitive to a fault, and don't scatter when you put your hand into the brooder.

I believe this will be an ideal hobby for me with alot of therapeutic benefits with the added bonus of eggs. Keep me in your prayers that I can hang onto this job for 3 more years to increase my retirement $500/month, while still dealing with some of the crazy church folk on a weekly basis. Churches take advantage of us musicians, and I'm getting tired of it after 45 years of service. --BB


Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona