Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Teddy when a few months old. My grandson playing with Zeke. Zeke just lets him. Gracie in backpack hanging off my saddle. Romeo when we first got him. Suki and Charlie with Teddy. More recent. Hard to see but this was last Christmas with 4 of them.

What great stories.. We have all rescue that have their forever homes as well.. Our oldest is about 20. Her name is foxy.. Mixed mutt. I wish I could post photos.. I tried to post on guess the breed Fourm.. Did not work.. Someday I will post photos.. She is a beautiful dog...

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

I hope you will be able to share your photos soon. It always wonderful to put a face to the special loves in our lives.
We have had many rescues over the years. Really, the dogs no one wanted. It was so sad how I came across them.

My first rescue since I have lived in Waddell was from Phoenix neighborhood. I was at my friends helping with a yard sale. We were setting up and going from backyard shed to driveway. I entered the shed and there was this beautiful husky mix. She was laying on ground. We coaxed her out and she followed me to my vehicle when I was leaving. She didn't leave my side. So I brought her home. We weren't fenced in. We weren't much into having dogs in the house, At That Time. She lived out her remaining years, not many...she was an old girl. But the years she was with us, wow what a special dog she was. She didn't leave the property. She was so sweet and charming. Obedient too. Someone threw her away as we never found anyone looking for her. She had come into my heart through the alley. At the end of her days I was carrying her out to the yard to go potty. She was something!!! She died while I was t work. One of the most heart wrenching pet passings EVER!!

 

[City farm]

Last week two of our very best friends came for a week from CO and we had an early Thanksgiving dinner.  Our friend is a retired chef and the meal we put together was unforgettable.  The centerpiece of the meal was the amazing heritage turkey raised by desertmarcy.  Everyone raved that it was the best bird they'd ever eaten.  Great food, great friends and great family, we couldn't be more thankful.  Although, I am a bit envious of all of you that are preparing one of those birds tomorrow.  

We tried to get some turkeys from desert Marcy however she was out..
Sounds like a gret time.. We are into having parties like you.. Wish you were our neighbors.. Along with the rest of ya all!!

 

[City farm]

I hope you will be able to share your photos soon. It always wonderful to put a face to the special loves in our lives.
We have had many rescues over the years. Really, the dogs no one wanted. It was so sad how I came across them.

My first rescue since I have lived in Waddell was from Phoenix neighborhood. I was at my friends helping with a yard sale. We were setting up and going from backyard shed to driveway. I entered the shed and there was this beautiful husky mix. She was laying on ground. We coaxed her out and she followed me to my vehicle when I was leaving. She didn't leave my side. So I brought her home. We weren't fenced in. We weren't much into having dogs in the house, At That Time. She lived out her remaining years, not many...she was an old girl. But the years she was with us, wow what a special dog she was. She didn't leave the property. She was so sweet and charming. Obedient too. Someone threw her away as we never found anyone looking for her. She had come into my heart through the alley. At the end of her days I was carrying her out to the yard to go potty. She was something!!! She died while I was t work. One of the most heart wrenching pet passings EVER!!

Oh boy do we know heart wrenching animal stories.. Having kids that want every animal known, that the can not absoulutly live without.. I remember
our family that would take photos of just their animals & food on the dinner table.. This was before the Internet.. Or maybe the beginning of it 1970's.
I was like grandma REALLY!???.. Now when I look back at our family photos with the kids & animals.. Precious..

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

My second rescue was from the same neighborhood. A pup came through the back gate from the alley. Yes, this wasn't the best of neighborhoods for pet ownership. This part of Phx is notorious for strays. So sad. Easy fix, get 'em fixed. County has programs that are free!

So this young pup was a chow mix. We think with lab or golden retriever. He was the most adorable fuzzball. We named him Bear.
He wasn't quite so obedient as he would go to our neighbors and bring back their shoes. Not chewed up but for some reason he would bring them home. We still hadn't fenced ourselves in completely but we had him on a cable when we weren't home.

These neighbors became intolerable to live next to....for other reasons besides the shoes. They are the neighbors you don't want living next to you.
The man locked Bear in his garage, called animal control. I was looking for Bear for about 30 min when I heard him barking. Oh, it was not a good day.
We got our dog back with a dog at large fine, though his 2 dogs were allowed to free roam the neighborhood and into our yard. I don't play in evil ways, I left it alone. They were harmless dogs with a looney tune owner.
That was not our only issue with dogs and this guy. He duct taped one of the dogs mouth shut so she wouldn't bark. I called county when saw the tape remnants. They said I had to witness and have county come out an witness. Or take pictures. Needless to say county was involved with this owner on another issue due to his dogs chasing a neighbors horses. County checked all of us around him to see if we were licensed. When they approached him, he threw his dogs in the back of his truck and they were never seen again. 2 other dogs this nightmare owned were laying dead on our street with rope around their necks. God awful stuff. County was no help in this regard. I looked at it like they were in a better place than at his hands. Still gets me upset. These neighbors are gone now, 4 years of peace of mind and the country living we hoped for.
Bear did not like this man whatsoever. If the man was on the other side of the fence Bear would bark to no end. One day we came home from work, Bear was having difficulty breathing. He was 6. He died 15 minutes later. Wonder what happened, right? He was another one of those fantastic friends. My son dressed him in his army clothes. We groomed him to look like a lion. What a sweetheart. Good memories to take over the unpleasant ones.

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

Oh boy do we know heart wrenching animal stories.. Having kids that want every animal known, that the can not absoulutly live without.. I remember
our family that would take photos of just their animals & food on the dinner table.. This was before the Internet.. Or maybe the beginning of it 1970's.
I was like grandma REALLY!???.. Now when I look back at our family photos with the kids & animals.. Precious..

I loved looking at the box of photos my parents accumulated over the years. I know I had that box out often. Memories....revisiting those wonderful moments....remembering moments you had lost for awhile then come back upon seeing a photo....ahhhh yeah those were the days.

I was born in '69 so I definitely remember the old polaroids and 8 track tapes! What are those???? lol

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

Third rescue was a shi tzu running down the middle of the road, on my way home from work. Was almost hit by car in front of me. He jumped into my arms. He was a mess of mats and ingrown dew claws. Just filthy. I drove around the neighborhoods looking to see if anyone was out looking for him. Watched for lost signs to post. He was a typical little dog. He got along with Lucy and Bear. Lots of grooming went into that guy. He injured his eye and eventually it had to be removed. Gus was his name. He got some kind of testicular cancer or something going on in that area. We had to have him put down. We had him for 3 years.

My fourth rescue was a male red nose pit bull!

Now, mind you, I had never owned a pit bull nor wanted a pit bull!

But there he was with his nose up my bum as soon as I pulled into Sam's Club and exited my vehicle.

Strapping young guy, in a sense, handsome and young. Under a year old or so. Intact male at that. He then started to cruise the parking lot.

Well, I was at the store to pick up a birthday cake and dog food that my hubby didn't find time to do that day. So here I am at 6pmish trying to get home for my son's birthday dinner and celebrate and I am dealing with a pit bull. I blame it all on hubby. You should've been here earlier....blah blah blah

After contacting police, Avondale has you call police and they contact their animal control. It's not up to county in Avondale. I waited, car show going on, everyone just ignored this guy. I ended up having to rescue him from a busy intersection by placing my purse handles over him like a collar and leash. Hubby said, you know they will put him down when they bring him in. I ended up calling off police and took him home.

That's when we learned how wonderful pit bulls were. He and Bear had issues. There were fights. No fights until I brought Joe home. I forgot, Lucy was the husky. She just snarled at both of them and they left her alone. She was so smart.

Zeke was the 5th rescue. He is such a lover. He was loved by his previous owners but it was a hoarding situation. He has a good life now.

Joe had issues with everyone. Dog fights were occasional. They eventually escalated. My others were being hurt. Joe was getting hurt too. Never knew what would set it off but most of the time it was a neighbors dog that would come to the chain link gate and start it in motion. The fight was on.

As I brought home Teddy and Gracie, the fights got worse.

The last fight was the second fight for the week. I got the hose to try and break Joe off Zeke. Joe drug Zeke to the back of the property. I was hitting Joe with a metal pole form a barn being erected. He wouldn't let go. Suki got in the mix trying to help Zeke. She did this many times. She would get Joe to let go of Zeke and they would fight until we broke them up.
I used a shovel on Joe's back and head and he finally let go. This was his last fight. I couldn't take it, the dogs were in danger...it was time to put him down.
He was 7. We gave him the best life we could offer him. He was a fighter through his days. He fought on his way out too. The vet forgot to tell us that some dogs make lots of noise after medicine and heart stop is injected. He was trying to bark as he passed. It was excruciating but the right thing to do. The thing we put off for as long as we could. Hubby carried him to the car afterwards, in tears. Joe was a good dog but not good with other dogs, when it came to territory. Hubby placed him on his dog bed with his toys and some rocks. Forgot to mention, Joe dug for rocks and chewed on them. Sometimes he ate them. He had worn down most of his teeth because of this.

We have our animals buried under our garden. They have a pleasant final resting place.

Sorry if I spoke too much....I really enjoy sharing and hearing others stories. Whatever pets they are....

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

We tried to get some turkeys from desert Marcy however she was out..
Sounds like a gret time.. We are into having parties like you.. Wish you were our neighbors.. Along with the rest of ya all!!

I am looking at some live birds today. The sellers butchered most of their flock. The were selling butchered and frozen for $50. They were listed on Craigslist. All organic and orchard raised. I don't know if they have any left....maybe if you are interested for Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate

 

[katmotley]

Oh, so true, chickens is an illness, addiction. The same thing with hatching..... There is a YouTube video everyone must watch before they get a chicken

Hilarious rant video!

Deserves one more!!

This is so true. Perfectly stated and ranted and posted!

I never dreamed that those first 8 pullets,
and then the 10 chicks and pullets,
and the babies from my flock( due to a pullet chick faking the breeder and becoming the handsome avatar),
then the Frizzles and Polish, then the ducklings, don't forget to add the mini horse,
and the newly hatched specialty breeds,
don't forget the ducklings that hatched on accident,
plus the 4 dogs within the last year.
Oh I forgot the guinea, the turkeys and quail may be the next big thing.

Before it times me out....where was I. Oh yeah, I never knew I could be so enamored with chickens. Or spend so much time, energy and money to care for them.

Whew, done. Did it time me out!!!!????? lol

That video is hilarious! We just moved to acreage out here in May and I have wanted chickens my whole life, so we finally got some. I started with 4 thinking that would be plenty, then a new neighbor gave me her 5 that she wanted to get rid of. Then we had some chicken deaths and I had to replace those. Then we had some more chicken deaths and I figured I'd better overbuy to make sure we had enough and now I have 12 chickens total! We also have acquired a potbelly pig and two more dogs for a total of 5 dogs since we've been here. I have to be very careful when I go to the feed store and see the baby chicks as I always want more! Oh, and I think a goat is on the horizon. lol

 

[Foxs Fowl Farm]

That video is hilarious! We just moved to acreage out here in May and I have wanted chickens my whole life, so we finally got some. I started with 4 thinking that would be plenty, then a new neighbor gave me her 5 that she wanted to get rid of. Then we had some chicken deaths and I had to replace those. Then we had some more chicken deaths and I figured I'd better overbuy to make sure we had enough and now I have 12 chickens total! We also have acquired a potbelly pig and two more dogs for a total of 5 dogs since we've been here. I have to be very careful when I go to the feed store and see the baby chicks as I always want more! Oh, and I think a goat is on the horizon. lol

LOL I feel ya!!

I have been looking at goats too...though I have read if a 2 year old can get in/out of it, so can a goat.
My mini horse is a master mooch! She gets into everything or tries. We have electric fence to keep my belgian from rubbing on trees and pushing them over....but my mini, Pistol Annie, goes underneath. We just have to get smart and put one more line of fencing. I have to block her from anything and everything that is food related. She even figured out how to get into the hay pile by pushing up underneath the heavy tarp. She is a BRAT! I love her though. Lol