Arizona Chickens

[chicksurreal]

So sorry to hear that you lost a chicken, pollo.

I heard my chickens making a huge ruckus around 5:00 P.M., so I went out to check and our resident bobcat was staring at them through the fence

As soon as he saw me he took off down the bank into the creek and was gone, but he did get two of our cockerels before we implemented our new plan, which is to NEVER leave them alone when they are free-ranging. It's a bit of a pain, but way better than losing them.

 

[pollo disco]

Yeah, She was healing all good, then she got smart and figured how to get out of the pen I had rigged up for her. I usually check on her before heading to bed, but was passing out after taekwondo. I will be using the predator call and a "enhanced predator remover" out the next few nights! lol. I cannot have coyotes and such running amok! Small kids and such.... But if any of you know of blue egger peeps soon, please let me know. thanks all!

 

[littlefamily]

Hi! I am new to this site and have never hatched or owned chickens before. My family lives in Gilbert on a 1/2 acre lot and I am ready to get some eggs to hatch. I want to grow the chicks and keep them for pets and laying eggs. We are trying to be more self sustainable. I ordered my incubator off ebay and once that gets here I will look into getting the eggs. I am trying to determine a few things. Can I get several different breeds of chickens to hatch together? What are the best breeds for laying eggs, not being flighty and enjoy being around people and being held that can handle our Az heat?
Thx!

 

[mom-to-5]

Hi! I am new to this site and have never hatched or owned chickens before. My family lives in Gilbert on a 1/2 acre lot and I am ready to get some eggs to hatch. I want to grow the chicks and keep them for pets and laying eggs. We are trying to be more self sustainable. I ordered my incubator off ebay and once that gets here I will look into getting the eggs. I am trying to determine a few things. Can I get several different breeds of chickens to hatch together? What are the best breeds for laying eggs, not being flighty and enjoy being around people and being held that can handle our Az heat?
Thx!

Welcome! I'm in Mesa on a 1/2 acre. I raised my chickens from just a day old and my barred rocks and naked necks (Turkens) are the sweetest ones, shortly followed by the buff opingtons. All are known to be good layers and tolerate this crazy heat. From what I learned the best way to help your chicken accommodate the heat is in how you build your coop...lots of ventilation.
Welcome again, you are in the right place. There is a lot of info here on BYC and good people to help with the learning curve.

 

[chicksurreal]

Hi! I am new to this site and have never hatched or owned chickens before. My family lives in Gilbert on a 1/2 acre lot and I am ready to get some eggs to hatch. I want to grow the chicks and keep them for pets and laying eggs. We are trying to be more self sustainable. I ordered my incubator off ebay and once that gets here I will look into getting the eggs. I am trying to determine a few things. Can I get several different breeds of chickens to hatch together? What are the best breeds for laying eggs, not being flighty and enjoy being around people and being held that can handle our Az heat?
Thx!

Welcome!

This a great forum for learning all things chicken! I'm a newbie to chicken keeping myself (only 6 months), so I can't answer your questions, but the search function is your friend and there are so many experienced chicken owners here, it's amazing!

 

[kpgoldstar]

Hi! I am new to this site and have never hatched or owned chickens before. My family lives in Gilbert on a 1/2 acre lot and I am ready to get some eggs to hatch. I want to grow the chicks and keep them for pets and laying eggs. We are trying to be more self sustainable. I ordered my incubator off ebay and once that gets here I will look into getting the eggs. I am trying to determine a few things. Can I get several different breeds of chickens to hatch together? What are the best breeds for laying eggs, not being flighty and enjoy being around people and being held that can handle our Az heat?
Thx!

Welcome! You can hatch different breeds out at the same time. Ask around on this site for anyone who has or will have eggs by the time you are ready. The breeder folk on here are a much better choice than getting hatchery eggs.
Coop construction is critical in AZ, not only for the heat but also for protection from predators. This is the best place to be! Everyone here is extremely helpful.

 

[Arizona Son]

Hi! I am new to this site and have never hatched or owned chickens before. My family lives in Gilbert on a 1/2 acre lot and I am ready to get some eggs to hatch. I want to grow the chicks and keep them for pets and laying eggs. We are trying to be more self sustainable. I ordered my incubator off ebay and once that gets here I will look into getting the eggs. I am trying to determine a few things. Can I get several different breeds of chickens to hatch together? What are the best breeds for laying eggs, not being flighty and enjoy being around people and being held that can handle our Az heat?
Thx!

What incubator did you end up getting? oh and

 

[Arizona Son]

Yeah, She was healing all good, then she got smart and figured how to get out of the pen I had rigged up for her. I usually check on her before heading to bed, but was passing out after taekwondo. I will be using the predator call and a "enhanced predator remover" out the next few nights! lol. I cannot have coyotes and such running amok! Small kids and such.... But if any of you know of blue egger peeps soon, please let me know. thanks all!

LOL @ "enhanced predator remover" sounds like fun!

PS I have blue egger peeps, & more due to hatch in about 10 days, but no idea how far you are from here

 

[notinoz2007]

still catching up but:
Dar, thats great news!
pipemum, i laughed out LOUD when you said "safe in your fridge" hilarious, good luck
whoever was looking for silver laced wyandottes, i have heard that petclub on country club is supposed to have some at the end of this month.
i'm transplanting my tomatoes and peppers this weekend, and i am trying to talk my neighbor into a bee hive. my yard is just too small, but theirs is HUGE (its not fair i tell you!!!) problem is they are renters.
My school started a garden and garden club this year, if anyone has a gardening lesson plan, or just any cool kid garden crafts or ideas i'd love to hear them.
One of the teachers at another school picked up my incubator and 3 dozen eggs on Monday. This is her 3rd year of hatching eggs in her kindergarten class, she loves it and gives the chicks away to interested friends. i feel very privileged to be part of this.

 

[Demosthine]

still catching up but:
Dar, thats great news!
pipemum, i laughed out LOUD when you said "safe in your fridge" hilarious, good luck
whoever was looking for silver laced wyandottes, i have heard that petclub on country club is supposed to have some at the end of this month.
i'm transplanting my tomatoes and peppers this weekend, and i am trying to talk my neighbor into a bee hive. my yard is just too small, but theirs is HUGE (its not fair i tell you!!!) problem is they are renters.
My school started a garden and garden club this year, if anyone has a gardening lesson plan, or just any cool kid garden crafts or ideas i'd love to hear them.
One of the teachers at another school picked up my incubator and 3 dozen eggs on Monday. This is her 3rd year of hatching eggs in her kindergarten class, she loves it and gives the chicks away to interested friends. i feel very privileged to be part of this.

One of my favorite garden craft ideas is for making signs to indicate what the plants are. Find everyone who cans and ask them to save their old lids. You can glue them to the large tongue depressors or popsicle sticks to use as stakes. Then, you can paint them or just write the names on them as-is with a sharpie. Of course, you can go a bit fancier, too... These are regular tin can lids.

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