Arizona Chickens

[K9Dave]

I'm the cook here for my wife and I and basically can only cook rustic Cajun dishes. They call for a lot if celery, bell peppers and onions. I tried growing my I onions but they died. Red and vidalia all grew shoots but ten the shoot dried up and died. Maybe I water too much or not enough. Prob too much with me. All were in 1 gal containers. Now I have some peppers going, corn is prob 18" high, squash is sprouting already and it's very small. Should I clip the fruit until it gets bigger. Only like 5" tall. Some big was eating on my beans (only maybe 6" tall) so I sprinkled DE because I didn't know what else to do. Thanks for the gypsum tip. I've started a compost pile in the run so I can hopefully jeep the chickens happy for the month I'll have them cooped up while I let the grass grow. Just keep adding stuff at night and they spend the day digging through it. I already asked but again has anyone used Buffalo Grass here?

 

[carnivore]

No on the buffler grass. The onions I have in my greenhouse do excellent in a mix of coconut coir and potting soil. The ones in my yard get scorched like yours. Try building a PVC framework and shade them with some shade cloth.

 

[K9Dave]

No on the buffler grass. The onions I have in my greenhouse do excellent in a mix of coconut coir and potting soil. The ones in my yard get scorched like yours. Try building a PVC framework and shade them with some shade cloth.

So the heat is ok, it's the direct sunlight that's hurting them? Would the chickens uplift all the buffalo grass once it's established? Bermuda may be a better option. I don't think they could eat ALL those shoots like Bermuda has. Does buffalo grass grow thick?

 

[carnivore]

Yeah, it's hotter in the greenhouse that it is in the yard. I had to partially cover my greenhouse with shade cloth because the tomatoes and chilis were getting scorched leaves, but once I put the shade cloth up, everything is fine, but it's still only May! The onions, garlic, corn, squash and melons are all doing fine.

No experience with buffalo grass, sorry.

P.S. I just planted Bermuda in my chicken run.

 

[Demosthine]

At my house, I have found that the caliche isn't a problem at all. It's all the gosh-dern rocks that kill me! Our area use to be orange groves many years ago, so it's semi-decent dirt. It's abundantly clear they weren't properly taking care of the soil, or it'd be far more fertile, but at least it isn't clay. We are right along the Agua Fria River, so we get huge boulders in the yard. I've pulled out ones the size of my head when we were removing truckloads of dirt to level my parents' yard and again when I was tilling my yard for grass. I've sent two truckloads of river rock over to a friend's house because she has a big residential wash near her house where people keeping taking the rocks from. So she ever-so-kindly refills them with what we've removed. It's a nice plan.

Preaching to the choir here, but the chicken manure has been the best fertilizer ever for my yard. My grass is coming in so lush and green, it's absolutely amazing. I have to mow every three or four days, despite only watering every two weeks or so, usually just backwash from my pool filter randomly over the last two months. It gives me really high hopes for working that holistic ranch I want, based on Joel Salatin's management methods! Really high hopes! On the bad side, that's one of the problems CPS is making a point of with my case right now. The fact that we free-ranged chickens and rabbits. Because they are such dangerous, horrible and disgusting creatures with highly contaminated feces that are stupidly dangerous to children. So just be warned that they, too, are on the lookout for all of us natural homesteading types.

 

[K9Dave]

So what kind/where for the shade cloth? This is to protect them form the evening sun right? I'm getting some straw bales here pretty quick and am going to transplant my veggies into them once I've treated them with manure and stuff.

 

[Demosthine]

So what kind/where for the shade cloth? This is to protect them form the evening sun right? I'm getting some straw bales here pretty quick and am going to transplant my veggies into them once I've treated them with manure and stuff.

Home Depot and Lowe's both had 6' wide strips of shade cloth in about six different shade ratings here at my local stores. They are sold per linear foot and seemed to be very reasonably priced when I was looking. It was about $1 per foot if I remember right. Ask the workers in the garden area if they have any cuttings from them, too. Mine had a pile in the back that was the last several feet of various rolls. Depending on your garden situation, that may work out great, since they were about 1/4 the original price.

I have two large straw bales sitting here at my house unused, with a 6'x6' area in the coop that I was doing the Deep Litter Method in, plus a 55 gallon trash can half full of mostly loose straw. You're more than welcome to it, as is anybody else that wants it. I have no use for any of it any time soon. I'm in Northwest Peoria at 109th Avenue and Deer Valley Road. Anyone can message me if you want it.

 

[carnivore]

This is more interesting news today...a salmonella outbreak in live chickens

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-14/index.html

I have never ordered from Mt. Healthy, but all I've heard about them is good. According to that CDC Bulletin, they have had salmonella problems for at least the last 3 years. About a week ago, I was thinking about starting a thread for feedback or reviews from different hatcheries, but didn't want to pi** off any sponsors or moderators. What you all think?

 

[MagicChicken]

So what kind/where for the shade cloth? This is to protect them form the evening sun right? I'm getting some straw bales here pretty quick and am going to transplant my veggies into them once I've treated them with manure and stuff.

Beware of giving plants too much shade. Most of the recommendations I've heard say 30% shadecloth for most garden plants. Good luck finding 30% shadecloth at a retail outlet. I had to order it online. It was a while back and I don't remember where I got it from, but I ordered 100' of it. I won't be running out any time soon. My tomato, squash and pepper plants were very happy with the 30% shade overhead. They get late afternoon shade from a nearby tree.

For my chicken coops I use 70-80% shadecloth which you can get at Home Depot or Lowes. Unlike Gallo, I haven't been able to get anything green to grow over my run, so I stick with shadecloth and everyone is happy.

 

[carnivore]

So what kind/where for the shade cloth? This is to protect them form the evening sun right? I'm getting some straw bales here pretty quick and am going to transplant my veggies into them once I've treated them with manure and stuff.

Thumbs up on the BORG (Home Depot). Shade the south side mainly, and maybe directly overhead.
I am doing shade cloth in my chicken run right now, east side and overhead, I am already shaded on north and south sides. My local BORG has 6x20 ft at $34 + tax and 6x50 ft @ $84 + tax. That's pushing close to 2 bucks a foot. I did get a 12x20 piece off Amazon for about $35, but it is lower quality. I'd rather spend more up front for something that lasts longer, and I have my doubts about the stuff I got on Amazon.