Arizona Chickens

[chicksurreal]

I've been considering the idea of completely enclosing a large area with hedges, the kind that are too thick to penetrate and will grow too high to jump, like 12-15 feet or more (eventually). Has anyone had experience with doing this? If so, how did it work for you?

 

[kacklinkelly]

It was heart wrenching to hear the girl's story, how did she turn out to be now?

Thank you for asking. I have lost contact with her and wonder about her often.

 

[K9Dave]

The girls have been since "the incident" and will be from now on locked in the coop. My husband says he's going to sit by our glass sliding door at dawn to see what returns. Not sure what his plan is but he's determined to scare whatever it was... And hopefully enough to keep it away?? We have a young daughter and two small dogs who frequent our back yard, we're more worried about them being out at the wrong time. Don't want our yard to become a known easy food source. Any suggestions on how to take our yard off the buffet table?

Don't laugh at me but it works. Have your husband urinate everywhere around the yard. Not just a couple times. Do it a lot for a while and they should stay away.

This paired with waiting til the a.m and running them off should help.

 

[Macboat]

Don't laugh at me but it works. Have your husband urinate everywhere around the yard. Not just a couple times. Do it a lot for a while and they should stay away.

This paired with waiting til the a.m and running them off should help.

I can't help, sorry.......

 

[Sill]

I just had this start happening to one of my older hens, she's about two. I had this happen last year too. At first I thought I had a late developing crow among my youngest flock but not a single one showed any signs of being a cockerel. After three mornings of trying to figure out who is doing it(she only does it early mornings I even spent from 4-6am yesterday just sitting out there waiting) finally this morning I was looking out my bedroom window and she stood up proud flapped her wings and did the first two notes of a crow perfectly. I knew she was going to stop laying soon as it is she only lays an egg every 2+ weeks. She's one of my favorites BUT I can't keep her since I have that one neighbor who insists on calling the police if my animals toot against the wind. I'm hoping I can find a friend who will keep her around. She's that rare chicken that jumps in your lap follows you comes when called lets you carry her just extremely sweet.

I'm not that attached to my crowing hen, though her crow isn't anything like a rooster except her posture while she's doing it. If she gets any louder or sounding more like a real rooster with practice she has to go.

im really sad because we didn't get an incubator yet, so no i didn't. i really wanted too. Miguel (my son) really wants quail.

Oh darn. Do you got a cage set up for quail? Cause I can hook you up. See my next post.

little chiken, sorry you didn't make it to the meeting Sunday. Maybe next month!

I decided to get out of keeping Delawares if anybody is interested. Here's the ad: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/901165/delawares-from-kathyinmo-recreated-line

I just have too many chickens, working with too many breeds, and getting REALLY tired of not being able to go anywhere. I need a break from this blasted heat. I need to trim down my bird numbers to make it more manageable for a housesitter and I have come to the realization I will have to pay someone. Not able to find a rent-work exchange, sigh. If anybody knows of a RELIABLE farm sitter for the Tucson area, please PM me their contact info. They would have to live here while taking care of the place, too much to do for it to work otherwise.
My hens aren't laying too well in this heat, but I still got over a dozen eggs yesterday. And the turkeys are laying, the heat doesn't seem to affect them as much. So anybody wanting good price on adult laying hens (most from last year, but some are 2 years old), now is a good time to hit me up because I NEED TO CUT BACK! Hens, young (3-4 month old) pullets, 2 month old pullets (red sexlinks), I've got 'em.

Also have a new hatch of Royal Palm turkey poults for sale (ad up for those, too: here and on CL) Because they were all sold and supposed to ship out yesterday, but the PO put a hold on shipped birds because of the heat. Took 'em down to the PO yesterday evening and was turned away. This after asking the guy last time if they stop shipping poultry when it gets hot, and he said NO---so I hatched this order of poults and both me and the would-be recipient are bummed.

Now what kind of customer service is going on at the PO anyway? I spoke with the supervisor and she told me this hold is the FIRST TIME they have done this. Why? Because they used to put the birds in the cab of the freight truck where is was cool. Now the PO has decided birds are "regular" mail, so they just go in the back with the rest of the mail! And it is obviously too hot for them there. How many of you remember last year, when the PO was proposing to charge extra for shipping birds, to compensate for the extra handling they give them anyway? But don't get paid for? Are they trying to make a statement? Like, you are not paying for extra handling on birds, so we won't give them any?? IDK, sorry for the rant! I really would not have hatched 15+ Royal Palms this time of year but for a buyer!

My sister has a couple of Delawares and loves them. She recently mentioned she wanted more chickens so I'll have to send her your info.

Unfortunately there are so many predators around that will get your chickens, it's hard to say what it might have been.

We lost two chickens to our dog today. She has never even looked at the chickens in the ten months we've had them and today she decides to grab two of them. So fast we couldn't do anything about it even though my husband was right there. She will NEVER be trusted around them again, but it doesn't help the two that died.

Sorry about the chickens. You never know what will trigger the predatory response in a dog, it might just take a flutter of feathers to set one off in predator mode. My chickens are confined to their coop and run to keep them safe from the dogs.

I've been considering the idea of completely enclosing a large area with hedges, the kind that are too thick to penetrate and will grow too high to jump, like 12-15 feet or more (eventually). Has anyone had experience with doing this? If so, how did it work for you?

Great idea! I would need to be something nice and thorny to be a good deterrent.

 

[chicksurreal]

I'm not that attached to my crowing hen, though her crow isn't anything like a rooster except her posture while she's doing it. If she gets any louder or sounding more like a real rooster with practice she has to go.

Oh darn. Do you got a cage set up for quail? Cause I can hook you up. See my next post.

My sister has a couple of Delawares and loves them. She recently mentioned she wanted more chickens so I'll have to send her your info.

Sorry about the chickens. You never know what will trigger the predatory response in a dog, it might just take a flutter of feathers to set one off in predator mode. My chickens are confined to their coop and run to keep them safe from the dogs.



Great idea! I would need to be something nice and thorny to be a good deterrent.

That's true, about the predatory response. She is a hunter and loves to chase, but she's never even responded o the chickens when they fly or flutter so it was a shock. We know better now.

As far as the hedges go, I've been looking at the Privet Hedge. They are very dense and will grow 12-15 feet if left to grow. I think it could be a great deterrent to predators.

 

[Sill]

I almost lost a quail today. I was out collecting eggs, went back in the house for 15 minutes, went back outside and in that time something tried to pull one of my quail hens through the wire! She was upside down and it had gotten her wing's carpal joing wedged out through the wire. She was a bloody mess! I was able to wiggle her wing back out through the wire and brought her inside, but sent my terriers out to keep whatever it was away. It may have been a cat or fox, but there was not enough damage to the wing really. It was really just some skin missing. I highly suspect it was the roadrunner that has been in the yard a couple of times eyeing the quail.

I think a hawk would not have let the quail go so easily unless I got too close so there would have been some large wings flapping and I saw and heard nothing. Of course this was one of the white quail (and one I stupidly had named), they are always the first to get picked on and evidently to get preyed on too. I'm thinking the white girls may need to go live with Miguel in Tucson. Anyway, little Cricket is back outside but in a cage by herself since quail are like chickens with wounds or blood and her former cage mates would pick on her until she was healed.

 

[AnotherKim]

I lost my first chicken to the heat today. I feel bad. Here I was on cool, Mt. Lemon with the kids, while my poor baby was roasting down here in Tucson. I'm going to have to make sure to put out ice bottles from now on.

 

[chicksurreal]

I almost lost a quail today. I was out collecting eggs, went back in the house for 15 minutes, went back outside and in that time something tried to pull one of my quail hens through the wire! She was upside down and it had gotten her wing's carpal joing wedged out through the wire. She was a bloody mess! I was able to wiggle her wing back out through the wire and brought her inside, but sent my terriers out to keep whatever it was away. It may have been a cat or fox, but there was not enough damage to the wing really. It was really just some skin missing. I highly suspect it was the roadrunner that has been in the yard a couple of times eyeing the quail.

I think a hawk would not have let the quail go so easily unless I got too close so there would have been some large wings flapping and I saw and heard nothing. Of course this was one of the white quail (and one I stupidly had named), they are always the first to get picked on and evidently to get preyed on too. I'm thinking the white girls may need to go live with Miguel in Tucson. Anyway, little Cricket is back outside but in a cage by herself since quail are like chickens with wounds or blood and her former cage mates would pick on her until she was healed.

Hopefully she will heal quickly! Glad to know you found her alive, though.

 

[chicksurreal]

I lost my first chicken to the heat today. I feel bad. Here I was on cool, Mt. Lemon with the kids, while my poor baby was roasting down here in Tucson. I'm going to have to make sure to put out ice bottles from now on.

So sorry to hear of your loss.

It hits very close to home with the loss of two of ours today from the dog.

We've been putting frozen water bottles in the water, giving them frozen fruit and spraying down areas in the shade for them to hang out in. It's amazing how much that can cool down an area, and they know it, so they will gravitate to those areas.