Arizona Chickens

[desertmarcy]

I agree she looks like a Heritage x production BR, that is what I thought after she got dried off. I still have no idea where she is from. I know there are chickens around me because I can hear roosters crowing but they are not close.

I have heard from at least 2 people in AZ this year who have had birds dumped in their yard. It is more than annoying, I would be very angry if someone did that to me because you just don't know what diseases that bird has.....exposing your flock. I think these people see you have birds and they have one or more they don't want so they just dump them in your yard. Figure you "won't mind"???!! These are the same people who would dump any unwanted dog or cat out in the desert IMO...total jerks.

 

[Sill]

Bad day in Chickenville. <Sigh> Polly, the chicken I've had the longest, passed away tonight from shock I think. I'm so sad. I dealt with the other deaths better, but this one has hit me harder. Mostly I feel guilty for messing up with the dogs. I told my boyfriend and roommate that the chickens were freeranging and not to let the dogs out, but somehow Mr. Darcy got out. A series of unfortunate events began. I wasn't outside, but my roommate was. He was making a roof for my side pen for the little bantam Easter Egger and Stan the Silkie cockerel. The EEer got caught in the fencing ... she freaked out because Stan was roaming around outside the isolation pen (and she wasn't). She basically scalped herself from the base of the neck to her pea comb. All the neck anatomy was showing and the skin was hanging down like a great big apron. Then I saw Polly. She was lying on the ground panting. I picked her up and tried to replace her on her feet. She was good on one but was a little weak on the other. I didn't see any blood but looked under the feathers and there were some tears and punctures, but no blood. It didn't look like the wounds went into the muscle so I was hopeful. My roommate said that she was trying to get in the pen while the bantam was flipping. He didn't see Mr. Darcy actually grab her, but I think he saw the commotion and it was irrestiable. He's a lab; I think he just wanted to carry her around. He's a duck dog after all. We had to put the little EEer down. I put Polly in the isolation pen, but she passed away sometime tonight. I feel horrible. I feel like a horrible guardian of my chickens. I want them to have the opportunity to free range in the compost, etc., but I've had too many accidents. On the upside, I got my incubator from eBay today. I can't even think about hatching chickens now. I'm so traumatized.

So sorry! My kids think I'm crazy when I lock the back door and hide the key with me, but it only takes one accident. Poor polly.

I attempted white potatoes this spring (redskins). I bought some at the store, and kept them in a bag until they started to grow "eyes". Cut them up into chunks, with each chunk containing an eye, then planted them. They did well for about a month and a half or so, until somebody turned on the heater. I also think I planted them in full sun, MISTAKE! By June, they were all dying. I dug them up, and from each plant got about a handful of potatoes ranging in size from quail eggs to golf balls. Cut in half and fried, they were pretty tasty, and I think they would also be great in stews. Next year, will try again in partial shade.

Regular potatoes must have afternoon shade here. Even sweet potatoes benefit from it. It's just too hot!

Its amazing how quick some potatoes put out new tubers. Glad you got a small crop.

I thought I would share a picture of my stray hen with the big spurs. You will understand my confusion of her sex. Lol

Notice how different her barring looks than this production PBR?

Pretty hen! Well now I know they can have spurs too.

 

[Sill]

I'm glad there is so much interest in growing sweet potatoes! Here is the link to Sandhill. They have very good tips for growing sweets as well as explanation of what slips are (slips are grown from the potatoes, they are not cuttings).
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/sweetpotato_catalog.html

I have also bought slips from Steele Plant Co in TN. http://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/
They have more the standard varieties whereas Sandhill carries rare and heirloom varieties.

I try to stay away from buying from the big seed companies, many of which are owned by the same corporations that are pushing GMOs and trying to monopolize our food supply.

I'll be shopping at sandhill this spring for sure!

 

[a little chiken]

Bad day in Chickenville. <Sigh> Polly, the chicken I've had the longest, passed away tonight from shock I think. I'm so sad. I dealt with the other deaths better, but this one has hit me harder. Mostly I feel guilty for messing up with the dogs. I told my boyfriend and roommate that the chickens were freeranging and not to let the dogs out, but somehow Mr. Darcy got out. A series of unfortunate events began. I wasn't outside, but my roommate was. He was making a roof for my side pen for the little bantam Easter Egger and Stan the Silkie cockerel. The EEer got caught in the fencing ... she freaked out because Stan was roaming around outside the isolation pen (and she wasn't). She basically scalped herself from the base of the neck to her pea comb. All the neck anatomy was showing and the skin was hanging down like a great big apron. Then I saw Polly. She was lying on the ground panting. I picked her up and tried to replace her on her feet. She was good on one but was a little weak on the other. I didn't see any blood but looked under the feathers and there were some tears and punctures, but no blood. It didn't look like the wounds went into the muscle so I was hopeful. My roommate said that she was trying to get in the pen while the bantam was flipping. He didn't see Mr. Darcy actually grab her, but I think he saw the commotion and it was irrestiable. He's a lab; I think he just wanted to carry her around. He's a duck dog after all. We had to put the little EEer down. I put Polly in the isolation pen, but she passed away sometime tonight. I feel horrible. I feel like a horrible guardian of my chickens. I want them to have the opportunity to free range in the compost, etc., but I've had too many accidents. On the upside, I got my incubator from eBay today. I can't even think about hatching chickens now. I'm so traumatized.

so sry for your loss. I have been through it a lot lately and it hurts.

There is someone on Tucson craigslist that sells purple sweet potato plants in the spring and fall. Not sure what the variety is but they are white and purple mixed together inside.

hmm if you see it again will you let me know?

I thought I would share a picture of my stray hen with the big spurs. You will understand my confusion of her sex. Lol

Notice how different her barring looks than this production PBR?

she is very pretty though. looks healthy

I'm glad there is so much interest in growing sweet potatoes! Here is the link to Sandhill. They have very good tips for growing sweets as well as explanation of what slips are (slips are grown from the potatoes, they are not cuttings).
http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/sweetpotato_catalog.html

I have also bought slips from Steele Plant Co in TN. http://www.sweetpotatoplant.com/
They have more the standard varieties whereas Sandhill carries rare and heirloom varieties.

I try to stay away from buying from the big seed companies, many of which are owned by the same corporations that are pushing GMOs and trying to monopolize our food supply.

oohh ty. I am going to try and order for the coming year. I am excited.

I agree she looks like a Heritage x production BR, that is what I thought after she got dried off. I still have no idea where she is from. I know there are chickens around me because I can hear roosters crowing but they are not close.

 

[cyborg]

@desertmarcy thank you for posting the link to Sandhills. I had heard of it before, but never checked out their site. I guess I had several misconceptions about them, #1, I thought they only dealt with heritage breeds of poultry and waterfowl, and #2, because of the name, I thought they were in Nebraska, not Iowa. Lots of reading for work tonight!

 

[desertmarcy]

@desertmarcy thank you for posting the link to Sandhills. I had heard of it before, but never checked out their site. I guess I had several misconceptions about them, #1, I thought they only dealt with heritage breeds of poultry and waterfowl, and #2, because of the name, I thought they were in Nebraska, not Iowa. Lots of reading for work tonight!

I only ordered sweets from them once. The only problem I had was, because of their location, they tend to have their slips available a little later than I would want to plant in our climate. I like to have my slips in the ground in early May. This year, the sweets I planted were from potatoes grown by an Amish farmer who lives just up the road from my brother in PA, Lancaster county, big Amish country. I bought potatoes from that farm to bring home to eat one year after visiting family and they were delicious and grew well here. I had skipped a year or two planting sweets due to lack of time to garden, so I asked my brother to buy some and box up as many as would fit in a flat rate box. Those are the ones I grew my slips from this year. I still have slips coming off those potatoes, but too late to plant any more now. I have tried probably 5-6 varieties of sweets over the years. Some tend to split. Some get more wire worms. Maybe it is the differences in the years or soil, but those Amish potatoes gave me the least problems. I hope this year's crop is good but I did have trouble getting them started this year. It was so hot and dry when I planted, then antelope ground squirrels were getting in the garden and nipping them off. I replanted almost the whole bed with new slips, kept them well watered, and they finally took off.

 

[702marine]

I'm thinking I'd like to get a Silkie hen for my new cockeral, Stan the Man. I'd rather not get one at the feed store. Does anyone have any hens ... or chicks?  I did just get the incubator ... I could try eggs. I still have to clean and get the incubator up and running, test the egg turner and other mechanics. Would anyone like to advise/help me on that?

I will have a large hatching of Silkie Paints the end of this month. I'm out in Vegas though. It's not too far if you plan to be out this way in the next couple months you could pick a couple up...

 

[AZChiknGoddess]

I have heard from at least 2 people in AZ this year who have had birds dumped in their yard. It is more than annoying, I would be very angry if someone did that to me because you just don't know what diseases that bird has.....exposing your flock. I think these people see you have birds and they have one or more they don't want so they just dump them in your yard. Figure you "won't mind"???!! These are the same people who would dump any unwanted dog or cat out in the desert IMO...total jerks.

I agree, dumping animals is so wrong. The weird part is I live at the end of a pretty quiet road. Its not like people casually drive by and see my chickens. Most of the time they are cooped or way in my back yard. I wonder if she is a local bird that got out and followed the sound of the roosters crowing.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Las Vegas is really, really far away! I grew up in Connecticut, just about halfway between Boston and New York--2 hours in either direction. 3 hours is about the max I can drive without losing my mind ... unless I have another driver. I don't mind being in the car. I just hate driving. How far is Vegas from Tucson? 10 hours? If I left my home in Old Lyme, CT, in 10-11 hours, I could be:

1. Going south: Cape Hatteras, NC (the Outer Banks and the beaches)
2. Going north: the middle of some remote tundra in central Ontario, about halfway to Hudson, Bay (Montreal is only 6 hours. Excellent skiing in VT only 3-4 hours)
3. Going west: Cleveland, OH

Going to central Maine (Down East) when I was kid to see my uncle was a rough trip! 4 hours! I guess when you are brought up with short car rides and excellent trains to the cities, you get a bit spoiled.

I will have a large hatching of Silkie Paints the end of this month. I'm out in Vegas though. It's not too far if you plan to be out this way in the next couple months you could pick a couple up...

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

I agree, dumping animals is so wrong. The weird part is I live at the end of a pretty quiet road. Its not like people casually drive by and see my chickens. Most of the time they are cooped or way in my back yard. I wonder if she is a local bird that got out and followed the sound of the roosters crowing.

When I got divorced in 2009, I moved here from Jacksonville, FL. I took my two kids, two dogs, and one cat. I couldn't find a place sight unseen for three cats, so I found out later he dumped them. I was so upset.