Arizona Chickens

[ChuskaMtns]

I got my first egg from Croquembouche, my blue copper Marans, today:

Yippee! I bet you're so proud of her!

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Looks like a paint.

So adorable! @AZChiknGoddess may have gotten her paint chick after all! Better treat that one like the Queen of Sheba.

 

[AZChiknGoddess]

I'm near Ina and Silverbell. The Tucson Mts. have a very healthy bobcat population plus there is a big wash that cuts across the back side of my property that connects from Saguaro Nat'l Monument to the Santa Cruz River, a major wildlife corridor. I have had major bobcat kills before (and always caught them) but none since this poultry house has been finished. I suppose it could be something else, but not sure if any of the other predators around here would kill so many and leave them. Coyotes usually kill and take what they want and I don't think we have any neighborhood dogs running loose at night, at least I hope not. Surely they would have been up here before now if so.

I'm at Sandario and Orange Grove. Pretty much just over the Mtn from you. I had a bobcat here and a cougar. From the sounds of the attack I would guess dogs. Nothing like a pack of dogs to go on a killing spree just for fun. A long time ago I used to have rabbits and a huge lab mix came from 3 miles away and killed 23 of them. I would never have known but it got inside a rabbit cage and the door closed on it. It had a tag with the owners name. He was unhappy that we had shot his dog. I also had a lab mix and a shepherd mix get into a duck pen and kill 19 of 24 just for a good time.

 

[ChuskaMtns]

So sorry about that mess Marcy. I had major bobcat problems in the White Mountains & once lost all but 3 of my flock 1 night. I ended up putting electric wire an inch from the ground, electric ribbon at the top, barb wire a 1/4" above the ground, had additional fencing added within my llama pastures so a predator would first have to get thru my fence, then the dogs, then another fence, the llamas, another fence to get to the chickens. My hands were blistered, my back, shoulders & arms ached forever after all that work & my dh helped. It was like Ft Knox afterwards so worth all the pain - to the body & the bank account. My dh still talks about our Neiman Marcus eggs we have for breakfast.

 

[desertmarcy]

@Bobby Basham I don't know where you live, but once you have chickens, the predators tend to find you. So even if you don't think you have large predators now, you never know what is going to show up. It is much easier to overbuild from the beginning, expecting the worst, than have to redo and have the heartache of losing birds.

That said, there are other materials you can use to keep out wild birds. Aviary wire is a light weight wire with 1/2" spacing. It is only good for keeping birds out, it is not very strong. I use it over my covered garden. Shade cloth placed over whatever wire/frame you are using will also keep out thieving birds.

There is a new Tractor Supply in Marana, west side frontage road off I-10 between Ina and Cortaro. I think someone already mentioned it. If you are looking for various wires, OK Feed and Supply on Ft. Lowell and Dodge keeps a good number of different ones in stock and might be willing to order for you. That's where I always buy my welded wire.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

@desertmarcy did say the blue Copper eggs would be lighter than the black copper eggs ... I saw her in this spot and an hour later it was there. I suppose it could've been Crannie, the RIR.

 

[desertmarcy]

@desertmarcy did say the blue Copper eggs would be lighter than the black copper eggs ... I saw her in this spot and an hour later it was there. I suppose it could've been Crannie, the RIR.

The first eggs they lay can be lighter because their system is not up and running right yet. I had some first Marans eggs that were flat out white! I thought they were my wooden eggs because that pen only had Marans. I even cracked them to be sure they weren't wooden,
honest

But now they are laying darker. But if she never lays dark, I wouldn't be all that surprised because on my Blue Coppers, I have been concentrating on getting the look right and not so much on egg color. Some of my Blue Coppers really lay too light an egg to be considered "Marans". One step at a time

 

[Bobby Basham]

Thanks @desertmarcy

When I said I wasn't worried about the larger predators, it wasn't as if I was ignoring them, because I do anticipate them probably coming out the woodwork. I'm out in that 2006 neighborhood (not the newest Habitat homes) east of the new Pilot Travel Center accross TTT Truck Stop, next to the older "Little Town" neighborhood.

Thanks about the update about the new Tractor Supply in Marana and will have to take a trek up there. I do want the top of the run covered with some type of welded wiring and screening, even if it's just chain link. I can't imagine a critter climbing and then trying to chew it's way through the top, let alone trying to find it's escape route while dragging a chicken with it. --BB

 

[Sill]

That is a thought. I have one west facing side with shade cloth all the way to the ground. The fence fabric is also buried about 4-6" as well since it was used 7' chain link fabric and I only needed 6'. So maybe I can skip that section, at least for now, and concentrate on others. I decided to go ahead and cut the 6' roll of 1" X 2" welded wire because I already have it and bought it on a whim without any real solid plans in mind

But now I have blisters on my right hand from cutting across 1" at a time to 40'. That is just for the pen side the predator dug under. Yikes, that is 480 cuts plus some to go across. My hands are going to be killing me

Talked with my close neighbor on that side. They are fine with me laying the wire. She has her own problems. Something jumped the fence around their back garden area and ate her melons! Probably deer. They put the fence up to keep javelina out but it won't stop the deer.

My DH uses a hand held grinder to cut welded wire, it sure saves the hands! It's faster too. Anyone that keeps animals and makes enclosures should have one.

Have any of you ever hatched a Silkie chick in this color?

It came from my Silkie pen that has a white rooster a black rooster and white blue black and splash hens. I know the white rooster is blue based because he has a blue chest feather. Strange color chick for a BBS pen.

Whatever color it is its adorable!

 

[City farm]

I got my first egg from Croquembouche, my blue copper Marans, today:

Eggciting