Arizona Chickens

[AZChiknGoddess]

Who is wanting the BYC seed box. We will have it for a bit if you want to stop by before it leaves Tempe..private message us for time & date,, Tea in the Garden with a few members would be nice..

Any chance the box is heading to Tucson? I have some ridiculously hearty sweet banana pepper seeds to put in that do very well here, and some small cactus pieces. The cactus would be paper spine and spruce cone varieties. A bit uncommon but easy to grow.

 

[AZChiknGoddess]

Since we have the sister of your rooster, will you post up photo's of him. I have been hearing a muffled sound of someone trying to crow, only at sunrise! At first I thought it was one of the E.E. till a pretty green egg was found, & I caught her in a nest.. The E.E. comb turned red & is double in size of her sister, that is why I thought she was a he... Both E.E. are from Mesa feed barn along with their age.. Two different combs? their feathers are so georgous. They are part of the flock that is going to our friends..

The EE likely have different combs because EE are crosses. The green egg gene in Ameracaunas is linked to the pea comb so it's very likely if the other has a straight comb it will lay a brown egg.

 

[desertmarcy]

A member on here showed me and I did a couple. I wasn't happy with the choice of tools given for the job so I haven't done anymore. I wouldn't mind doing more if I could get a GOOD set of tools for it.

There was a member on the caponizing thread who was ordering good kits from overseas. I don't know if she still is. I got the kits from her but haven't tried it yet. It occurred to me, I still need the pen space *duh* to raise up capons and this year I just didn't have it. I had even held back some cockerels that I would have otherwise culled, to caponize. Then reality struck. Maybe next year I can give it a try but I am always short on pen space.

 

[houdiniduck]

I could probably help you find some good set of tools, but for me it's a little tough to watch. Even though I worked in the medical field off and on for 20 years, I still don't think my stomach very strong for some of these simple surgeries.

I'm looking in the very near future culling one of my roosters and culling one of my new friends father's roosters who offered me a few to cull, lol. Even been offered some free culling classes to boot!

Fresh and organically fed, free range free chicken sounds yummy!

If there is room for others I would be interested in joining up with y'all, I have some ducks that if I don't sell I am going to need to cull. Duck sounds tasty to me. I hope I sell them first, but if not, yum?

 

[notinoz2007]

how old does a roo need to be to caponize? and will that prevent him from crowing? thats not something i want to do to my current roo, but all of his babies that survive are always roosters too and they are just so beautiful. we dropped one off at mesa feed barn yesterday - i'll try to get away with one rooster out there but not 2.
@City farm yes mom is moving out there with us, dad too. and next month i am going to rescue my grandparents from their cold mountain in arkansas so they can spend the winter here with us. so glad its a big house, lol. i am also really interested in the seed box but might not be ready til next year. we have so many seeds to add to it, and i wanted to see what it has to offer my new yard, but i dont even have a garden plan drawn up for over there yet.
so, mesa allows a rooster as long as there are no noise complaints, why cant AJ be like that? i can have 2 "small livestock" and 2 chickens per 1500 sq ft, no roosters and no peafowl. it doesnt say anything about no guineas tho, or geese and those are loud. so if i really have to get rid of my rooster i might rebel.
*tagging the right people?

 

[moms3cuties]

I could probably help you find some good set of tools, but for me it's a little tough to watch. Even though I worked in the medical field off and on for 20 years, I still don't think my stomach very strong for some of these simple surgeries.


I'm looking in the very near future culling one of my roosters and culling one of my new friends father's roosters who offered me a few to cull, lol. Even been offered some free culling classes to boot!


Fresh and organically fed, free range free chicken sounds yummy!

If there is room for others I would be interested in joining up with y'all, I have some ducks that if I don't sell I am going to need to cull. Duck sounds tasty to me. I hope I sell them first, but if not, yum?

I will check into that. If that's not an option, maybe we can do our own culling party here w/ or other byc members,,,, if city Farm still interested or Sill?!?

....sorry I don't remember how to quote a name properly. I'll go look it up!

 

[mom-to-5]

it takes a really long time to catch up on posts if you havent logged on since spring.
we are at the very tail end of purchasing a larger home with land in AJ. supposed to sign papers monday, then again, we were supposed to sign papers weeks ago. *sigh* I've been reading up on zoning out there and looks like where we are buying i cant have my rooster. thats pretty distressing because out of my 7 chickens, he's the one i love most, the big baby is almost 4 years old and i've raised him from the egg    so, i am very interested in the no crow collar i have been reading about here. please post if you have it and it works for you, and if it doesnt why do you think that is. my guy rarely crows and when he does its very deep (compared to the many roosters i've had before him) he also has to crook his neck and tilt his head way left, he looks hilarious.
anyway, hi everyone! i know i always promise to participate more when i show up, then i never do. so no promises this time. i love love love reading this thread tho and it always brings me back to my goals.

I have the no crow collar from mypetchicken.com. I know you can make your own from Velcro strips but I liked the specific no crow one because it seemed more flexible with the mesh and therefore more comfortable since my guy has it on 24/7.
When I first put it on he did crow, only softer, then I tightened it and now, although he occasionally tries to crow, when he does he is quieter than most of my hens. When I'm in the house with windows open I can't even hear him. The collar doesn't actually prevent them from crowing but does not allow them to get the big gulp of air needed to make the crowing highly audible.
When my kids told one of our neighbors we had a rooster she was shocked and couldn't believe it because she doesn't here him
I think you could keep your roo. I would get him used to the collar before you move, so you can have it properly adjusted and not disturb any new neighbors.
Good luck! Let me know if you want more info.

 

[MagicChicken]

how old does a roo need to be to caponize? and will that prevent him from crowing? thats not something i want to do to my current roo, but all of his babies that survive are always roosters too and they are just so beautiful. we dropped one off at mesa feed barn yesterday - i'll try to get away with one rooster out there but not 2.
@City farm yes mom is moving out there with us, dad too. and next month i am going to rescue my grandparents from their cold mountain in arkansas so they can spend the winter here with us. so glad its a big house, lol. i am also really interested in the seed box but might not be ready til next year. we have so many seeds to add to it, and i wanted to see what it has to offer my new yard, but i dont even have a garden plan drawn up for over there yet.
so, mesa allows a rooster as long as there are no noise complaints, why cant AJ be like that? i can have 2 "small livestock" and 2 chickens per 1500 sq ft, no roosters and no peafowl. it doesnt say anything about no guineas tho, or geese and those are loud. so if i really have to get rid of my rooster i might rebel.
*tagging the right people?

From what I have read, a pound and a half (for a large fowl chick) is a good time to caponize. My birds hit that size in just a few weeks. Too small and the wee bits are a bit too wee. Too old and the birds are already maturing, crowing, etc. It is possible to caponize a more mature bird but the testes are harder to get out intact. It will prevent him from crowing if you caponize before they have matured enough to crow. Not sure if it will totally stop a mature bird from crowing.

I haven't actually tried caponizing yet. I did get the tools via the person on one of the caponizing threads. Problem with my breed is they mature slowly, and when they are only a pound and a half I can't tell the girls from the boys.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

No, I have not. Read about it and looked at all the pics, but not something I would attempt without some expert guidance. The big boy mentioned above is still equipped as Mother Nature intended, and I'm keeping him that way as a potential breeder. He is at least a pound heavier and two inches taller than my next biggest BJG cockerel.

P.S. If a young male chicken has all his wee bits intact, he is called a cockerel, after surgery, he is called a capon.

So, if you live within city limits, can you caponize your cockerels and keep them without penalty? Do they still get rooster plumage?

 

[TLBPsyD]

Thanks! I would love to see pictures of yours! Please let me know if you post some pictures. We donated the 5 roosters to a 4-H Club. Which left us with 2. Then, we bought a Buff Orp and Barred Rock. They are SO sweet!

Awww, you are too kind. Really though, while it's incredibly sturdy, it's not predator proof. Anything could dig under the bottom, it really needs a fold up apron around the edges. I used to put the tractor onto my concrete patio to hold broody hens and their eggs. I felt a bit better when they couldn't dig under, but even then I worried that a really strong critter could lift it up to gain access. Fortunately, I never had a problem with it.

I have to confess though, I have a small flock of chickens I took in for a friend and they are in it right now. I worry about them every night.

I originally made it just for the day use of chicks and only when I was outside, so I wasn't too concerned with predators. Other than the wood in it, it was made almost entirely from wire salvaged from other projects. In fact, it started out as a garden hoop row cover. Over time I added layers of protection.

Here it was in it's original state:



View from the inside:

Love this pic!