Arizona Chickens

[moms3cuties]

how much apple cider vinegar do you add to water dish to be useful what is the percentage?

 

[kacklinkelly]

Wow, your dog is big and beautiful. How much does he weigh? Is he full grown?

 

[desertmarcy]

After the Tucson show I will be setting eggs; I am only going to hatch to order this year, PM me if you want to make arrangements for chicks. First up will be EE & olive eggers. As day olds they will be straight run, which I know can be an issue for some of you, but I just can't get the hang of vent sexing!

Mary, I'm with you. Hatching to order. Just don't need the frustrating of hatching a bunch of chicks and hope there will be buyers.

 

[desertmarcy]

The Tucson show is a week away... and I'm getting my first paycheck of over $200 tomorrow.
I foresee a catastrophic application of chicken math in my near future.

Also, if anyone near Tucson or Vail needs barn cats anytime soon, we have kittens that will be ready to leave their momma in about six weeks. Their parents and siblings are proven mousers... we haven't seen a rat around our farm for years. But fifteen cats is a few cats too many for us.

Now if those kitties could just be trained to get the rodents and leave all the lizards and wild birds alone.....but that sure won't happen!

 

[MagicChicken]

The Tucson show is a week away... and I'm getting my first paycheck of over $200 tomorrow.
I foresee a catastrophic application of chicken math in my near future.

Also, if anyone near Tucson or Vail needs barn cats anytime soon, we have kittens that will be ready to leave their momma in about six weeks. Their parents and siblings are proven mousers... we haven't seen a rat around our farm for years. But fifteen cats is a few cats too many for us.

I'm looking forward to meeting you in person at the Tucson show!

The barn cat offer is tempting. My place has been overrun by ground squirrels. Not sure I can risk having a cat around, though. My cockatiel would have issues and I would be concerned about the baby chicks, assuming the spring hatches go as planned. Keep us posted as the kittens develop, in case I change my mind.

 

[moms3cuties]

Looks like several of my other birds are getting the fowl pox too.  I just hope none of them get the wet.
We were missing a bird for the last two days.  I had looked over the fence into the neighbors yard and never saw her until yesterday.  Apparently, even with a clipped wing she jumped the 6 foot fence.  We have been in our house now for nearly a year.  The west side neighbors are very nice about the chickens and frequently speak to us.  The neighbors on the east side we have only seen the man once, before closing on the house, we have tried several time to go over and introduce ourselves and they were not home or didn't answer.
So, of course the chicken goes over the fence on the east side! 
Our coop is on that side of the yard, when building it we knocked on the neighbors door multiple times because we wanted to build in the shade but that was not the regulated 40 ft from their building.  Since we didn't connect with them we decided to just build (I know, not the smartest).  We also took into consideration that in the shade the coop, although closer to their house, would be hidden behind large trees from their view in their backyard, which I was hoping they would appreciate.
So, I went armed with a dozen fresh eggs to the neighbors yesterday to collect my disobedient chicken.   The wife answers the door, whom I have never met.  "Hi, I'm your neighbor, here are some fresh eggs and uh, my chicken is in your yard."  She was nice and let me go back to get her but then let me know that her bedroom is on the same side of the yard as the coop.  While she said appreciates the fact that there is no smell, however, my coop is not legal.  I admitted that she was right, let her know I tried to get in touch with her before building and that I could look into geting a forklift to move the coop but then it would be in plain view from her back yard.  She didn't seem to like that idea and said her main concern was if they ever sold.....ahhhh, property value!  Really?
When we first moved in the previous owner was feeding a TON of ferral cats.  We trapped a lot of them and spayed/nuetered then released back and in my opinion being over run with feral cats (who were marking, etc) is worse than chickens, but I guess we all have our battles.  Looks like I will need to supply her with eggs frequently to keep her on my side and liking my chickens 
But, I got the chicken, brought her home and she dove into the feed right away.  She must have been starving since she was gone for 2 days.  I trimmed her wings up but there really weren't any long feathers so I'm not sure how she got over the fence.

my Black Copper Marans that I had gotten from desert Marcy had done really well and showed next to no symptoms on them except for the black dots- like looking pox on them from when they had gotten it. I'm assuming they did so well because of the the proper breeding and care that she gives them. I'm assuming it was my few hens from my flock may have given it to them.
....Always having wild birds coming in my yard trying to eat and drink.

 

[pipemum]

Hi all! Been busy lately. Currently avoiding getting work done, so here I am! My 4 older hens are doing great. 2 are going through a crazy molt! Have 4 younger hens that are just about point of lay. With the molt, I'm only getting 1 or 2 eggs a day--can't wait to have a few more.

I have 8 Cornish cross meat chickens about ready to process and a few EE packing peanuts. 4 of the EEs are male, but 1 is female--I'd love to have another green or blue egg layer! These EEs, one in particular, are going to be huge, gorgeous birds. I wish I could have a roo.

We've had a ton of coyotes traveling the wash behind my house. I've also had a Harris's hawk and Cooper's hawk stalking my chickens. Everything loves a good chicken dinner. So far, everyone has stayed safe, sound, and protected.

I interviewed for a job in a rural area. Haven't heard back so I'm assuming I didn't get it. Sort of glad as I think the lifestyle isn't actually the best for me....but I was also dreaming about all the chickens I could keep.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Fowl pox is carried by mosquitoes. It may not have come from your birds at all. Dry pox is not a big deal for an otherwise healthy bird. They will get over it.

 

[LilnAz]

Hi Arizona peeps! I live in Yuma. With the heat of the summer I am considering a 3-sided coop. I'm concerned about The occasional cold or freezing temps we have. Any comments or suggestions?

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

I lost one of my 7 week old chicks to a cooper's hawk this morning.

We had just named them Penny, Amy, Bernadette and Emily. The hawk got Amy, the BR. :-(
I didn't see her get taken but I saw the hawk in the yard and a couple of feathers from Amy. The other 3 are hunkered down in their grow out coop with Penguin. I guess no more free-ranging for the chickies. Penguin is going to go crazy in there, though. She'll probably leave the chicks sooner now.