Arizona Chickens

[DesertChickens1]

My eggs are hatching the first one out is one of the EExNN cross, and he/she has a naked neck! Last I saw there were three others pipping

 

[cgmaster]

Anybody have tips on hatching my eggs? last year my great grandpa tried to hatch some from my silkies with some of his ams and jersey giants in his incubator NONE of my eggs hatched 1 pipped but didnt hatch. How could i improve their fertility?

 

[DesertChickens1]

First two chicks to hatch out are a white and a brown naked neck

 

[DesertChic]

@Sill What about sun chokes (Jerusalem artichokes) instead of or in addition to sunflowers? I've grown them in pots and in the ground too but they do get taller if grown in the ground. They get 4-6 feet tall and are bushy. Once you plant them they come back each year by their edible rhizomes (that taste like starchy artichokes). I've got a few seed tubers if you want to try them. There are also seeds from them in the seed box. They would probably do well in raised beds too.


Sorry about the late response. Work got in the way of my "me time" this week. I actually really like sunchokes, but I'm not currently set up to try growing them. My raised beds are still filled with my winter produce and it could be a few weeks before I'm ready to start planting around the new coop/run. How late into the year can they be planted? Awesome idea! I'd never even thought about sunchokes!

 

[DesertChic]

First two chicks to hatch out are a white and a brown naked neck

That is so awesome! I love NNs!

 

[Bobby Basham]

Hey, I'm still around...How YOU be these days???

I'm moving like a snail on my project(s), and keep getting cold feet along the way. I finally got to working on my run after a gazillion drawing modifications. What once started out like this...



Turned into something completely different...



It started out with a single 4x4 post and branched out like a waggon wheel. This is just the skeleton and it has four 8x8 sections with the 4th section divided in half to leave more footage for the chickens and a 4x8 ft patio for chicken TV. All the lower panels are constructed as one piece and slide into fence/deck brackets and are screened with hardware cloth that extend out about 18 inches. Even though you can see the four areas, it is all open, so you gotta watch your step right now, unless I decide to go with a deep litter method. There is still over 15 feet of space all around so there will be plenty of room for some garden beds.

The patio will be screened off from the rest of the run. The large opening in the center will be the door/gate. The entire run is only 5 feet tall as to not protrude above the 5 ft wall. HOA (Home Owners Assassination) does not want any structures seen from the street and may be offensive to neighbors. Five of my neighbors say go for it, since I offered them free eggs.

This is one of my lower panels, unscreened and not secured yet. There will be vertical braces for the top section as you can see the brackets attached on the underside of the top bracket.



I got alittle fancy and added some pavers, park bench and back wooden railing on the deck.






The structure itself is finished, for the most part. Just need to build a door for that entrance in the center and finish screening the top half. I have enough hardware cloth to even do the entire roof, but need to add some support to keep it from sagging. There is sand in there which I'm debating about keeping. This all constructed of pressure-treated wood and is not supposed to rot, but I was disappointed about how many pieces were crooked and bowed.

Since this is about 20 feet from the house, I have access to external AC outlets and water faucets, so I can run some PVC a few inches underground to the run. I'm thinking about a watering system, sound system (I heard chickens like NPR Radio and Classical music), and maybe some type of solar power for different things.

I guess I gave you a bit much, but that's just me being verbose and doing essays.

I hope everyone on the board is doing well these days. Your posts are informative and entertaining. --BB



Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona


P.S. The coop design is continually being modified, and I have yet to build a brooder. I also have to take into consideration budget for feed, supplies, medical etc. Maybe it's alittle overboard for a few hens, but I'm looking for a nice project already in place when I decided to retire.

 

[K9Dave]

Thanks for the well wishes. Tomorrow is move out day and all of the animals that we need to re-home were spoken for quickly from friends and neighbors

I do however need help finding Penny the kitten we got from Jennifer here on the forum.

She hangs out in the chicken coop with the rabbits and babies No Problem. She loves to climb trees and she follows me and the dogs when we go walking. She runs from bush to bush. Pretty funny. She is an outside cat but I let her hang out inside sometimes.

If anyone wants or knows anyone that may want her let me know please. I thought another friend was taking her but that plan failed so that's why it's so last minute.

 

[girlchick]

Hi @Bobby Basham
And
@girlchick !!

How are you all doing! Long time no see!

Hi! I'm still alive and kicking. Thanks for the shout out. LOL Been busy with chickens and winter visitors here. My chickens are doing great. The Ameracauna gave me beautiful blue eggs starting last week. My BCM has been laying for about 3 weeks and she is giving me lovely dark chocolate eggs. Such fun. I have egg colors from very light tan to the very dark. I just finished wiring sun shade on the top of the run and the next project is screen doors for the coop.

I'm thinking about planting birdhouse gourds along the run and let them cover the whole thing. Anyone have hints on growing these? What sort of soil additions do I need for this sandy soil? Peat moss? Garden soil? How often to water?

I'm pretty sure "chicken math" is going to force me to incubate some eggs real soon. Just can't help myself! LOL

 

[MagicChicken]

I second everything desertmarcy said. Here are some more things to consider:

If you are planning to breed the birds you are buying, make sure you tell the seller what you are planning to do with the birds. To breed good show birds most people have to hatch out a lot of chicks and cull heavily. The culls are good birds for layers or pets or meat, but are not necessarily good birds for use in a breeding program even though they come from a reputable breeder. On the other hand, one person's cull may have just the trait another person needs to resolve an issue in their birds. If a reputable seller knows you are planning to breed the birds they will probably sell you different birds than they would if they thought you were just using the birds for eggs or pets.

If you are planning to breed to the standard and you are just starting out with a breed, get the best birds you can find but don't worry about it too much. Take a few years to learn what the birds do, evaluate the birds you have, see what traits cross well with others and which cause problems. After you've got a better feel for the breed you can track down specific birds to help solve the issues that have cropped up in your birds.

Remember that breeders of show birds are likely to retain the best birds for their own lines. There aren't many breeders out there who can afford to let great birds out of their breeding program. But most of them will help you get started with a good quality trio. It will be up to you to bring your line up to great quality.

Quality is much harder to assess in chicks. If you are serious about breeding to the standard, start with a good quality trio or quad. You will pay a lot more for the grown-out birds, but you will know what you are getting. With chicks it is always a gamble.

The structure itself is finished, for the most part. Just need to build a door for that entrance in the center and finish screening the top half. I have enough hardware cloth to even do the entire roof, but need to add some support to keep it from sagging. There is sand in there which I'm debating about keeping. This all constructed of pressure-treated wood and is not supposed to rot, but I was disappointed about how many pieces were crooked and bowed.

Since this is about 20 feet from the house, I have access to external AC outlets and water faucets, so I can run some PVC a few inches underground to the run. I'm thinking about a watering system, sound system (I heard chickens like NPR Radio and Classical music), and maybe some type of solar power for different things.

I guess I gave you a bit much, but that's just me being verbose and doing essays.

I hope everyone on the board is doing well these days. Your posts are informative and entertaining. --BB



Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona


P.S. The coop design is continually being modified, and I have yet to build a brooder. I also have to take into consideration budget for feed, supplies, medical etc. Maybe it's alittle overboard for a few hens, but I'm looking for a nice project already in place when I decided to retire.

Bobby, it's good to see some actual construction happening. Congratulations!

You might want to reconsider the chicken coop sound system. Clucking hens are easy to ignore. Being forced to listen to a neighbor's radio or music all the time is incredibly annoying. Just saying.

 

[cyborg]

Hi @Bobby Basham, long time no see! Your run is looking great. I went out this morning in the pick em up truck, with full intentions of buying a load of wood for a henhouse project of my own. Got a little sidetracked and came home with rose bushes and a couple fruit trees, and no wood. Ah well, there is always next weekend!