Arizona Chickens

[DesertChic]

Does this coop look ok for eight chickens? Three of them are bantams. This is the coop I have but I'm getting two more chickens so I wanted to make sure it will be ok. It has three nesting boxes and I'll be adding a lot more run area.

Looks a bit small for 8 chickens. The general rule is 5 sq ft of space per full-sized bird, and 3-4 sq. ft of space per bantam for a run, and one nesting box per every 4 layers, although in my experience all the hens will still want to lay in the same box at the same time.

 

[Lamaremybabies]

Looks a bit small for 8 chickens. The general rule is 5 sq ft of space per full-sized bird, and 3-4 sq. ft of space per bantam for a run, and one nesting box per every 4 layers, although in my experience all the hens will still want to lay in the same box at the same time. 

Yeah. It's a 6 medium size chicken house and the lady at my TSC said because the chickens I have are either a small breed or Bantams I could get away with a couple more. I actually had seven in there no problem they seemed happy and had room but because I'd be adding two BR hens I wanted to get some opinions.

 

[MagicChicken]

While working in my backyard yesterday I came across two raptors perched on my block wall eye-balling my flock from a distance of about 30 yards. I wasn't worried about the flock since I built the coop and run for maximum security for this kind of stuff. The gals were aware of the raptors way before I was because I heard one sound the alarm and they all gathered right at the coop door opening and were staring at the raptors. I walked toward the coop and they flew away. I never saw a raptor before that was like these two but they were definitely a pair. They were all black and looked like there was some white on their tails. They had very "hooked" beaks and light colored legs that looked longer than usual. I did a search and found the Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) which looked a lot like these two. Apparently they migrate up here from Mexico and usually hunt riparian areas. The closest thing to a riparian area where I'm at is Lake Pleasant which is a good 5-7 miles west, so I don't think they're taking up residence here but I'm certainly no hawk expert. They could've been on their way up to Aqua Fria Monument as well since there's several water tanks and riparian areas up there. Anyone else have any experience with these guys? I'd be interested to hear any info.

Nice photo. I think you're right on the id. Cool yard bird!

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: Oy sory I havn't messaged you yet, the School's wifi is... not the best XD I will do that now XD

 

[azchickens14]

Hi everyone! I have two 10 week old white leghorn roosters that I don't plan on keeping (they will be dinner). Wondering how old are the roos when you typically cull the extra roosters? Thank you for your help and input!

On a happier note, here is a picture of my blue cochin and her babies. This was her first time getting to hatch out eggs and she has been a great mother! It's so much fun to watch her with them and listen to all the noises she makes to communicate different things to them

 

[ejcrist]

Nice photo. I think you're right on the id. Cool yard bird!

That's not a picture I took BTW; I think I copied and pasted that from Wikipedia or something. My pictures all come out blurry like the pictures of Bigfoot and UFO's.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: Lets see... They have long legs for hunting smalll surface fish without getting wet and falling into a lake/stream, they are EXTREMELY smart and agile, dropping bugs onto the water that they have caught, and waiting for the fish to come up and eat. They willl attack a small chicken (Bantams babies) but standard sized chickens, they wouldn't stand a chance against, and you would know they were being attacked before a hawk like this could carry one off or kill it. It is illegal to kill hawk, even if they are trying to eat your birds, so shotguns/blowguns aren't an option, sadly XD

Your high securityy coop should be enough, but I would hold back on letting them free range unless you have sight of all of them. Don't want one making off with your favorite hen :/ 2 hawks would definiely kill a wandering soul.


But other then that I thnk you are okay, as long as they are safe in the coop, and the hawks have no way of entering it. They can sit ion top all they want XD

 

[DesertChic]

Hi everyone! I have two 10 week old white leghorn roosters that I don't plan on keeping (they will be dinner). Wondering how old are the roos when you typically cull the extra roosters? Thank you for your help and input!

On a happier note, here is a picture of my blue cochin and her babies. This was her first time getting to hatch out eggs and she has been a great mother! It's so much fun to watch her with them and listen to all the noises she makes to communicate different things to them

Mama hens are so awesome to watch with their babies. I learned a ton from my #1 mother hen.

I personally like to wait a bit longer than many others before culling my extra rooster...usually to between 18 and 22 weeks. If you want a "fryer", then 16-18 weeks I believe is the general rule, though I may be off by a week or so. I tend to favor roasting my birds to frying them and like a heftier, meatier carcass that requires more time to grow out before processing, but that's just a personal preference.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote:
A great chicken recipe my family has is Buffalo Chicken dip! If you plan on butchering your boys, the breasts, i'm sure, would go amazing in something like that ^-^ It consists of - a crock pot, - 4 large chicken breasts - Half a block of Tillamook cheddar cheese (Or a whole bag of shredded Tillamook cheddar for better melting) - A whole block of cream cheese - half a bottle of franks red hot buffalo sauce (Give or take depending on spice preference) - dash of garlic powder - 5 shakes of Parmesan cheese. (From the shaker thing XD Optional, but I like i this way) Place defrosted raw chicken breasts in large crock pot. Shred chicken with an electronic egg beater ( Yes an egg beater, it really does work in 5 seconds XD ) Pour buffalo sauce, cheese, (bag or sliced up block) , cream cheese, and garlic powder over chicken. Set crock pot on low, let sit for 2 hours, stir, let sit for 2 more hours, stir, let sit for half an hour, shake on Parmesan, stir and serve hot on toast, bread, scoop with tortilla chips, put in a sandwich, mix into mac n cheese, stuff into baked potato, put it on a burger, put it on your fries. Literally anything! We do this almost every time we have extra chicken beasts in the fridge ^-^

 

[cactusrota]

Lets see... They have long legs for hunting smalll surface fish without getting wet and falling into a lake/stream, they are EXTREMELY smart and agile, dropping bugs onto the water that they have caught, and waiting for the fish to come up and eat. They willl attack a small chicken (Bantams babies) but standard sized chickens, they wouldn't stand a chance against, and you would know they were being attacked before a hawk like this could carry one off or kill it. It is illegal to kill hawk, even if they are trying to eat your birds, so shotguns/blowguns aren't an option, sadly XD

Your high securityy coop should be enough, but I would hold back on letting them free range unless you have sight of all of them. Don't want one making off with your favorite hen :/ 2 hawks would definiely kill a wandering soul.


But other then that I thnk you are okay, as long as they are safe in the coop, and the hawks have no way of entering it. They can sit ion top all they want XD

Yup, mainly lizards, amphibians, and fish. Keep your small pullets and seramas secure, but the rest of the birds should be safe. Neat birds that aren't as common as many others like redtails, how fun to have some to watch!