Arizona Chickens

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Going off the grid until Sunday afternoon, dont miss me too much you guys! Fed everyone extra thismonring, and as I type there are happy "honks" and "BAWKS" coming from the backyard. OH and someone just started the Egg song ^^ [/URL] lol she just looks so angry all the time [/URL] le beautiful FACE

Awe..... Pretty babies. That's how my marshmallow looks-mad. I love the sultans, something about them. Mine will chew out her roo every so often, it's funny cause she gets on top of the coop usually. Though once the roof of the house-so keep an eye out for that. The buff is gorgeous. Good match for any of the boys!

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Howdy AZ chicken farmers! It's been such a long time since I have been on, I had to create a new user!  It's nice to be back though.

Does anyone here have any information or experience with building clay bricks or walls for cheap? I figured if anyone knows, it's you guys. My fellow chicken lovers are always so savvy!

A good friend of mine is suffering quite a bit right now. The past few months have been really hard on her. A huge portion of her backyard fence, coop, and trees were burnt to the ground by her irresponsible neighbors. She lost half her flock and her favorite rooster. Also an irreplaceable 35+ year old tree that her grandmother planted. She is of course seeking legal action with her neighbors but it's taking so long! She has a temp fence set up but it's not cutting it. The backyard is essentially open for anyone to steal something. We are so very worried about home invaders AND she cannot let her dogs out to go potty unsupervised. It's a huge problem. To top it off, funds are really low right now. She has sold her own furniture and appliances to create extra revenue.

Any advice or tips on cheap ways to make a permanent wall are GREATLY appreciated!!!! We need to avoid wood though, the neighbors are STILL trying to use the grill in the SAME spot.

On a side note, I am looking to purchase a used incubator (one to three dozen capacity) with an automatic egg turning tray. I figure the least I can do for her is hatch out some babies to fill her coop.

Sorry for the wall of text guys! Anywho, have a great day and thank you so much for reading!

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hopefully her house insurance helps.

Try searching online for low income assistance, grants, etc. Maybe places like habitat for humanity, low income weatherization program for energy efficiency, & things like that. The weatherization program is based on income, but they do an energy audit which includes Windows, doors, appliances, etc. & Based on what they determine is most effective they do. Also, local agencies like the ones that run the weatherization program might know of other places that could help.

Sometime bricks, fences, etc are listed on Craigslist. You might have to dismantle, take all, etc, but free is free. What about a rock wall or of rocks from the desert & mortar? It will take a lot of rock, but those are free. Mortar is fairly cheap.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Back from Eagar/Springerville!!

So while we were on the way down, I saw my first ever wild turkeys, and somehow I knew how to call to them.

(I think I had seen it somewhere on my instagram, a farmer i follow has Turkeys)

So I whistled to them (There were about 12-15) and every single one of them gobbled back.

I literally had a uncontrolable moment where I like, rocked back and forth clapping my hands because I got wild turkeys to call to me, oh god the memories are coming back XD

I had a sh*t-eating grin on my face the rest of the day .

ANYWAY I had a kind of stupid but totally serious question about my Polish roosters and hen.

Their crests were beautiful before I left for my cabin in the white mountains.

buut when I got back, my roosters had destroyed their crests. the entire fron half of each of their crests is now broken and tattered feathers. (I will post pictures later.

The feathers are still there, but they are destroyed halfway down and none of my birds are show worthy now because of it.

I have all 4 polish signed up for fair but my entry form is due monday and Im debating on whether to pull them from the show because of their tattered crests. None of them will molt before fair but this is my last year in the FFA and 4H....

Is there any way that I can fix them/remove them without hurting my birds so that the feathers could grow back before April, or are their heads a lost cause till they molt and I'll just show in Open next year or sometime in the future?

Now i'm in no way thinking of plucking their head feathers out if it means them bleeding or screaming or being in pain at all, but if for some reason there was a way to numb that, or just get the feathers to fall out and regrow without waiting for molt....

I know long shot, ill probably have to pull them from the fair but I want to consider all of my options.

Oh no. How long does it take feathers to grow back? I think mine grow a bit quicker on fermented feed, so that helps. It could help them regrow faster, plus extra protein may help.

Only way I know of is let them do it naturally or pluck, cut or something to start the process. As for numbing: lidocaine. Find a product with the highest dosage in it then apply. I know icy hot has a version that's 4%, but not sure if any animal products might be higher.

I think I remember the AZ Fair supervisor say to pull the feathers & let them regrow if there was a feather that's a wrong color, etc & hope it comes back nicer. I believe he said a few months before.

I hope they get their feathers back so you can show. I'm curious to see how they do.

Are you showing this weekend? I guess there's a Tucson club show again.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: I wish I could show this weekend, but i've actually got lots of like planning this weekend.

I may just end up pulling the feathers and allowing them to grow back, but it's not gonna be a fun process and im actually really wary about it....

definitely will use a skin numbing ointment before hand.......

Its a few months before fair so the feathers should definitely grow back by then.

as for the CAUSE of feather breaking, i need to move the smaller coop made of chicken wire and wood that is holding hens in it because they want to mate with the hens through the wire and thats whats destroying their crests.

as for my hen, she is just so dainty and makes such sad noises when she "gets hurt" so im not sure I want to get her broken feathers out.... there are way less broken but there is no way for me to fix it and the cage she lives in always has wire that she bumps into....

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

I wish I could show this weekend, but i've actually got lots of like planning this weekend.

I may just end up pulling the feathers and allowing them to grow back, but it's not gonna be a fun process and im actually really wary about it....

definitely will use a skin numbing ointment before hand.......

Its a few months before fair so the feathers should definitely grow back by then.

as for the CAUSE of feather breaking, i need to move the smaller coop made of chicken wire and wood that is holding hens in it because they want to mate with the hens through the wire and thats whats destroying their crests.

as for my hen, she is just so dainty and makes such sad noises when she "gets hurt" so im not sure I want to get her broken feathers out.... there are way less broken but there is no way for me to fix it and the cage she lives in always has wire that she bumps into....

It's tough. The boys just wanna be boys...sigh. Poor girl. I saw a blind dog wearing a type of bumper harness that stopped him from bumping into walls. It was a loop that went out in front of him attached to a harness, from should to shoulder. If that makes sense. Too bad something like that wouldn't work for chickens. Or padding her wires. lol She'd probably pick at the padding. Maybe her feathers will grow back without pulling them. I think she needs to have mercury or maybe benny as a boyfriend.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote: I wish I could show this weekend, but i've actually got lots of like planning this weekend.

I may just end up pulling the feathers and allowing them to grow back, but it's not gonna be a fun process and im actually really wary about it....

definitely will use a skin numbing ointment before hand.......

Its a few months before fair so the feathers should definitely grow back by then.

as for the CAUSE of feather breaking, i need to move the smaller coop made of chicken wire and wood that is holding hens in it because they want to mate with the hens through the wire and thats whats destroying their crests.

as for my hen, she is just so dainty and makes such sad noises when she "gets hurt" so im not sure I want to get her broken feathers out.... there are way less broken but there is no way for me to fix it and the cage she lives in always has wire that she bumps into....

I wouldn't use a skin numbing ointment. "-caine" type products are supposed to be toxic to chickens. I've no direct experience. Just repeating warnings I've heard from a variety of sources. Not all -caine products are created equal, so lidocaine may be okay but if it were my chickens I wouldn't want to risk it.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: I wish I could show this weekend, but i've actually got lots of like planning this weekend.

I may just end up pulling the feathers and allowing them to grow back, but it's not gonna be a fun process and im actually really wary about it....

definitely will use a skin numbing ointment before hand.......

Its a few months before fair so the feathers should definitely grow back by then.

as for the CAUSE of feather breaking, i need to move the smaller coop made of chicken wire and wood that is holding hens in it because they want to mate with the hens through the wire and thats whats destroying their crests.

as for my hen, she is just so dainty and makes such sad noises when she "gets hurt" so im not sure I want to get her broken feathers out.... there are way less broken but there is no way for me to fix it and the cage she lives in always has wire that she bumps into....

I wouldn't use a skin numbing ointment. "-caine" type products are supposed to be toxic to chickens. I've no direct experience. Just repeating warnings I've heard from a variety of sources. Not all -caine products are created equal, so lidocaine may be okay but if it were my chickens I wouldn't want to risk it.
You make a good point. Ill do some searching around, but you're right, i wouldn't want to risk it.

do you think maybe a warm bath beforehand would do the trick? it would loosen up their pores and maybe make it both easier and less painful....

Idk im really wary about pulling feathers, but fair is also really important to me, as it is my last year...

What do you guys think I should do?

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote: I wish I could show this weekend, but i've actually got lots of like planning this weekend.

I may just end up pulling the feathers and allowing them to grow back, but it's not gonna be a fun process and im actually really wary about it....

definitely will use a skin numbing ointment before hand.......

Its a few months before fair so the feathers should definitely grow back by then.

as for the CAUSE of feather breaking, i need to move the smaller coop made of chicken wire and wood that is holding hens in it because they want to mate with the hens through the wire and thats whats destroying their crests.

as for my hen, she is just so dainty and makes such sad noises when she "gets hurt" so im not sure I want to get her broken feathers out.... there are way less broken but there is no way for me to fix it and the cage she lives in always has wire that she bumps into....

I wouldn't use a skin numbing ointment. "-caine" type products are supposed to be toxic to chickens. I've no direct experience. Just repeating warnings I've heard from a variety of sources. Not all -caine products are created equal, so lidocaine may be okay but if it were my chickens I wouldn't want to risk it.
You make a good point. Ill do some searching around, but you're right, i wouldn't want to risk it.

do you think maybe a warm bath beforehand would do the trick? it would loosen up their pores and maybe make it both easier and less painful....

Idk im really wary about pulling feathers, but fair is also really important to me, as it is my last year...

What do you guys think I should do?

Pulling one or two feathers is a whole lot different from pulling most of the feathers from the top of the head. Personally I wouldn't do it. You can still show the birds. You can even show a bird with a disqualifying feature. It just won't rank in the judging. (I don't know your breed's standard so I don't know if that degree of crest damage would be disqualifying or not.) They will probably lose points due to the feather condition but you will get feedback on the rest of the bird.

Contrary to popular opinion, shows aren't all about winning. They are an excellent way of getting objective outside opinions of how your birds rate and where you might be going off track. Too often we follow our own preferences and lose sight of key elements in the standard. Shows have a way of pulling that back on track, if you are willing to listen to feedback.

 

[cavemanrich]

Pulling one or two feathers is a whole lot different from pulling most of the feathers from the top of the head. Personally I wouldn't do it. You can still show the birds. You can even show a bird with a disqualifying feature. It just won't rank in the judging. (I don't know your breed's standard so I don't know if that degree of crest damage would be disqualifying or not.) They will probably lose points due to the feather condition but you will get feedback on the rest of the bird.

Contrary to popular opinion, shows aren't all about winning. They are an excellent way of getting objective outside opinions of how your birds rate and where you might be going off track. Too often we follow our own preferences and lose sight of key elements in the standard. Shows have a way of pulling that back on track, if you are willing to listen to feedback.

I'm with you 110% on total above statement. What will be the result lets say if the feathers are pulled and they don't grow back properly in time. Winning isn't everything.. One of my Polish hens looks (not very pretty).. When drinking, her hairdo acts like a mop. Then she raises head to swallow. then repeat.ETC. Then she goes for a dust bath. She is all white. Her mop head and total front looks miserably bad. I think she is destined to be this way until she molts. I tried to give her a water bath, but not very successfully. I of course do not do any showing, but if I did, I would want to know what are the good points about my hen. Here is a picture of my girl after the bath. I tried my best to remedy the mopping situation with a rubber band. It worked. The soiled stains did not wash out. Pix not very clear, but its the only one I have right now. Rubber band fell off since.

No beauty contest winner here but stilled luved......

 

[FeatherPugs]

Pulling one or two feathers is a whole lot different from pulling most of the feathers from the top of the head. Personally I wouldn't do it. You can still show the birds. You can even show a bird with a disqualifying feature. It just won't rank in the judging. (I don't know your breed's standard so I don't know if that degree of crest damage would be disqualifying or not.) They will probably lose points due to the feather condition but you will get feedback on the rest of the bird.

Contrary to popular opinion, shows aren't all about winning. They are an excellent way of getting objective outside opinions of how your birds rate and where you might be going off track. Too often we follow our own preferences and lose sight of key elements in the standard. Shows have a way of pulling that back on track, if you are willing to listen to feedback.

@MagicChicken - this is what I wanted to say but didn't know how to say it well. This is what I would advise MY CHILD (and believe me you hate it when your child has to work with hard knocks - maybe) if we were in the same position. Thank you. Great post.