Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

Need some advice...
I'm setting up my coop and thinking about poop boards vs deep litter. Can't do DL in Phoenix during the summer. What do you all do? Clean a poop board or the remove litter? Sand?

I think making sure that the poop board doesn't get built up. You can take a kitty litter pan and one of those scoops for it, and use the scoop to push the poop into the pan. If your board can be easily removed, you can then take it out to where your hose is at.

 

[DesertChic]

Need some advice...
I'm setting up my coop and thinking about poop boards vs deep litter. Can't do DL in Phoenix during the summer. What do you all do? Clean a poop board or the remove litter? Sand?

Personally, I'm a big fan of deep litter. Whenever it's time to clean out the coops, all of that litter goes into a compost bin that the chickens continue to scratch through to their obvious delight until it's ready to be used in my garden. My success rate at growing green things in the hostile desert has improved exponentially since I began doing this. I consider it a double bonus.

 

[ejcrist]

Nice.

You're doing good on getting that chicken math down.

I'm taking a break from hatching out mine here until fall. I like to hatch mine out in the fall. That's why I was letting other's know that I now have fertile eggs available if they needed some to hatch out.

Thanks. I think I took the fast-track to a PhD (piled higher and deeper) in chicken math. Didn't plan on it - it just sort of happened.

 

[ejcrist]

I actually plan to set eggs this weekend. I'm more than a little insane for hatching more since I've got so many birds running around here as it is (I'm down to 87 with more slated for the chopping block), but I plan to butcher two of the cockerels I've been breeding since I actually like their offspring better than them so far, and I want to preserve their genetics while I can. I had hoped to be incubating some NN//Cornish eggs, but my Dark Cornish and DC/White Cornish Cross have not been cooperating, and are already suffering in this heat wave we've been enduring.

Here are my favorites from my last hatch, which is 12 weeks old today:

Frost:


Buffy:


Tank (not a good photo of him, He's much prettier than this...and HUGE for his age)


Trixie - my best barred female


And Saffron:

You're going to eat Tank? He's a nice lookin' NN. I think I'd keep him.

We're butchering 20 this Sunday and BBQing a couple (NN and Leghorn cockerels we're not planning to breed). I need to know how good these NN's are on the grill with salt and pepper. I'm definitely keeping my two big boys though. They have dark feathering with copper saddle feathers. I just like these two because they look like they could complete an Iron-Man contest. None of the other full-grown cocks mess with them. They're not aggressive at all and don't even mind being handled but they command the utmost respect. Even my dog gives them a wide berth.

 

[igorsMistress]

Personally, I'm a big fan of deep litter. Whenever it's time to clean out the coops, all of that litter goes into a compost bin that the chickens continue to scratch through to their obvious delight until it's ready to be used in my garden. My success rate at growing green things in the hostile desert has improved exponentially since I began doing this. I consider it a double bonus. 

That's my desire as well but I read that it's too warm here for dl. Do you clean before the summer? It's so hot and dry here I always have to add moisture to my compost so I didn't figure there would be much heat in the coop

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Thanks for allowing me to air out my "dirty laundry."  I was just plain p*****d off, frustrated and angry every day, and it was wearing me down.  I won't make mention of it again and I'm just through dealing with that daily madness. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

I say air as you need to. Anytime. We all need an ear, shoulder, sounding board etc at times.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

First there were three: Then there were 8!! Mommy and babies are doing just fine! They are about a week old now with wing feathers and tail feathers. Mommy is begging to get out of the brooder so she can stretch her legs more - the brooder is not small but I'm waiting another week for regular outings that are more than a few minutes long. The chicks are all barn yard crosses. The rooster is an EE - great looking chicks tho! Weather is okay for temps, etc. I worried the chicks wouldn't get out of the nest box so after all was done I turned it on its side and use the lid for feeding on. Mommy has most of the straw out of the box - no one seems to be suffering because of being cold! Now you know what I do with my afternoons. Sit in the shade and watch chick babies TV.

I'm in love with the lil silver chipmunk & the one next to it! Congrats & so fun.

 

[LopezChickens]

Personally, I'm a big fan of deep litter. Whenever it's time to clean out the coops, all of that litter goes into a compost bin that the chickens continue to scratch through to their obvious delight until it's ready to be used in my garden. My success rate at growing green things in the hostile desert has improved exponentially since I began doing this. I consider it a double bonus. 

when you say deep litter what that mean?

 

[DesertChic]

You're going to eat Tank? He's a nice lookin' NN. I think I'd keep him.

We're butchering 20 this Sunday and BBQing a couple (NN and Leghorn cockerels we're not planning to breed). I need to know how good these NN's are on the grill with salt and pepper. I'm definitely keeping my two big boys though. They have dark feathering with copper saddle feathers. I just like these two because they look like they could complete an Iron-Man contest. None of the other full-grown cocks mess with them. They're not aggressive at all and don't even mind being handled but they command the utmost respect. Even my dog gives them a wide berth.

I am DEFINITELY keeping both Tank and Frost for breeding. I'm considering two other boys, but the rest of them will be culled.

 

[LopezChickens]

Quick question what a reasonable price to sell my eggs for?