Arizona Chickens

[nimblytripping]

I am surprised you could even find peeps for sale when it's this hot, I vote definitely for the bigger chickens.

How are everybodys chickens? Maybe we can have a little "update" post...

My three are fine, they are getting fat from all the figs dropping into their area of the yard. They can fly pretty high, but so far haven't jumped over the 6 foot fence into the neighbors yard, I don't think their dog would like it!

No eggs yet, but they are cackling in the morning like they are thinking about it.

They drink A LOT of water but don't seem that stressed by the heat, they are pretty shaded though.

So... How are everybodys chickens?

 

[JaciesCoop]

Well we've only had a very few really hot hot days up here in Camp Verde so far but on those days the girls were really panting. I leave the main door and all three chicken doors open plus the two windows. I also put in a small fan up in one corner that blows through the coop and also bought one of the "cobra" mister's at Home Depot. It's easy to move around. I have a sand base in both runs so they love the damp sand to dust bath in, and since the runs are on the north side and east side of the coop there is always shade in one of them. But I think I will start putting the frozen bottles in the waterers. That seems like a good idea.
Good luck everyone with the heat.
Jacie

 

[Nichole77]

I vote for peeps. Everyone wants older chickens because yea they lay. But you also run the risk of getting someones problems. Egg eaters, too old to lay, mites, lice, disease. When you raise them yourself you can teach your animals (dogs, cats, kids) how to treat them and not chase them. You know how they are fed and how old they are. They also know you and are not as likely to run. It's frustrating to get a new pet and then it is scared to death of you. I got mine in August and it worked out well. They were feathered when it got cold. If you do get older ones I would go with pullets not quite yet laying. That way you get them from lay 1. And check out the place you get them from. Make sure they are fed properly and clean. The feed store my mom goes to told her that scratch grains were the best food. Now her chickens are egg eaters. Who wants those problems. Good luck.

 

[FlockEweFarm]

Hello Arizona Chicken Folks! I am up here in windy Flagstaff with a mixed flock of 41 aerodynamically tested, windproofed, birddog tested, chicks.
I live out on the East side of Flag, and we commonly get 40+mph wind gusts, and that wind makes life tough for everything, including my cochins.
I am raising two different age groups of chickens, mainly Barred Plymouth Rocks, Buffs, Black Astrolorps, and Amerucaunas in the first age group, and in the second I have Brahmas, a Blue Andalusian,and a couple of Bantams that we are trying sort out the type. I had a Seabright hen but the wind caught her and took her too close to the fence and the birddog got her.(I ran two more strands of hot wire and that ended that) I also belled the dog and the chicks now listen for her.
I started my flock back in March when it looked like winter was over, but then we got hit with more snow and cold, so I had 42 chicks in guinea pig cages in the mud room of my house for a couple of weeks, and then in my barn under heat lamps until the snow was melted enough for the chicks to go out in the barn under heat lamps. The older run of chicks was lucky enough to get some time outside and some growth, but my younger set spent more time inside and seems to be a little on the stunted side, perhaps due to the extended time inside. I feed them organic grains and veggi scraps, and I am building them a 30x30 coop on one side of my yard that will allow them to graze and have some protection from the wind. Instead of one big house, I am building 3 smaller chicken houses that will move around the pen and give them alternatives for housing when there are personality issues. When I last raised chickens, I had hens that would fight with each other and not allow other hens to roost, so I am hoping that this will solve some of that.
I will be keeping my feather-footed, stunted, cochins, (including a web-footed mutant) in my dooryard as garden chickens.
The web footed mutant chicken is my favorite, she not only is web-footed, she seems to have thicker than normal legs, crossed toes, and she is very vocal, and very imprinted on me. When I go out in the yard, 'Tilt" comes running up to me chirping and talking, and she will jump onto my hand and calmly sit in my lap while I drink my coffee in the morning.
My chickens are egg production and entertainment only. I have always gone into raising chickens with the intent of having roasters, but the best laid plans end up with names and personalities and endearing qualities that spare them. Our newbie rooster, Strangle, follows me around like a dog, and falls asleep sitting on my Crocs by the back door, kinda hard to eat that.
Nice to meet ya'll, hope to chat more soon.

 

[a2ms4chickens]

It is nice to hear from you calamityjen!

Sounds like you have a great flock of chickens.

While your chickens are trying to not get blown away, our chickens are trying not to roast. My chickens are in a converted stable, so it is shaded, but if there is no wind, it can get hot. Yesterday, we took a watering can and wet the sand down. They must have liked it, they were all standing in it. It must have cooled their feet. I work during the day, but my 11 year DS takes care of them. Some of the chickens are his show chickens for 4-H.

This is our first time having chicks, we have 13, mostly mixed, as our rooster is a banty RIR. We do have 1 silver duckwing EOGB and 1 Brown-Red MG chick.

We have our chickens for egg production, and showing. Not sure if I could eat one of my chickens.

Have fun getting your chicken housing together, I'm sure they will appreciate it.

 

[Mahonri]

Hi,

I'm in east central Phoenix on a small lot but for some reason caught the chicken bug in March and now I have chickens. (My co-workers say it was my mid life crisis)

We put up our coop in April and on the 25th I went to Pratts and bought 4 chicks there. 1 Red Star, 1 RIR and 2 Aurucanas. They were all between 1 and two weeks old. On the 27th, 26 Rainbow Layers from MM Hatchery arrived and I then had 30.

IF I had it to do over agian, I would never have mixed the older chicks with the day olds. Within 7 days 11 of the 26 new chicks had died. I finally got smart and got some antibiotics in their water, fed them milk etc.. and the rest are very healthy now. I think I ended up with a Delaware roo and he is cocky... bosses all of them around. I have a small run that they enjoy. I pick grass for them to eat and water down some of the feed crumbles I got at Pratt's and they love those.

In the neighborhood just to the south of us there are free range chickens EVERYWHERE... you can't walk in the AM without hearing roosters crow. I will need to get rid of my roo though.

Of the 19 remaining I have...

1 Delaware roo
1 White rock
1 Black Star
1 Red Star
4 Rhode Island Reds.
4 Aurucanas and
7 Barred Rocks

If I had it to do over again, I would have gone to the McMurray site and ordered exactly what I wanted. I wish I had some white egg layers. One of the chicks that died was a Blue Andalusian. I love 6 or 7 of those and maybe a white leghorn or two. I wouldn't even mind some old english games to have free range and then I could tell the neighbors that they came from the neighborhood to th south. :0) (I'm in the south of the neighborhood!)

I bought feed at Tempe Tack and also at Ray's down on Baseline. I liked Pratt's the best but I want to go check out the store on 32nd street up north.

Glad to know there are more of us here in Phoenix.

M

 

[azelgin]

Hello all,
We are down here in SE Arizona, about 70 miles SE of Tucson.
Our chicken addiction started out small this last February, but you know how that goes. We thought it would be great to have a few to forage around the yard to eat a few bugs and help keep down the scorpion population near the house. Little did we know how fun and fascinating these guys would turn out to be! We're now up to 58. They surprise us every day. Yesterday, we had a raven picking at the girls left over tomatoes. One of the hens went all "ninja" on it and sent in packing. They also terrorize the cat and weiner dog. Quit a sight to see 26 chickens chasing something that should be chasing them. Even the mules have given up trying to stomp them: there's just too many of them to zero in on a target.
Which brings up another subject: We ended up with a few extra roosters. It appears this is not an uncommon problem. Since we're not really interested in eating these pets, are any of you interested in free roosters? We have one SL Wayondotte rooster, we call Forrest. Forrest Gump. He is 18 weeks old. As you may have assumed by his name, he's not real bright, but boy can he sure run!
He is not the dominate rooster in the flock and has not shown any aggression towards us. He is a little on the shy side when it comes to people, but not with his ladies. His partner in crime, Lil"Roo, who is quite a bit smaller, keeps him in line when he bothers the girls too much.

Look at those legs! No wonder he can run!
Did I mention that we also have a few other roosters that we are waiting to see develope? We'll have 3 GL Wayondottes, 1 BO and 1 EE. They are 11 weeks right now.
It's could possible we could deliver these handsome gentlemen. For free! Unless you would like to take a scenic drive to the Canelo Hills, at the base of the majestic Huachuca Mountains?

I'll even be happy to make up a small wire carrier, for the right adoptees.
Drop us a note, if you might be interested and we'll see if we can make something work out for everybody. We put these guys over on the BST pages, but thought they might have a better chance for a new home if we let folks here know about them too.

Sincerly,
Too Many Roos,
Canelo, AZ

 

[Farmer Gab]

Hi! Another Flagstaff resident reporting in! We live south of town and have both layers and meat birds. We struggle more against the cold than the heat and luckily our winds aren't nearly as bad as the east side of Flagstaff. We just helped our neighbors butcher out some chickens this morning and we will do ours in a few more weeks.

Just wanted to introduce myself,

Gabrielle

 

[FlockEweFarm]

Hiya Quilt! Did you get any rain today?? It sure looked promising today, but all we got was some clouds and wind out here in Timberline. I tried to make it rain, I hung out all kinds of laundry, washed my truck, and even talked out loud about maybe having a picnic, but it just faded away.
It started getting hot with a vengence out here, and I am having to go out midday and spray down the yard to cool them off a little.

 

[Farmer Gab]

No rain....super hot though! I know those of you in the low country won't feel sorry for us! But, we suffered with -20 temps this last winter!!! Anyway, CalamityJen I don't know many farmers up here because where we are, only our next door neighbors have animals. I would love to take a look at your set up sometime.....do you have other animals too? PM me and maybe we can have a show and tell.....

-Gabrielle