Arizona Chickens

[meetthebubus]

Here's the video of the above rabbit pictured when we rescued him from curious chickens, he was so tiny

 

[BlueBaby]

Here's the video of the above rabbit pictured when we rescued him from curious chickens, he was so tiny

I watched this video, plus the one you posted there about them getting blown by the monsoon. Then I got distracted over there about that dog who's back legs were parelised.

 

[Bobby Basham]

@Bobby Basham - What Parront said. "They are calmer if you are calm, too." Birds are extremely sensitive to the energy of the people around them. Step number 1 is calm your energy before approaching the birds. Every single time. (Edited to add: you will know when your energy is calm enough by your birds' behavior. If they are calm when you approach, your energy is calm enough.)

The overhead issue is major. I keep my hatchlings in a big plastic storage tub with clear sides and a screen over the top, until the chicks are 5-7 days old. Then they go to the outside brooder. They panic much less in the container with clear sides.

The outside brooder has a side door that is screened. I open it during the day so the chicks can see out, unless we are having a hard freeze or it is raining. During the day the chicks can see my feet approaching before I lift the plywood top to access the food and water. If I approach and lift the top suddenly they all panic. But if I do it slowly they either stay in place, or move relatively calmly to the back corner under the Sweeter Heater. Until I try to pick one up. Then it's chaos.

If I need to handle the chicks I do it at night. I turn off the light in the brooder. It's the only way I can catch the little rascals in that big brooder. It's 4' square and 28-30" high.

You will get used to handling the birds over time. Good luck!

Well, 2:00AM this morning I was cleaning two chicken butts. The RIR was a repeat from two days ago and the other was a BA/BR?

The RIR chirped a few times before I turned it on its back. I used a Q-tip and a small trickle of warm running water. When I was almost done it started chirping loudly because I think the last piece of poo was really stuck on, but I proceeded gently until that last piece softened and fell off. Its vent was protruding a bit, so I had to shoo the others away to keep from picking at it. The BA/BR was not quite as cooperative, but I stuck to my guns. It had a HUGE mass over its vent and took a little more effort, but it sorta just melted off completely. The RIR seems to be a loner sometimes, sleeping and eating by itself, then becomes social again.

Someone in another forum mentioned that if you want your chicks to bond, start making some soft chicken noises. I got down low and went to the brooder and laid my hand on the floor with some food. When I started to cluck, they all got excited (in a good way) and got busy pecking all around the brooder. About five of them rushed my hands then skid on their brakes and backed off. Two of them came up and started to eat out of my hand, then one took off, not in a frantic way. The other stepped up on my fingers and continued to eat out of my hand, then left. The little soft pecks were so cute. Some of them are inquisitive to begin with, always running toward my hand even before I tried this. Since I live alone, I can do the cluck I want...LOL!

I let them have a field day and removed all the paper towels and added more bedding since they were scratching through the towels and kept them blocked off while I checked the temperature with a cheap thermometer. The temperature directly below the lamp, over the feed trough, was over 100 degrees. The last time I checked it was 95 degrees. The sales rep at ACE told me those bulbs would get warmer and let it run for a while to let it reache peak temperature.

I just checked in on them any they are all mingling, scratching like crazy, but found another black one with a skinny "turd" hanging out. It wasn't there when I went to bed at 3:30.

One last observation...the Austra Whites have HUGE wings like a leghorn. We had them on our farm back in the 60's and they were quite the flyers.

Sorry for being so verbose today. The two places that I check every few minutes are the bathroom and this Board. --BB

 

[BlueBaby]

@Bobby Basham , During all of my hatches, sometimes I have gotten one chick that gets the lump of the dried up pasty butt. I take those and put drop or 2 of baby oil on it and it will usually work it's way loose. I think a bit of it goes into the vent too, because they never have that problem again.

When I hatched out those 2 white eggs before that were Austra-whites and started growing them out, I decided that I don't like them. Yes, they are flighty, and greedy when it comes to food, and I thought them as meaner than my Australorps are. I sent them to a friend's who has a pond.

 

[Bobby Basham]

@Bobby Basham , During all of my hatches, sometimes I have gotten one chick that gets the lump of the dried up pasty butt. I take those and put drop or 2 of baby oil on it and it will usually work it's way loose. I think a bit of it goes into the vent too, because they never have that problem again.

When I hatched out those 2 white eggs before that were Austra-whites and started growing them out, I decided that I don't like them. Yes, they are flighty, and greedy when it comes to food, and I thought them as meaner than my Australorps are. I sent them to the pond.

On occasion, I see those Austra Whites running toward my hand (out of greed or aggression?), and they seem to bully on occasion. They could probably fly right now, and they are only 7 days old and the biggest of the bunch.

I just wanted to try a combination of 3 Austra Whites, 3 RIR, 3 BA, 3 BR. The last two breeds are black and the BR have a white patch on their head.

If they get to be a pain, I'll just get rid of them, or turn them into squab...LOL!

 

[BlueBaby]

On occasion, I see those Austra Whites running toward my hand (out of greed or aggression?), and they seem to bully on occasion. They could probably fly right now, and they are only 7 days old and the biggest of the bunch.

I just wanted to try a combination of 3 Austra Whites, 3 RIR, 3 BA, 3 BR. The last two breeds are black and the BR have a white patch on their head.

If they get to be a pain, I'll just get rid of them, or turn them into squab...LOL!

The white-Austras are probably a combination of both. The 2 that I had both turned out to be males.

It is my understanding that in the BR chicks, it's the male that has the white spot on the head, so you might want to get a second opinion on that.

 

[Bobby Basham]

The white-Austras are probably a combination of both. The 2 that I had both turned out to be males.

It is my understanding that in the BR chicks, it's the male that has the white spot on the head, so you might want to get a second opinion on that.

I was suspicious, too, and did get a call from MPC and told them that I thought I got 6 BR (3 male, 3 female) and no Australorps. I hope they're not males.

 

[DesertChic]

I was suspicious, too, and did get a call from MPC and told them that I thought I got 6 BR (3 male, 3 female) and no Australorps. I hope they're not males.

Typically, yes, the white mark on the top of the head often means male. That said, I had three BR chicks, and all of them had white spots atop their heads. The lighter chick turned out to be cockerel. Females tend to be darker.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Typically, yes, the white mark on the top of the head often means male. That said, I had three BR chicks, and all of them had white spots atop their heads. The lighter chick turned out to be cockerel. Females tend to be darker.

Thanks, DesertChic, I feel better.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Typically, yes, the white mark on the top of the head often means male. That said, I had three BR chicks, and all of them had white spots atop their heads. The lighter chick turned out to be cockerel. Females tend to be darker.

I still got two pasty butts to clean in a few minutes, which I'm dreading. One has a huge one that looks like a beaver tail and shiny (hopefully still soft) and the other has a small piece.

One thing about it...while all the butt screaming and kicking is going on, the rest of them are stuffing their faces like, "That ain't my problem," and kept chowing down.

I just went into the bathroom and sat on the floor and did the soft clucking and laid out my hand full of mashed hard boiled egg, and the FEEDING FRENZY BEGAN! Even the loner was in the center of it all, and eventually crawled up to my wrist and took a quick nap after picking my wrist hair...LOL.

I'm not necessarily looking for lap chickens and lavish all over them, just some that don't mind being petted on occasion. Let them make the first move to approach me, showing their trust. They can have their feed any time, but the treats will be hand fed. I hope they go crazy when they get some meal worms once they get a little bigger.