Arizona Chickens

[Diannastarr]

I had guineas once. Their need for freedom cost their lives. Not being in the pen with everyone else lead to being plucked from their night roost by Great Horned Owls.. The predator problem here has to be managed in sort of a custom way I guess. Geese probably do well against certain problems, but I doubt they'd hold up to a pack of over 10 coyotes. There have been packs counted over 20 pulling dairy calves out of pens and away from their mothers in this area. In the summer they only come out at night, but this time of year they're out in daylight too. So anything that doesn't stay behind a chainlink fence and go into the coop at night is at risk around here. A couple years ago our next door neighbor lost a couple cats to a mountain lion that was traversing the wash. The called the Game Warden and he showed them the tracks in their yard. We just got my sister in laws German Shepherd and he does a good job of keeping things warded away, so far.

O GOLLY THATS SO HORRIBLE about the calves my goodness who would even think something like that could ever happen my gosh & yes you will have to protect your geese as well from night time predators, we have all those predators here in Bisbee AZ, i hear the coyotes & packs of them at night & ive seen the great horned owl , fly over my car at night as im driving home , it lives in the giant tree up the road, by the church , but it never comes down near my land ...? thank goodness for that , in fact i never had any problems here in 20 years , except i think the coyotes killed a few of our wild cats years ago, they would go out in the wild hunting and got killed out side our gates , we once had a skunk , but its gone now , i found it in my coop one night when i heard my roos freaking out at 3 am so i ran down & chased it off...lol... and it did spray, but didn't get me...lol. HA i dont know why..? but i think it was a boy , since i read the boy skunks dont have much stink spray, but gosh i wish you lots of luck you sure have your hands full with all the predators up your way GOSH.

 

[Diannastarr]

[QUOTE"Bobby Basham, post: 19430613, member: 156635"]Sorry if I appeared to jump on the soap box and preach to the choir, and I'm not bashing dogs because I've had a few over the years. It bites my butt when there is practically a 24-hour marathon on TV of AKA shows to the exclusion of all the other animals out there. Maybe folks should band together and write to Animal Planet.

No, I don't expect a trainer to be trotting around an arena with some type of poultry on a leash, but at least enlighten folks of how they played an important part of our history and agriculture, not just KFC, Popeye's and Church's Chicken.

They are utilitarian creatures and have served us well. They serve many niches in our lifestyles, whether it be commercial or the amateur backyard hobbyist, and look at what we get in return...eggs, meat, beautiful feathers for art, and companionship...and more chicks!

It was not their choice to be domesticated to live in backyards, crowded buildings and battery cages. Reminds me of reckless breeders running Puppy mills.

Their status should be elevated right up there with the beloved canines other than something breaded in a frying pan or baked in an oven. They do need our continued help and voice.[/QUOTE] i agree..!! but no problem , i didn't take it that way, any way , i love dogs but choose not to have any right now , after my tiny Mexican hairless dog tiny weenie beanie died last year , a raised dogs & race horses for over 30 years in CT in fact i had 15 or more English mastiffs give or take , THAT i had on my farm, here is pics of a few of my mastiff puppies, first one a brindle my giant girl bubba she was 7 months old in this pic , & made my antique furniture look small...lol..2nd pic is boulder at 16 months old , this pic was in the news paper for the biggest dog in NJ. & THAT MAN IS 6'4 tall HA

 

[meetthebubus]

So it's pitch black at 650 in the morning I'm sitting here listening to all my girls cry I know they are safe, except from snakes but they are in hibernation so is this a common thing where one gets going and they all sit there yelling? They aren't trapped in the coop they have free access to get out maybe they are just tired of waiting for the sun to come.... lol

 

[meetthebubus]

We are changing the mansion, there daytime storm wind and sun shelter which also has nesting boxes

It was originally 4 ft tall, seeing hoe they are only 1 ft tall if that lol now it will be 6 ft so I don't have to bend over to take care of them and clean it lol its almost done I'll have to take a video and post it soon

We are doing it cheaply with existing materials I don't want to overspend you know?

 

[SonoranChick]

[QUOTE"Bobby Basham, post: 19430613, member: 156635"]Sorry if I appeared to jump on the soap box and preach to the choir, and I'm not bashing dogs because I've had a few over the years. It bites my butt when there is practically a 24-hour marathon on TV of AKA shows to the exclusion of all the other animals out there. Maybe folks should band together and write to Animal Planet.

No, I don't expect a trainer to be trotting around an arena with some type of poultry on a leash, but at least enlighten folks of how they played an important part of our history and agriculture, not just KFC, Popeye's and Church's Chicken.

They are utilitarian creatures and have served us well. They serve many niches in our lifestyles, whether it be commercial or the amateur backyard hobbyist, and look at what we get in return...eggs, meat, beautiful feathers for art, and companionship...and more chicks!

It was not their choice to be domesticated to live in backyards, crowded buildings and battery cages. Reminds me of reckless breeders running Puppy mills.

Their status should be elevated right up there with the beloved canines other than something breaded in a frying pan or baked in an oven. They do need our continued help and voice.

i agree..!! but no problem , i didn't take it that way , i love dogs but choose not to have any right now , after my tiny Mexican hairless dog tiny weenie beanie died last year , a raised dogs & race horses for over 30 years in CT in fact i had 15 or more English mastiffs give or take , THAT i had on my farm, here is pics of a few of my mastiff puppies, first one a brindle my giant girl bubba she was 7 months old in this pic , & made my antique furniture look small...lol..2nd pic is boulder at 16 months old , this pic was in the news paper for the biggest dog in NJ. HA View attachment 1238646 View attachment 1238647[/QUOTE]
Your dog must have been reincarnated into my dog, they look like twins!! This is my mastiff Lacey Lou. She thinks she is a tiny little lap dog and is afraid of chickens

 

[igorsMistress]

So it's pitch black at 650 in the morning I'm sitting here listening to all my girls cry I know they are safe, except from snakes but they are in hibernation so is this a common thing where one gets going and they all sit there yelling? They aren't trapped in the coop they have free access to get out maybe they are just tired of waiting for the sun to come.... lol

Chickens can see the morning light before we can. Maybe they're getting ready to leave the coop and everyone isn't ready. My girls do this when I open the coop early. Some are ready to go, others want to linger.
Fickle things.

 

[DesertChic]

So it's pitch black at 650 in the morning I'm sitting here listening to all my girls cry I know they are safe, except from snakes but they are in hibernation so is this a common thing where one gets going and they all sit there yelling? They aren't trapped in the coop they have free access to get out maybe they are just tired of waiting for the sun to come.... lol

I guess I've never paid attention to any fussing from my girls in the early morning because my roosters are usually making so much noise by then. So it's not just their egg laying songs?

 

[SonoranChick]

Mine are pretty active and vocal just before sunrise. Some are laying, some are in the run eating (in the dark) and others are just rising from the roost. Then there's my Delaware, who will wait for me to arrive no matter how late I am, and want me to put my hand up so she can perch and get a free ride down. Cracks me up, how prissy of her She can use the ladder, she's done it before. She just prefers to wait for the "bus". At any rate, they are noisy pre-sunrise, especially those who are doing their egg song.

 

[cactusrota]

There's usually at least one egg in a nest by the time I go to let mine out in the morning, but my roosters are too noisy for me to hear any egg song. Of course... some birds are just "Chatty Pattys".

Sometimes in the evenings my birds will all get noisy at the same time. It sounds like the egg song, but they're all doing it at the same time. I'm pretty sure it's the "curfew" announcement.

 

[Diannastarr]

I hope i am in the right spot... I am in Queen Creek AZ and looking for more laying hens that are already laying.. i currently have 6 and want to up that to about 10. Any suggestions on where to go to get some or if even possible?

Kris

View attachment 1238705 View attachment 1238706 i agree..!! but no problem , i didn't take it that way , i love dogs but choose not to have any right now , after my tiny Mexican hairless dog tiny weenie beanie died last year , a raised dogs & race horses for over 30 years in CT in fact i had 15 or more English mastiffs give or take , THAT i had on my farm, here is pics of a few of my mastiff puppies, first one a brindle my giant girl bubba she was 7 months old in this pic , & made my antique furniture look small...lol..2nd pic is boulder at 16 months old , this pic was in the news paper for the biggest dog in NJ. HA View attachment 1238646 View attachment 1238647

Your dog must have been reincarnated into my dog, they look like twins!! This is my mastiff Lacey Lou. She thinks she is a tiny little lap dog and is afraid of chickens [/QUOTE] how old is your Lacey Lou...??? she looks to be still young, and by young i mean under 2 , mastiffs are not fully grown until around 5 to 6 years old, Mastiffs are greatest dogs aren't they..! the best in the world i would say...! i bet your Lacey Lou is such a sweet heart..! all my giants the girls & boys starting at 240 pounds on up are all just giant huggie bears , and will guard your children or any of your animals, but only if they are bred to be like that, thats the most important with such giant dogs, its very important to make sure they all have great temperaments , were did you get your Lacey Lou...? here is another pic my big Bubba she was larger then most male mastiffs at 2 years old , and here she is laughing,yes mastiffs do have that giant smile, im sure you know that HA and they look like they are laughing...lol...HA my Bubba 7 months old here looking like the hound from hell....lol... but she was just the opposite...lol.. im sure your sweet Lacey Lou, will surely get use to your chickens as she grows, mastiffs can feel what you want from them, amazing dogs i must say I STILL MISS THEM, im sure you can tell...lol..

@DesertChic I was wondering if I could create an auto-sexing Naked Neck from 3 Transylvanian NN hens that are buff in color, but have the barring look in the feathering. I also picked up some of those Crested Cream Legbar's, but those have to grow up first. Will I be able to make some auto-sexing NN's from these?