Arizona Chickens

[MagicChicken]

Just looking for suggestions... In September, I bought one of my hens hatching eggs, out of 9 eggs only one survived in a healthy manner....
View attachment 1251272View attachment 1251276that one baby is the most flighty chicken I've ever had... The other 5 hens, don't allow her to share when they are eating, and she is sooooo terrrified of "EVERYthing" that if I toss food to her away from the other birds she runs away... I don't know what to do for her... If we want to catch her, It takes two of us to corner her and grab her... I don't want to stress her out... but, would like to know she's ok... My birds free range my backyard...

Chasing her around to catch her is going to stress her out. It will also make her more leery of you. Not more trusting.

When I need to examine a flighty bird I wait until they go to roost. Then I go into the coop and check them out while they are still on the roost, without actually picking them up. (Check for straight back, back width, keel depth, etc.) I do that for several nights and then I start picking them up and holding them for a while, checking wings and feet and smoothing their feathers, then put them back on the roost. After a few times of picking them up and checking them out they are less likely to panic during the day when I'm walking around them. Unless they are being bullied by the other chickens, in which case all bets are off.

If you want to check her during the day you could pick her up at night and put her in a holding kennel until daylight.

Flightiness in free-ranging birds is not a bad thing. It can help them get away from predators. When loose dogs broke in and killed half my flock, the birds that survived were the ones who ran off into other people's yards.

Good luck!

 

[Jadesun6]

View attachment 1251965
And also..... The babies are hatching!!!!View attachment 1251966

Oh my gosh! They are so stinking adorable!!!!

 

[BlueBaby]

View attachment 1251965
And also..... The babies are hatching!!!!View attachment 1251966

Ok, now I remember him, and I see that green egg laying NN hen in the pic, too. I decided to let 2 of her 3 NN chicks go that I hatched out here from her eggs if someone wants them. Both of those have the peacombs like she does. One is black, and one is blue taking after my B/B/S Australorp color genetics from the Daddy.

It's so nice when the chicks finally hatch out. 20 day's is a long time. I don't know how the mother hen's can stand to sit on eggs for 20 whole day's!

 

[Bobby Basham]

Along with what @cactusrota said, which is very accurate, I might also suggest working with her individually to increase trust between you and her. It will require both time and patience, but could have impressive payoffs. Collect her and carry her around with you for quite a while, at least until she finally grows more calm and figures out that you're not going to kill her. Then, when you're ready to set her down, make sure you have food and/or treats that only she has access to. Eventually she will come to associate you with both safety and food, and feeding her separately from the other girls will allow her to put on a little weight while she continues to mature. Eventually she should be able to hold her own.

That said....someone's always got to be at the bottom of the pecking order. I've had hens that remained more nervous and flighty until they suddenly bonded with one or more other birds. Once they had a "friend" it was like safety in numbers. I've also had hens that just never fit in. They're not that much different from people in that way.

Well, I can't figure out the pecking order in my gang of twelve...because they're all crazy. Everybody takes turns pecking and jumping on each other like they're having a cock fight then settle down chirping peacefully while they're scratching around.

The icing on the cake today was that I walked into the bathroom and everyone had escaped because my hardware cloth sagged and the box bowed out. They were just hanging out on top of the box, the counter and the floor just having a pooping convention.

I was out in the garage for at least seven hours, working like a snail, finishing up to give them this from three sheets of plywood that I mostly assembled a few weeks ago...

Plenty of ventilation on the top and some in the front and has a white sweeter heater (not in use) hanging on the left and three roosts, which are not high, because of the bedding. It's funny seeing them trying to perch for the first time. The lighting on the right is 25-watt amber-colored bulb and not used for heat and my florescent garage light is directly above them. Lights out at bedtime.

It's four times the size of that box in the bathroom 4-ft x 6-ft x 24" tall. There are two half lids on the top that only extend halfway toward the rear and two drop-downs in the front. The screening is quarter-inch hardware cloth. I will add some casters on the left side so it can be tilted up and rolled up against the wall when not in use.

This was the worst wood project I ever encountered; joints didn't line up, measurements were off, bent and/or twisted wood, splitting joints, just a hot mess.

Now comes the fun part...You all know I don't like flapping things with a BEAK, so I had to muster up the courage to go in there and round them up. Grabbed a milk crate and two old bath mats, one for cushion/protection in case they poop in transit, and the other for cover to keep them calm.

It sounded like a fox had raided the hen house with all the squawking, flapping and that horrible noise they make once you grabbed them. It was hard trying to hold one under the mat while trying to grab a couple more, so this endeavor took several trips and a few lost feathers and was glad when it was over.

Procrastination can be costly, and had to build this "intermediate" setup since my coop is not built yet, but it will come in handy down the road when small chicks no longer need supplemental heat after I keep an eye on them in-house for the first couple of weeks. No one to blame but myself for being complacent and letting them stay in here for 10 WEEKS! Never again, maybe 4-weeks max because right now some of them are getting huge, probably larger than their bantam counterparts.

 

[cavemanrich]

YOU ARE A MASTER CRAFTSMAN....
If there is a brooder thread , you should post it there.
Next time I answer a brooder question, I will link to your post here.

 

[Bobby Basham]

YOU ARE A MASTER CRAFTSMAN....
If there is a brooder thread , you should post it there.
Next time I answer a brooder question, I will link to your post here.

Thanks so much. This is just stuff I draw on paper, then start measuring.

I started off with the pecking order thing which led to the nice thing that I did for these spoiled heffas. I'm an official first-time chicken owner, and wanted to keep you folks updated on my slow progress.

Wait until you see the coop...

 

[BlueBaby]

Well, I can't figure out the pecking order in my gang of twelve...because they're all crazy. Everybody takes turns pecking and jumping on each other like they're having a cock fight then settle down chirping peacefully while they're scratching around.

The icing on the cake today was that I walked into the bathroom and everyone had escaped because my hardware cloth sagged and the box bowed out. They were just hanging out on top of the box, the counter and the floor just having a pooping convention.

I was out in the garage for at least seven hours, working like a snail, finishing up to give them this from three sheets of plywood that I mostly assembled a few weeks ago...
View attachment 1252192

Plenty of ventilation on the top and some in the front and has a white sweeter heater (not in use) hanging on the left and three roosts, which are not high, because of the bedding. It's funny seeing them trying to perch for the first time. The lighting on the right is 25-watt amber-colored bulb and not used for heat and my florescent garage light is directly above them. Lights out at bedtime.

View attachment 1252193
It's four times the size of that box in the bathroom 4-ft x 6-ft x 24" tall. There are two half lids on the top that only extend halfway toward the rear and two drop-downs in the front. The screening is quarter-inch hardware cloth. I will add some casters on the left side so it can be tilted up and rolled up against the wall when not in use.

This was the worst wood project I ever encountered; joints didn't line up, measurements were off, bent and/or twisted wood, splitting joints, just a hot mess.

Now comes the fun part...You all know I don't like flapping things with a BEAK, so I had to muster up the courage to go in there and round them up. Grabbed a milk crate and two old bath mats, one for cushion/protection in case they poop in transit, and the other for cover to keep them calm.

It sounded like a fox had raided the hen house with all the squawking, flapping and that horrible noise they make once you grabbed them. It was hard trying to hold one under the mat while trying to grab a couple more, so this endeavor took several trips and a few lost feathers and was glad when it was over.

Procrastination can be costly, and had to build this "intermediate" setup since my coop is not built yet, but it will come in handy down the road when small chicks no longer need supplemental heat after I keep an eye on them in-house for the first couple of weeks. No one to blame but myself for being complacent and letting them stay in here for 10 WEEKS! Never again, maybe 4-weeks max because right now some of them are getting huge, probably larger than their bantam counterparts.

You are right about procrastination. The longer to take in getting started in doing things, the longer and more frustrating it is, because now you have to hurry on something that could have already been done. You have to make sure that they stay in, and other things stay out, and you'll be ok.

 

[Diannastarr]

Well, I can't figure out the pecking order in my gang of twelve...because they're all crazy. Everybody takes turns pecking and jumping on each other like they're having a cock fight then settle down chirping peacefully while they're scratching around.

The icing on the cake today was that I walked into the bathroom and everyone had escaped because my hardware cloth sagged and the box bowed out. They were just hanging out on top of the box, the counter and the floor just having a pooping convention.

I was out in the garage for at least seven hours, working like a snail, finishing up to give them this from three sheets of plywood that I mostly assembled a few weeks ago...
View attachment 1252192

Plenty of ventilation on the top and some in the front and has a white sweeter heater (not in use) hanging on the left and three roosts, which are not high, because of the bedding. It's funny seeing them trying to perch for the first time. The lighting on the right is 25-watt amber-colored bulb and not used for heat and my florescent garage light is directly above them. Lights out at bedtime.

View attachment 1252193
It's four times the size of that box in the bathroom 4-ft x 6-ft x 24" tall. There are two half lids on the top that only extend halfway toward the rear and two drop-downs in the front. The screening is quarter-inch hardware cloth. I will add some casters on the left side so it can be tilted up and rolled up against the wall when not in use.

This was the worst wood project I ever encountered; joints didn't line up, measurements were off, bent and/or twisted wood, splitting joints, just a hot mess.

Now comes the fun part...You all know I don't like flapping things with a BEAK, so I had to muster up the courage to go in there and round them up. Grabbed a milk crate and two old bath mats, one for cushion/protection in case they poop in transit, and the other for cover to keep them calm.

It sounded like a fox had raided the hen house with all the squawking, flapping and that horrible noise they make once you grabbed them. It was hard trying to hold one under the mat while trying to grab a couple more, so this endeavor took several trips and a few lost feathers and was glad when it was over.

Procrastination can be costly, and had to build this "intermediate" setup since my coop is not built yet, but it will come in handy down the road when small chicks no longer need supplemental heat after I keep an eye on them in-house for the first couple of weeks. No one to blame but myself for being complacent and letting them stay in here for 10 WEEKS! Never again, maybe 4-weeks max because right now some of them are getting huge, probably larger than their bantam counterparts.

WOW THATS REALLY GOOD & VERY NICE LOOKING TO BOOT ...!!! YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB MOST EXCELLENT ...!!! YOU COULD SELL THOSE, WOW ....!!!

 

[Diannastarr]

Thanks so much. This is just stuff I draw on paper, then start measuring.

I started off with the pecking order thing which led to the nice thing that I did for these spoiled heffas. I'm an official first-time chicken owner, and wanted to keep you folks updated on my slow progress.

Wait until you see the coop...

 

[Bobby Basham]

WOW THATS REALLY GOOD & VERY NICE LOOKING TO BOOT ...!!! YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB MOST EXCELLENT ...!!! YOU COULD SELL THOSE, WOW ....!!!

Thanks so much. I sit around and do a lot of drawing, starting with a basic design which is constantly being modified, so the end product doesn't always look like what was originally on paper.