Arizona Chickens

[DesertChic]

Well, I'm down to 3 instead of 4 yard rooster's now. I just found one of the Blue Australorp ones dead, and by the look's of the feather's on the ground I would say that it happened from a rooster fight between him and one of the White Breese. That blue one had been bullying one of the white ones for a few days now, and I bet that the white one finally let him have it.

Well that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[DesertChic]

Well, I'm down to 3 instead of 4 yard rooster's now. I just found one of the Blue Australorp ones dead, and by the look's of the feather's on the ground I would say that it happened from a rooster fight between him and one of the White Breese. That blue one had been bullying one of the white ones for a few days now, and I bet that the white one finally let him have it.

Well that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[DesertChic]

I got lazy this week and decided to just throw the chicken poop out into the desert as I scoop it. I used to dump it in a trash bin with a lid and wheel it out to dump it in the desert once a week, but I am too pregnant for that chore now. It's too heavy and too STINKY. Even though I wear a mask. It's gross. So, scoops of poop are now being flung into the desert. I assume they will be eaten, compost or break down in the rain. I will still use the trash can for poop board scraping, but this new lazy method will cut down on the amount being stored dramatically. I have more than enough compost already and don't need to be hoarding chicken poop.

In all seriousness.... gardening does NOT come naturally to me, but I'm still passionate about it. One of the toughest challenges out here (aside from the intense summer sun and arid environment) is the dirt. We have TERRIBLE dirt. That's one of the reasons I pounced upon the idea of deep, dry litter for my flocks. When people ask me what I grow in my garden I always have to fight the urge to say "dirt". I literally have half a dozen books on the biological composition of dirt, and how to improve it naturally. So when you say "scoops of poop are now being flung into the desert" I get very happy and applaud you. That really is natural fertilizer. It's a beautiful thing.

(I warned you guys I'm a total nerd, right?)

 

[BlueBaby]

My chickens get all of our weeds. Seriously...it's highly nutritious free food! In fact, I'm contemplating building a habitat for a desert tortoise in my raised bed garden area to help control the weeds there because that's their preferred diet...and every time I let the chickens get near the garden they eat MY food too.

There is a section of weed's that grow around the outside of the coop and run that I don't let hubby spray because it's too close to my coop. I do pull some from that spot and feed it to my flock, plus my next door neighbor gives me a 5 gallon bucket full of the alfalfa hay for them. He brought me 2 more 50# bags of the pellet feed earlier today. He got some more eggs from me too for this week's breakfast's!

 

[BlueBaby]

Well that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

They were the extra boy's anyway's that I didn't need for breeding, so that's why I put them out in the yard. No one wants them, and there haven't been any coyotes around, so maybe they will take care of themselves. One down, 3 to go.

 

[BlueBaby]

In all seriousness.... gardening does NOT come naturally to me, but I'm still passionate about it. One of the toughest challenges out here (aside from the intense summer sun and arid environment) is the dirt. We have TERRIBLE dirt. That's one of the reasons I pounced upon the idea of deep, dry litter for my flocks. When people ask me what I grow in my garden I always have to fight the urge to say "dirt". I literally have half a dozen books on the biological composition of dirt, and how to improve it naturally. So when you say "scoops of poop are now being flung into the desert" I get very happy and applaud you. That really is natural fertilizer. It's a beautiful thing.

(I warned you guys I'm a total nerd, right?)

Natural is always best.

Have you heard about that cancer causing stuff from roundup being found in the breakfast cereals that they were talking about on the news? I'm sort of glad that I stopped eating that years ago!

 

[Michelle Guynn]

My poop gets sucked up by the shop vac and put in the trash. I want to compost but no where to do it where I live.

 

[SonoranChick]

In all seriousness.... gardening does NOT come naturally to me, but I'm still passionate about it. One of the toughest challenges out here (aside from the intense summer sun and arid environment) is the dirt. We have TERRIBLE dirt. That's one of the reasons I pounced upon the idea of deep, dry litter for my flocks. When people ask me what I grow in my garden I always have to fight the urge to say "dirt". I literally have half a dozen books on the biological composition of dirt, and how to improve it naturally. So when you say "scoops of poop are now being flung into the desert" I get very happy and applaud you. That really is natural fertilizer. It's a beautiful thing.

(I warned you guys I'm a total nerd, right?)

This makes me so happy. Easier for me, better for the desert...it's a win-win.

 

[meetthebubus]

Well chicken health update

Fuzzy didn't have canker I was panicked bc I didn't want an epidemic..

Punky's foot is almost healed from her surgery

China is feeling rooster and won't rest she marches up and down the fence line standing so hers is doing better, no longer swollen but hasn't healed and may need another mini surgery bc she won't rest if it was cool in would confine her more


The buffs won't drink the vitamin water, they are picky eaters always have been little snobs

I bought little troughs that go on the fencing in an effort to keep out prairie dogs from their feed (in addition to their bowls)

And all the bubus aren't eating the country companion feed lately so inthink it might be old or jyst bad so I'm switching again

I last used Dumor and I'm glad I stopped that feed bc it did give them poopy butts and now I don't have that problem

Ohh and Wal-Mart has gotten some great new chicken treats the ee's love the BO sunflower seeds

 

[Michelle Guynn]

Dumor was very dusty. I am using nature wise now. They all seem to like it.