Arizona Chickens

[igorsMistress]

Good to know about the dust baths! We have zero sod - only hard, sandy desert dirt.

Some of that in a bowl or bin...I used an old inbox from my office...I had sod then but not since chickens.

 

[BlueBaby]

That is a nice time of year to be moving them out to the coop. I was a teacher when I put my order in, and had them delivered the first week of June (when my summer break began). It meant that six weeks later, they were moving out to the coop mid-July. I would not do that again. They all survived, but it was horribly hot and we got the monsoons. I spent that entire summer outside with them, just to make sure they were doing okay!

That's one of the reason why I think that chicks hatched this late in the year are better. They won't have to deal with the monsoon and the high heat out there during the summer, and they will have less stress as they mature to start laying eggs by the time that spring rolls around. No heat stress while they are trying to get that egg making system in gear.

 

[BlueBaby]

@igorsMistress Remember that NN hen of mine with that dark coloring around the eyes that you like? Well, I think that she is thinking about going broody. She's been spending too much time in the nesting box for the last 3 days.

 

[igorsMistress]

@igorsMistress Remember that NN hen of mine with that dark coloring around the eyes that you like? Well, I think that she is thinking about going broody. She's been spending too much time in the nesting box for the last 3 days.

What are you going to do?

 

[BlueBaby]

What are you going to do?

Keep taking the eggs away. If I want to hatch, I have 2 incubators to hatch all that I want to.

 

[meetthebubus]

@Geranium

Medicated feed contains a preventative medication to coccidiodes that's it. At first chicks need to build their immune system up and they can get coccidiodes through contact with infected ground by infected chicken poo or wild birds.

Soon they build their immune system up and again its only preventative, if you keep them inside like most do, they won't come in contact with other birds for awhile and then their immune system kicks in

It's a choice but seems to me like giving them unnecessary meds, but also depends on your environment

They say it doesn't affect you as a human to consume from birds that ate it, but who knows?

Those are just my thoughts you should always look at both sides before deciding what ya want to do

If you go with medicinal feed you would do it for only awhile like you said, any more is unnecessary since their immune system will be up and it would be for sure giving them unnecessary meds

 

[BlueBaby]

Lot's of thunder and lightning going on here right now. Starting to rain.

 

[FeatherPugs]

@Geranium See what I mean. Everyone does it a bit different. You will feel your way about what is right for your chicks. I feed Purina medicated crumbles for about 3 months then grower starter until about 15/16 weeks then flock feed until everyone is 18 weeks old, finally layer crumbles after that. Sometimes it is a bit less or a bit more - kinda depends when I run out of that particular feed! Right now I have two mommy raised girls who are 15 weeks, all the feeders are full of flock feed so there's plenty for about 2 weeks or more. I'm going to layer feed when I pick up feed at beginning of the month. Everyone will be happy! AND I always look forward to getting my older girls back on layer feed.
I am totally rethinking the spring chicks thing. I have enough chickens right now so probably will not have more chicks until maybe next September.
Got a little rain - enough to wet the ground but not enough to make puddles. The chicks were happy, happy, happy with the cooler weather this morning as they begin to fight over the nest boxes - there are more than plenty but you gotta have one of the 3!

 

[DesertChic]

I saw some people talking about brands of food they did and didn't like...what have been your favorite brands? Which should I avoid? I'm planning to use medicated chick feed to start...

I never use medicated feeds because I simply don't believe in feeding medications to my chickens as a general rule.

I start all of my chicks out on gamebird feed, which very high in nutrients. You can purchase it in 5 lb bags at Tractor Supply and several other feed stores. For the first 2-3 days after hatching I serve the feed dry, sprinkling on the floor of the brooder to encourage normal foraging behavior, and then start serving it as a wet mash. I keep them on that for the first 2-4 weeks of their life, depending upon the breed and growth rate, because it really helps them feather out quickly while also putting on good mass and maintaining energy levels. Then I begin dropping the protein levels down to between 18%-20% protein level by feeding a good grower feed until they reach 16-18 weeks of age, at which time I switch them to a 16% protein layer feed. They also get chopped up hard-boiled egg at least once per week once they're a week old.

This is where I get most of my feed in bulk, every 2 months:
http://www.tucsonorganicfeed.com/

 

[DesertChic]

Not to go against things but to put out another opinion I don't like medicated feed, I liked dumor chick starter or Purina bc of the crumble consistency I didn't like manna pro starter it was too big of a crumble

Otherwise I'd still be careful of dumor I know layer feed dumor is poor in many ways

Also starter/grower is for 16 weeks, not 6

Just an FYI - Dumor is actually a Purina product. It's just relabeled for sale at Tractor Supply, which wanted it's own "exclusive" brand.