Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

He stood out there and said he was on the look out for coyotes and hawks he even had his binoculars out there with himView attachment 2437966

Awe, what a sweet photo & kid! Thanks for sharing this.

 

[City farm]

Hi everyone, thanks to the late sun rise my roo doesn’t start crowing until about 7am, whereas during the summer it was around 4am Now I can sleep in a few more hours without having to worry about the noise, I’m not quite used to the sound yet!
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Wow, that is really nice! We have a neighbor that has a rooster, when he starts around 3:30 am, ours starts too, ugh... to early for me so we put our guy in a dark large box on the back patio. However, I found a old plastic container, added a bunch of holes. We shall see how it goes tomorrow morning. I am leaving it in the run. Here is our dude..

 

[Chikibabymom]

@City farm Haha! We debated on no crow collars for a bit but decided if we really felt the need, we’d just rehome him rather than put that collar on him, we’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about them and we don’t want to hurt him. He currently keeps our only hen company ever since losing two over the summer, so we probably wouldn’t rehome him until after adding more to the flock. That’s a nice looking boy!

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

Coyotes might get worse in the near future.

I've been finding dead rabbits without a mark on them. That was odd, so I called and found out that there is a contagious disease hitting rabbits that has around a 90% mortality rate. It is some type of blood disease that hits them so suddenly that they die right where they are. Once the rabbits finish dying back, they coyotes and other predators will need to look elsewhere for dinner. The night before last something kept going near my coop and setting off the lights. Tracks make me think coyote. The disease has been spreading in the southwest. I'm in east central AZ right by the Navajo/Apache county line. It's making its rounds.

So, just letting you know to keep an extra good eye out for predators. Can I borrow the kid with the binoculars?

Edited to add: I think I'll also post this in the predators section to give people a heads up.

 

[City farm]

@City farm Haha! We debated on no crow collars for a bit but decided if we really felt the need, we’d just rehome him rather than put that collar on him, we’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about them and we don’t want to hurt him. He currently keeps our only hen company ever since losing two over the summer, so we probably wouldn’t rehome him until after adding more to the flock. That’s a nice looking boy!

Yes, I to have heard mixed reviews. Since I am home most of the time, I have kept a close eye on him & yep I could see how someone could mess the whole thing up. He is a neat rooster & if it weren’t for that collar we would not have him. They don’t stop through out the day & can be a bit much. The collar is not for everyone, but neither is keeping them.

 

[igorsMistress]

Coyotes might get worse in the near future.

I've been finding dead rabbits without a mark on them. That was odd, so I called and found out that there is a contagious disease hitting rabbits that has around a 90% mortality rate. It is some type of blood disease that hits them so suddenly that they die right where they are. Once the rabbits finish dying back, they coyotes and other predators will need to look elsewhere for dinner. The night before last something kept going near my coop and setting off the lights. Tracks make me think coyote. The disease has been spreading in the southwest. I'm in east central AZ right by the Navajo/Apache county line. It's making its rounds.

So, just letting you know to keep an extra good eye out for predators. Can I borrow the kid with the binoculars?

Edited to add: I think I'll also post this in the predators section to give people a heads up.

I’d heard the disease was down around Tucson but it’s certainly spreading then. Great, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

I’d heard the disease was down around Tucson but it’s certainly spreading then. Great, thanks for the heads up.

I was told repeatedly not to touch the carcasses. Since the disease isn't supposed to spread to humans, dogs, or chickens, I'm not sure why this is important. I've been using a long set of fireplace tongs to get rid of the bodies. Yuck.

 

[cavemanrich]

I was told repeatedly not to touch the carcasses. Since the disease isn't supposed to spread to humans, dogs, or chickens, I'm not sure why this is important. I've been using a long set of fireplace tongs to get rid of the bodies. Yuck.

I would personally cremate the carcasses, but do understand not everyone has the means to do so.

 

[igorsMistress]

I was told repeatedly not to touch the carcasses. Since the disease isn't supposed to spread to humans, dogs, or chickens, I'm not sure why this is important. I've been using a long set of fireplace tongs to get rid of the bodies. Yuck.

I’m not sure why either. I suppose they could be assuming it’s the one thing based on its spread but since they aren’t coming out to collect specimens and confirm then they are telling you to be extra cautious in case that’s not it. They don’t want you getting rabies or something else.

 

[Tinman0ut]

Less contact with a human host the better... gives less chance it mutates to something that does effect humans... I’m with the cremate idea though... kill it off by removing the possibility it spreads to other hosts