Arizona Chickens

[AngBantamLuv]

They handle the heat fine but need shade just like chickens. They don’t lay eggs in a nest so if you keep them in an aviary it’s a daily egg hunt.

I was thinking that might be the fun part for my daughter! I need to move some pergolas, but might make a setup once that's done.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Keep an eye out through this spring and summer, when people start to sell off their coops and equipment from their "covid hobby", might make things more affordable.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that! I will definitely keep watching Craigslist, thank you!

I am having a hard time giving up on the idea. I've taken care of friends' hens before and loved it so much. Chickens are such wonderful, hilarious, adorable creatures. I'm still poking around, looking at at scaled down or just less expensive coop ideas.

Once the coop was established my housemate would be fine with the upkeep: we calculated the costs of keeping hens vs. buying eggs and we'd either break even or come out a little ahead. Our goal is eggs from hens that are lovingly raised in healthy, happy, safe conditions, and to reduce our reliance on the stores. I have a history of pulmonary disease so we've both been in self-lockdown because of COVID and are severely limiting our trips out to grocery stores. We eat a lot of eggs and give them to our dogs, too.

The stumbling block is just the cost of a safe, sufficient coop appropriate to the whims of the desert weather and one that we can comfortably maintain (no bending, please, we are middle-aged with back issues)!

There's so much here to look at in terms of designs here. I'll keep perusing. I'm sure there's an answer for us somewhere.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

So Elsa, the 15 week old splash cochin.. she is getting along fine w the D'uccles, they are side by side in different enclosures. They also have no problem hanging out with each other when they are out.. they are each just busy doing their own thing, but somewhat close to each other.

However... when i put Elsa in the run, she freaks out, like flapping all over, grabbing the side of the cage, just zero relaxation.. that's even if the others aren't in there. Should i just force her to stay in? Seems cruel, but i really wasn't planning on two permanent separate cages...

 

[igorsMistress]

Oh, I hadn't thought of that! I will definitely keep watching Craigslist, thank you!

I am having a hard time giving up on the idea. I've taken care of friends' hens before and loved it so much. Chickens are such wonderful, hilarious, adorable creatures. I'm still poking around, looking at at scaled down or just less expensive coop ideas.

Once the coop was established my housemate would be fine with the upkeep: we calculated the costs of keeping hens vs. buying eggs and we'd either break even or come out a little ahead. Our goal is eggs from hens that are lovingly raised in healthy, happy, safe conditions, and to reduce our reliance on the stores. I have a history of pulmonary disease so we've both been in self-lockdown because of COVID and are severely limiting our trips out to grocery stores. We eat a lot of eggs and give them to our dogs, too.

The stumbling block is just the cost of a safe, sufficient coop appropriate to the whims of the desert weather and one that we can comfortably maintain (no bending, please, we are middle-aged with back issues)!

There's so much here to look at in terms of designs here. I'll keep perusing. I'm sure there's an answer for us somewhere.

How many chickens would you want to keep? Would they be out in the yard during the day or do you want to keep them in a run? Check Offerup also. My son found a coop for really cheap.

 

[Geckolady]

MY FIRST EGGS!!!!! WOO-HOO!!

I thought things were noisy in the coop this morning. There were two eggs. I didn't check yesterday, so one might be a day older. Since Henrietta is the oldest looking one, this may well be her work. With Big Ben showing his affection for the girls, they're probably fertile, but were quite cold when I picked them up. Like colder than if they had been in the fridge. I candled them, and both have a darker spot at the less pointy end. What do you think? I don't know how big leghorn eggs normally are. Should I be incubating these, or wait until closer to spring when I have a better setup an room for chicks?

 

[BlueBaby]

MY FIRST EGGS!!!!! WOO-HOO!!
View attachment 2490649

I thought things were noisy in the coop this morning. There were two eggs. I didn't check yesterday, so one might be a day older. Since Henrietta is the oldest looking one, this may well be her work. With Big Ben showing his affection for the girls, they're probably fertile, but were quite cold when I picked them up. Like colder than if they had been in the fridge. I candled them, and both have a darker spot at the less pointy end. What do you think? I don't know how big leghorn eggs normally are. Should I be incubating these, or wait until closer to spring when I have a better setup an room for chicks?

First egg's are always exciting to get. I would wait on incubating though until the egg's are a bit bigger, so that any chick's that hatch out would be healthier.

 

[Geckolady]

First egg's are always exciting to get. I would wait on incubating though until the egg's are a bit bigger, so that any chick's that hatch out would be healthier.

Thank you! I am so excited. The world needs more cuckoo leghorns, so I plan on doing a hatch this spring. Gonna have a nice omelet tomorrow for breakfast.

 

[BlueBaby]

Thank you! I am so excited. The world needs more cuckoo leghorns, so I plan on doing a hatch this spring. Gonna have a nice omelet tomorrow for breakfast.

A bigger sized egg will also give the future chick's more room to grow in there.

 

[Geckolady]

A bigger sized egg will also give the future chick's more room to grow in there.

Thanks! You can't really tell, but one of them is a little larger than the other. My first eggs from my first flock. I think I'll spend some time today making room for a future chick pen on the porch.

 

[Geckolady]

I just weighed them. They're 47 and 49 grams, which is fairly small.