Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

I candled the egg's again and removed 3 more because there was no movement and it had not grown any in development. That now leaves me 7 egg's left out of the 20 shipped egg's.

 

[BlueBaby]

I candled the egg's again and removed 3 more because there was no movement and it had not grown any in development. That now leaves me 7 egg's left out of the 20 shipped egg's.

Even if I don't get many of these shipped Bielefelder egg's to hatch, the lady down near Tucson is going to be setting some Bielefelder hatching egg's from her flock in the next few day's, and I have a chick order in with her.

 

[cavemanrich]

Even if I don't get many of these shipped Bielefelder egg's to hatch, the lady down near Tucson is going to be setting some Bielefelder hatching egg's from her flock in the next few day's, and I have a chick order in with her.

Would be good to mix those two gene pools so you can get SMART CHICKS.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hello AZ, it’s been a while! I hope you’re all healthy and safe.

My flock of ducks has changed a bit, but in a good way. I started with the Fawn and White Runners and the ladies are doing great! Then added a few White Layers and eventually a Swedish Blue/Black Runner mix drake. The White Layers were great ducks and excellent layers, but too big for the drake to mate with well. He does great with the Runner girls though and my lead hen went broody. She hatched 4 of 6 eggs during the summer and we have these lovely ladies now

This is Tuva, the most unique of the four

I ended up giving the white layers to my son and DIL as they have Anconas and needed more girls for their two drakes, but I kept the Runners hatched here.

The gardens are doing well, especially the xeriscape area. I highly recommend Arabian Lilacs if you need fast growing shrubs that won’t harm your flocks. I planted one in Spring of this year and it’s huge! You can grow as a shrub or tree. We are in the process of moving the compost pile to a new area so that I can set up the pool in a permanent spot for the ducks, but keep it shaded for the most part. This year was for growing shade in the area and getting my sight fixed so I can do stuff. Good timing, I was able to avoid summer work and wait until temps are more pleasant for working outside!

The news has been reporting on water issues and forecasts predict a warm and dry winter. This has prompted me to learn about hydroponic gardening as it uses less water than traditional methods. So far I’ve successfully grown herbs and lettuce and currently trying tomatoes. This has also been a great way to get started plants going for the traditional garden as well. We’ll be transplanting cukes, broccoli, marjoram, cilantro, and lettuce this weekend. The carrot patch has been planted and the garlic is in.

 

[springvalley123]

Would be good to mix those two gene pools so you can get SMART CHICKS.

auto sexing smart chicks?

 

[springvalley123]

Hello AZ, it’s been a while! I hope you’re all healthy and safe.

My flock of ducks has changed a bit, but in a good way. I started with the Fawn and White Runners and the ladies are doing great! Then added a few White Layers and eventually a Swedish Blue/Black Runner mix drake. The White Layers were great ducks and excellent layers, but too big for the drake to mate with well. He does great with the Runner girls though and my lead hen went broody. She hatched 4 of 6 eggs during the summer and we have these lovely ladies now
View attachment 2893866
This is Tuva, the most unique of the four
View attachment 2893867
I ended up giving the white layers to my son and DIL as they have Anconas and needed more girls for their two drakes, but I kept the Runners hatched here.

The gardens are doing well, especially the xeriscape area. I highly recommend Arabian Lilacs if you need fast growing shrubs that won’t harm your flocks. I planted one in Spring of this year and it’s huge! You can grow as a shrub or tree. We are in the process of moving the compost pile to a new area so that I can set up the pool in a permanent spot for the ducks, but keep it shaded for the most part. This year was for growing shade in the area and getting my sight fixed so I can do stuff. Good timing, I was able to avoid summer work and wait until temps are more pleasant for working outside!

The news has been reporting on water issues and forecasts predict a warm and dry winter. This has prompted me to learn about hydroponic gardening as it uses less water than traditional methods. So far I’ve successfully grown herbs and lettuce and currently trying tomatoes. This has also been a great way to get started plants going for the traditional garden as well. We’ll be transplanting cukes, broccoli, marjoram, cilantro, and lettuce this weekend. The carrot patch has been planted and the garlic is in.

so good to hear from you! the babies look huge! Was it hard to get set up with hydroponics? It'd be a way for me to avoid the critters eating stuff up here.

 

[BlueBaby]

Would be good to mix those two gene pools so you can get SMART CHICKS.

That's the plan. The start on her's came from California from Alchemist Farms.

Edit:
I'll be hatching something else over here soon, but for now I'm not saying what it will be.

 

[igorsMistress]

so good to hear from you! the babies look huge! Was it hard to get set up with hydroponics? It'd be a way for me to avoid the critters eating stuff up here.

Thanks, and yeah the babies are as big or bigger than their parents already. They grow so fast!

Right now I’m still learning about hydroponic gardening so I’m using a system that’s pre built. As I understand it once you have an air pump and the hose to aerate it’s pretty easy. I have grow lights for indoor plants, and researching how to DIY the hydroponics now. I’m going to get set up by next Summer hopefully to extend my growing season to year round.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Hydroponic gardening is on my to-do list!

Paragraphic (an excellent YouTube channel) did a story on a family in Tucson that does aquaponics/hydroponics, backyard chickens, dogs, and pet pigs.

The family's channel is here.

Charles does regular updates with lots of great info about his systems and what they use and don't and why/why not. Also he's really positive and encouraging. I love his attitude. His videos are always uplifting and a pleasure to view. They make me happy.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

Some years back I worked with a man who had a hydroponic setup where he had a big tank of tilapia on the bottom fertilizing the plants above it. Somehow he made it work. I've been interested in maybe trying a more conventional hydroponics system but am not sure how well they actually work.

And welcome back to the thread!