Arizona Chickens

[CaroleW]

Can I get some feedback from my fellow desert dwellers?

This is our latest coop design. It's not at all what we had hoped for and I'm disappointed it's been reduced to this but the increase in lumber costs killed our other ideas. We already have most of the components including the metal frame and enough wood to build a coop door and a little shelter/platform inside the coop. It's not fancy but our priorities are that it be predator-proof and keeps the hens happy.

The coop is 119 sq. ft. for 6-8 hens. Excuse my lack of Sketchup skills, ya'll know Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

That hat-rack-looking thing in the back is actually a big mesquite branch, for roosting. I couldn't figure out how to draw branches so that's how it came out. It's big and thick and we can securely attach it to the sides of the coop. We smoothed out the branches and removed all thorns and rough spots.

The blue cylinder is a waterer, the yellow/gold one is a feeder. The two gray boxes on the ground are plastic 18L storage tubs with a opening cut in one side and ventilation holes around the top. Those will be our nest boxes. I've heard chickens like them.

In addition to the wooden platform we have a ladder, a swing, treat balls, some big rocks, etc., to make the coop interesting. It'll have a predator skirt, too.

The white/gray panels on the top and sides of the coop are actually just tarps but super-tough ones we call boat tarps. I know they won't last forever but they're a start and easily replaced when necessary. The gray side panel that goes all the way to the ground is a tarp for shade for the west side which gets intense sun. We also have four 16" ground anchors to keep the coop from being blown away by a micro burst.

Speaking of micro bursts, we've had several. We also get hard sideways rains during the monsoons. Those can go on for a while. Fortunately the coop will have good drainage where it sits.

Is this going to be enough shelter during the monsoons? The hens can always run under the platform. I've seen open-plan desert coop designs without a hen house before, but I don't know if they get extreme weather.

Just my thoughts - apply or disregard as appropriate to your conditions... (also good job on Sketchup- it doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it's just a design tool)...

Have you screwed the ground anchors in? My ground is so hard and dry that I can't use mine. I just use paracord over the top of my chicken tractor tied thru CMU/concrete blocks to keep the wind uplift from blowing it away.

Depending on how big/how many chickens there are they may take cover under the wood platform in a storm (would tie that down to prevent uplift, so it doesn't flip over on top of a chicken). I've also got a roo that sleeps on top of his crate instead of inside it or on the roost bar. I can see that happening with the platform if some don't want to use the roost pole.

Are you covering it in hardware cloth? Depending on ground predators you have you might also want to line the OUTSIDE edges with paver blocks or hardware cloth skirting under them to prevent digging. Also chickens want to dig out so something along edge INSIDE might help with that as needed.

 

[springvalley123]

Have you looked into the livestock conservancy listing for the Phoenix breed (on "watch" list) - maybe there's someone there with a hen that needs a roo - also look on FB to see if the breed has a group.

livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/heritage-breeds-list/#Chickens

I have someone who really wants him, her husband is going to pick him up tonight! I had no idea that the livestock conservancy had a for sale/directory.

 

[springvalley123]

Can I get some feedback from my fellow desert dwellers?

This is our latest coop design. It's not at all what we had hoped for and I'm disappointed it's been reduced to this but the increase in lumber costs killed our other ideas. We already have most of the components including the metal frame and enough wood to build a coop door and a little shelter/platform inside the coop. It's not fancy but our priorities are that it be predator-proof and keeps the hens happy.

The coop is 119 sq. ft. for 6-8 hens. Excuse my lack of Sketchup skills, ya'll know Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

That hat-rack-looking thing in the back is actually a big mesquite branch, for roosting. I couldn't figure out how to draw branches so that's how it came out. It's big and thick and we can securely attach it to the sides of the coop. We smoothed out the branches and removed all thorns and rough spots.

The blue cylinder is a waterer, the yellow/gold one is a feeder. The two gray boxes on the ground are plastic 18L storage tubs with a opening cut in one side and ventilation holes around the top. Those will be our nest boxes. I've heard chickens like them.

In addition to the wooden platform we have a ladder, a swing, treat balls, some big rocks, etc., to make the coop interesting. It'll have a predator skirt, too.

The white/gray panels on the top and sides of the coop are actually just tarps but super-tough ones we call boat tarps. I know they won't last forever but they're a start and easily replaced when necessary. The gray side panel that goes all the way to the ground is a tarp for shade for the west side which gets intense sun. We also have four 16" ground anchors to keep the coop from being blown away by a micro burst.

Speaking of micro bursts, we've had several. We also get hard sideways rains during the monsoons. Those can go on for a while. Fortunately the coop will have good drainage where it sits.

Is this going to be enough shelter during the monsoons? The hens can always run under the platform. I've seen open-plan desert coop designs without a hen house before, but I don't know if they get extreme weather.

That should be a very nice enclosure!

I dont' know about the prevailing winds in your area, but where I am, I get winds that need sheltering, from all directions except the east. I have the peaked (not flat) roof version of what you have, and ended up building a 4x4 roosting area in it. Partly in case my doubled shade cloth doesn't hold water in the rain (you have a tarp the full length, I have only half that much tarp), but also in case they need more direct protection from the wind. So, you might need a double layer of shade cloth on one of the ends either for protection from sun, wind, rain, or to make the hens feel more secure on their roost.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Have you screwed the ground anchors in? My ground is so hard and dry that I can't use mine.

The coop is still in its box, so not yet. When we moved in a few years ago we had to install a lightning rod all the way into the ground. To break through the caliche we dug down using one of the rods that holds the frame for concrete mesh - I don't know what those are called. It took a lot of digging but it worked. I think we can use that to dig down and install the screws.

We've got some big rocks to go on top of the platform but you're right, we should tie it down, too.

The coop will be covered top to bottom in 1/4" hardware cloth. Since we aren't trying to buy more lumber that's our biggest expense.

I hadn't thought about chickens digging out! Btw, they don't get Valley fever, do they??

 

[CaroleW]

The coop is still in its box, so not yet. When we moved in a few years ago we had to install a lightning rod all the way into the ground. To break through the caliche we dug down using one of the rods that holds the frame for concrete mesh - I don't know what those are called. It took a lot of digging but it worked. I think we can use that to dig down and install the screws.

We've got some big rocks to go on top of the platform but you're right, we should tie it down, too.

The coop will be covered top to bottom in 1/4" hardware cloth. Since we aren't trying to buy more lumber that's our biggest expense.

I hadn't thought about chickens digging out! Btw, they don't get Valley fever, do they??

Not sure if chickens get Valley Fever- but I know dogs do - a friend of mine had to go to Mexico to get her dog the medicine a few years back. It's hard to diagnose so I doubt most people would even get a chicken vet care or testing for it.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

That should be a very nice enclosure!

I dont' know about the prevailing winds in your area, but where I am, I get winds that need sheltering, from all directions except the east. I have the peaked (not flat) roof version of what you have, and ended up building a 4x4 roosting area in it. Partly in case my doubled shade cloth doesn't hold water in the rain (you have a tarp the full length, I have only half that much tarp), but also in case they need more direct protection from the wind. So, you might need a double layer of shade cloth on one of the ends either for protection from sun, wind, rain, or to make the hens feel more secure on their roost.

We gets wind coming from all directions. The wall you see in the Sketchup drawings is actually a wall within another wall, which helps mitigate the winds. Of course when microbursts happen it's like a jet airplane landing in the yard!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Not sure if chickens get Valley Fever- but I know dogs do - a friend of mine had to go to Mexico to get her dog the medicine a few years back. It's hard to diagnose so I doubt most people would even get a chicken vet care or testing for it.

One of our dogs has it. We think he had it before we adopted him and it wasn't treated for whatever reason - maybe as you said it was difficult to diagnose. Anyway now it's chronic. We manage it with several meds and he seems to be doing really well, he's happy and energetic but he's also an American Staffordshire and they're so good at hiding pain.

Digging in the dirt is his favorite thing in the whole world. I see digging as a natural behavior for dogs so I've never stopped any of them from digging in the yard (it's not like we have landscaping or anything). The dogs dig down to expose the cooler dirt and make it all fluffy then they lay down in it - ignoring the nice outdoor beds we bought for them, of course! But since his diagnosis we had to basically banish him from the backyard so he wouldn't dig and reinfect himself.

The U. of Arizona is developing a vaccine for Valley fever which should be available in the next year or so. I don't think it'll help already infected dogs but that will be great for dogs who don't have it yet, like our other dogs (they all get tested regularly).

I'm guessing chickens must be resistant to it otherwise wouldn't they all have it from the constant scratching and digging in the dirt?

 

[CaroleW]

One of our dogs has it. We think he had it before we adopted him and it wasn't treated for whatever reason - maybe as you said it was difficult to diagnose. Anyway now it's chronic. We manage it with several meds and he seems to be doing really well, he's happy and energetic but he's also an American Staffordshire and they're so good at hiding pain.

Digging in the dirt is his favorite thing in the whole world. I see digging as a natural behavior for dogs so I've never stopped any of them from digging in the yard (it's not like we have landscaping or anything). The dogs dig down to expose the cooler dirt and make it all fluffy then they lay down in it - ignoring the nice outdoor beds we bought for them, of course! But since his diagnosis we had to basically banish him from the backyard so he wouldn't dig and reinfect himself.

The U. of Arizona is developing a vaccine for Valley fever which should be available in the next year or so. I don't think it'll help already infected dogs but that will be great for dogs who don't have it yet, like our other dogs (they all get tested regularly).

I'm guessing chickens must be resistant to it otherwise wouldn't they all have it from the constant scratching and digging in the dirt?

--------EDIT: I jst looked up the research at U of A. it's for dogs as a pathway to eventually making it available to people too. They didn't say if it was an mab drug it's just a number. Could be anything, proir research indicate zole drugs which might not be as effective as they like.----------

The vaccine would be for people too? I'd like to know if it's one of the mab drugs because some people can't take those because of potential latent spores from living in Mississippi River areas could be reactivated and develop into cancers.

 

[BlueBaby]

@CaroleW You've got that right about chicken's digging. Mine have several place where they have been digging for dust bath's.

Not sure if chickens get Valley Fever- but I know dogs do - a friend of mine had to go to Mexico to get her dog the medicine a few years back. It's hard to diagnose so I doubt most people would even get a chicken vet care or testing for it.

You're right about that. It seems that most vet's only want to do cat's and dog's, not chicken's.

One of our dogs has it. We think he had it before we adopted him and it wasn't treated for whatever reason - maybe as you said it was difficult to diagnose. Anyway now it's chronic. We manage it with several meds and he seems to be doing really well, he's happy and energetic but he's also an American Staffordshire and they're so good at hiding pain.

Digging in the dirt is his favorite thing in the whole world. I see digging as a natural behavior for dogs so I've never stopped any of them from digging in the yard (it's not like we have landscaping or anything). The dogs dig down to expose the cooler dirt and make it all fluffy then they lay down in it - ignoring the nice outdoor beds we bought for them, of course! But since his diagnosis we had to basically banish him from the backyard so he wouldn't dig and reinfect himself.

The U. of Arizona is developing a vaccine for Valley fever which should be available in the next year or so. I don't think it'll help already infected dogs but that will be great for dogs who don't have it yet, like our other dogs (they all get tested regularly).

I'm guessing chickens must be resistant to it otherwise wouldn't they all have it from the constant scratching and digging in the dirt?

I've had to put down a dog before that had the valley fever bad. It's rough. People can get it too.

The vaccine would be for people too? I'd like to know if it's one of the mab drugs because some people can't take those because of potential latent spores from living in Mississippi River areas could be reactivated and develop into cancers.

I didn't know that about people that lived in Mississippi River area's. Would that be up and down that whole river? What would cause that to happen? I was born and raised up in Minnesota, and I lived in New Orlean's for several year's before. Would that make me a candidate for that?

 

[springvalley123]

I've had to put down a dog before that had the valley fever bad. It's rough. People can get it too.

Me too, it's no fun. I had an older dog treated, then went into remission. So when it came back, I had to set a boundary as to a dose of fluconazole that would compromise her quality of life (based on her prior treatment), and so the VF advanced through her spine. They either die/need euthanasia from the treatment, or from the disease itself.