Arizona Chickens

[Happy Novogens]

Here in the Phoenix Valley with our dirt... do you all supplement with grit or do the chickens get enough just picking at the ground?

 

[cavemanrich]

chickens get enough just picking at the ground

I would think ground will supply more than sufficient grit particles.

 

[igorsMistress]

Here in the Phoenix Valley with our dirt... do you all supplement with grit or do the chickens get enough just picking at the ground?

I give my flock grit also and they use it.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning AZ. Heat alert the next couple of days, but then temps should go down to around 100 next week. Thank goodness! My flock is getting ice in their water morning and afternoon plus blocks of ice in their pool twice a day. I feel guilty leaving them outside.

 

[springvalley123]

Here in the Phoenix Valley with our dirt... do you all supplement with grit or do the chickens get enough just picking at the ground?

I have it in the pens, but went for years not having it. There is a lot of clay where I'm at. Previously I had soils with less clay and more gritty dirt, even sand though.

 

[springvalley123]

I guess I have two laying now! The one who laid the first, light tinted egg, dropped another from the roost (or later). It wasn't broken but someone put their claw in it. Then just now a smaller egg (29 g I think) with a darker olive tint, in the planter nest box! Then the crested one, who I think laid the first two, is in the planter now. It must be the pea combed one who laid the olive egg. Or maybe the crested one who looks like a legbar (but red ear lobes) is the olive egger and she just got back into the box after laying the olive egg, and the black ameraucana/EE laid the lightly tinted one. With only two laying so far I should be able to figure it out. Cool having colored eggs though. The tan, speckled and darker eggs are from my grown hens for comparison. They're 2.5 to 2.9 oz.

And an update!

I had both flocks (the 3, 21-month old hens and the 4.5 month pullets) out in the yard. Then the black EE (aka ameraucana, now OE) went into the nest box. I just got back, and she is the one laying the olive egg.

 

[springvalley123]

Good morning AZ. Heat alert the next couple of days, but then temps should go down to around 100 next week. Thank goodness! My flock is getting ice in their water morning and afternoon plus blocks of ice in their pool twice a day. I feel guilty leaving them outside.

I saw! I start the ice about when it's 90, at least with the pullets. But their tolerance has been improving. THey're much better in the heat than my older birds, actually than any I recall, were at this age. IT's supposed to be 101 to 104 depending on the forecast where I'm at, and into the low 90's after that.

Right now it's drizzling. A very strong wind came thru from the north last night so I have to replace several bungees on my shade cloths.

 

[BlueBaby]

And an update!

I had both flocks (the 3, 21-month old hens and the 4.5 month pullets) out in the yard. Then the black EE (aka ameraucana, now OE) went into the nest box. I just got back, and she is the one laying the olive egg.

Well, at least you now know who has been laying that egg.

I only have the one hen over here that has the hardest time of handling the heat, but she's not one of the Bielefelder's. She's learning to go under the mister's now, though.

 

[BlueBaby]

I just stuck the 14 Bielefelder hatching egg's in the incubator.

 

[springvalley123]

Well, at least you now know who has been laying that egg.

I only have the one hen over here that has the hardest time of handling the heat, but she's not one of the Bielefelder's. She's learning to go under the mister's now, though.

It's good that the Bielefelders are handling the heat and the other one has learned about the misters.