Arizona Chickens

[notinoz2007]

I just made a batch of elderberry syrup for my sick kid and I hate to throw out all those used berries if it's safe for the chickens.
Ingredients are boiled and strained:
Dried Elderberries
Fresh Ginger
Whole Cloves
Cinnamon stick

Does anyone know if it's safe to feed?

make jelly! where do you get dried elderberries?
anyway, those all look like things i would give to my chickens, not sure if they are officially "safe" tho. i googled "plants toxic to birds" and none of these things came up

 

[City farm]

Any suggestions on any particular grass to use as a filer? For summer time?
Something that is best for our flock..

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

Quote:
I got them from mountainroseherbs.com
They are kind of expensive, but still a lot cheaper than buying pre-made elderberry syrup.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

Does anyone have an extra chicken tractor or small coop that they aren't using?
My sister just got chicks and she would like to move them outside in a few weeks. They won't be big enough to put in with the big chickens for a few months so she needs a temporary coop. She's looking for something to borrow, rent or buy that's not too expensive.
It has to be coyote proof!
She is in the Tucson area but will travel for a good deal.

 

[City farm]

Does anyone have an extra chicken tractor or small coop that they aren't using? My sister just got chicks and she would like to move them outside in a few weeks. They won't be big enough to put in with the big chickens for a few months so she needs a temporary coop. She's looking for something to borrow, rent or buy that's not too expensive. It has to be coyote proof! She is in the Tucson area but will travel for a good deal.

If she gets a tractor it will have to be put on a concrete slab.. Coyote's can dig, jump, and bite through cheep wire.. My girlfriend has a large dog run. Firl culprit was a owl. Then they put a top & they said a coyote sucked the chick out from the chain link fence.. Crazy huh..

 

[notinoz2007]

beckyh, re: elderberries, those grew wild along the railroad tracks where i used to live and my mom had my brother and i out there for a whole weekend picking as many as we could. she made jelly, and i still have about 4 pints - its 15 years old!!
re: coop, i made my first starter coop out of a kitchen cabinet, the next with a book case and cull lumber, then went to air conditioner shipping crates (contact a local HVAC company and offer to pick them up, then they dont have to pay to dispose). almost everything i look at can be a chicken coop now. (looking at DHs tv stand...)

 

[City farm]

beckyh, re: elderberries, those grew wild along the railroad tracks where i used to live and my mom had my brother and i out there for a whole weekend picking as many as we could. she made jelly, and i still have about 4 pints - its 15 years old!!
re: coop, i made my first starter coop out of a kitchen cabinet, the next with a book case and cull lumber, then went to air conditioner shipping crates (contact a local HVAC company and offer to pick them up, then they dont have to pay to dispose). almost everything i look at can be a chicken coop now. (looking at DHs tv stand...)

 

Great ideas.. We love to reuse also..

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

So fantastic e BAT people. Mostly I here kill them all. I had bat houses up on my house. My boy friend took them down. He was afraid of them and wanted of killing them. Oh did I say my X-boy friend.
Not to long ago I caught a very tiny bat trapped in a doorway. It would have been a matter of minutes before the pure thing would be in full afternoon Arizona sun. All I had were work gloves, the soft yellow leather kind. I was hopping his teeth would be to small to go thru them. I caught him as I would one of my budgies. With the head held between two fingers. I put him in a box, when it got dark I released him from the same location. No idea what kind of bat, someday my lack of knowledge is going to get me hurt. There was no time to look it up, and I-pads were a ways off yet.

We have a few bat boxes here in our neighborhood. We know for sure that one has no bat family yet.. It has been at least 4 years or more.. Wonder why..
.. I have asked my neighbor to build some for us.. No luck.. I might have to ask someone else for help in that area..
We love bats... So exciting to say the least..

Bat boxes take years to be occupied these days. There has been such a campaign to get rid of them, just like bees. Now bees are in trouble, giving Africanized bees even more of a leg up. I have faral bees, they are non-aggressive, they are welcome to stay. San Antonio has an attraction of the bats leaving at dusk. They have worked hard to cultivat a bat friendly city. Bat boxes are easy to make. They need a place to hange out, dark, in a cool or ventilated location, I can not remember the entrance shape, I will have to look that up. After I finish my garden, I need to work on my coop. If I am able to build one I will post it, if you still want one let me know then.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Just so everyone knows, this will be the only place I'll post it, and it will probably be deleted by staff, but I was "not worn out" doing hatch a longs.

I was basically forced out, told it could no longer be "Mahonri's" hatch a long.

Nuff said.

That. Is. NOT. Cool.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Okay, for everyone who is following this... here are the pictures of my 12 chickens. In a quick re-cap... I ordered 11 chickens from Ideal. I specifically asked for NO males except for what I might receive with the silkies as they were straight run. They sent me 12 chickens and it seems like I have a LOT of roos. So disappointed...
I will start with all the silkie photos and see what you guys think.

These photos were taken today and they are all almost 16 weeks old.


These first 2 photos are Snuffleupagus, our red silkie. I think he is a roo, but no crowing yet. But he fights a lot with our blue silkie.



NB BUFF cockerel.


These two are of Cloud, the white silkie... I think she is a hen - smaller, very mellow.



NB white pullet.

Here is the blue silkie Disco - think he is a roo too. No crowing yet, but fights with the red silkie.



NB blue cockerel.
The Rhode Island Red - a sweet hen (Esther)



I have 2 of these Barred Plymouth Rocks - both are hens! (Pocahontas & Mayflower)


This is one of the EE's of the two that I ordered - pretty sure this one is a hen. (Chipmunk)


The only speckled sussex female I ordered (Cookie) and it's not a girl! He is crowing as of today!

Cockerel.
The other EE female I ordered who is now crowing regularly as well.

(Chubby)
The funny thing about this one is we thought she was just the sweetest little girl ever... She/He was bullied for a while and we worked very hard to get her/him back into the flock. At one point this chicken was so scared of the rest of the flock that it would run and hide in the house all the time and run and hide under us when possible - even jumping up into our lap and burying its head into our jackets to hide... Now he is fine but still very personable.


Now, the next few pics are tricky - can't quite tell if these australorps are roos or hens... no crowing from this one. (Shimmer)

Note the saddle; cockerel.



Also, no crowing from this one... (Ninja)

Same; look at saddle: cockerel.



This one, however, was the extra they sent and he is definitely crowing! (Falcon)



Okay, so, if the other 2 australorps are not roos, my total is 3 roos and 6 hens (not counting the silkies as I knew they were straight run). That is not the 90% accuracy rate that they claim. If the australorps are not hens, then the rate is worse. What are all your thoughts on this?

Call and lodge a complaint.