Arizona Chickens

[countrygirl74]

Well, I can report that supervised free-ranging is not without risk. I was working in the yard this morning and decided I'd let the chickens out, right about 9:30 am. At about 10 am I had my back to the chickens and heard a huge commotion, whirled around and right there, less than 15' away from me was a coyote with my BA in it's mouth, shaking it. I yelled and ran at the thing and it stood its ground for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a second or so and by the time I closed the gap to about 6' it dropped the chicken and hopped the wall. It stood there on the opposite side of the wall and didn't leave until I sent the dog after it. Poor Jim is limping something awful, but we couldn't find any visible damage to her beyond the loss of a lot of feathers. I was so sad to see that she didn't make it onto the roost tonight; I found her in a nest box. I hope there's not something wrong inside.

I don't know if the coyote just didn't see me prior to the attack or just didn't care. Just thought I'd share.

My MIL had this happen to her only she wasn't outside with them. However, when she ran outside toward the coyote, it just stood there. At the time, she had 2 cockerels and 2 pullets - each cockerel took a pullet and ran in opposite directions, forcing the coyote to halt and make a decision about which way it wanted to go. It was enough time for her to run out there, but that coyote didn't budge until it saw her boxer mix. Then it took off and sailed over the field fencing. That same day she ended up moving her little coop and run to the backyard where it was more protected.

The coyotes woke my husband and I up around midnight last night - boy were they loud! Then my husband went outside with the pellet gun, which caused my ducks to start quacking up a storm. My jumbo Pekin sounds like a goose - she's sooo loud - it's just HONK! HONK! HONK! Between the coyotes, the pellet gun, and the ducks - I am pretty certain the neighbors won't be talking to us today. They are already not happy that we got any chickens, ducks, etc.

We do supervised free-ranging with our chickens. But, I do get worried sometimes with all the stories I hear about coyotes and hawks just snatching them right from under you. I have our yard split in half and the dogs get the other side. At night, I open the "in between" gate and let the dogs have the run of the entire yard when all the birds are in locked in their runs. Our dogs keep all the night predators out. In the morning, when they see me come out, they go into their half. They already know that during the day they can't be in the side with the chickens and ducks.

 

[countrygirl74]

Hey guys,

So I'm pretty new to having chickens. I adopted two chicks just over 2 weeks ago from the feed store. I just wanted to ask if the chicks at the feed store can be slightly different ages? Basically, I was desperately trying to find chicks and Superstition Feed was out, Shoppers was out, so I drove all the way to the Pet Club in Queen Creek and they had three chicks left. They all look basically the same, so I grabbed two.

Their names are Rosco and Boss Hogg, and I totally love them. I'm hoping they are both girls, and my understanding is that like 99% of the chicks from the feed store are females. I also think they are red sexlinks, so I'm assuming the fact that they are red is a good sign that they are female? They were a buff color with brown stripes on their back when I first got them. However, one of my coworkers who is also a chicken enthusiast said that roos will grow faster than pullets. So I've always been a little paranoid because Rosco has always been a little ahead of Boss Hogg on growing. When I got them, Rosco already had more wing feathers. The picture I am posting is from about a week ago. And now Rosco has a full body of read feathers. Boss Hogg has the equivalent of what Rosco looks like in this picture, and Boss Hogg seems to be more of a brown and white now as opposed to red. But today, I just noticed that Rosco is definitely noticeably bigger than Boss Hogg. (S)he's filled out a lot more.

Anyway, so I know that of course the chicks can be from entirely different parents. But can the chicks be slightly different ages too? I'm hoping that Rosco is just a few days older than Boss Hogg (and not a roo). What do you guys think?

I am really excited though. We've got the coop and they've been spending their days in the coop that last 2 weeks since it's warm, and then into their brooding box at night with the heat lamp. We're building an enclosure soon. And even though we live in an HOA, chickens are allowed as long as they are pets, and the neighbors have been really supportive about them. So I'm just really excited! It's fun to see them growing so quickly!! Thanks all!


Rosco is on the left, Boss Hogg on the right (pic taken about a week ago)

We picked up a bunch of new babies from our local feed store this year and it was amazing the different size differences in the different groups they got in. Our first few we picked one day were super tiny and then the new breeds that we picked up just the next day were quite a bit bigger. Even now, I have some that were hatched days later but are bigger than some of my older ones. I wouldn't worry too much yet - they all grow at different rates.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Happy Tuesday Arizona BYCers. I am thinning out roos. I have a Speckled Sussex hatched 9/2012 from The Garry Farm (Bargain on BYC), and from Just Struttin Farm, a Blue Orpington and a Swedish Flower, hatched 11/2012. These were hatched by my hens and are vaxed for Marek's by me at a day old. I hoping that because these aren't the typical breeds you see around here, that someone will want to take them.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I've heard many a story just like that from my nearby Sun City folks about their little yippers. We've taken so much of their territory that they have nowhere else to go but in. It's not the main reason I am always armed, but I will not hesitate to kill any predator I deem a threat that is on my small plot of land. If they become accustomed to feeding off my chickens, what's to say they won't go after my kids? My year old isn't much bigger than my biggest hen...

Hope she is ok soon!

Well, it looks like they do quite well here in the middle of the city. The data suggest that coyote densities are highest in suburban areas and are steadily increasing due to our own activities. Coyotes take advantage of garbage, pets and humans feeding them along with increasing densities of rodents due to landscaping to populate at densities not seen in rural areas. Here is a very interesting paper on urban coyotes and attacks on pets and humans that explains these issues well. Interestingly, they also point to chickens as being a important suburban food item.

Coyotes can seam to lose fear of people. To many people are afraid of them, it needs to be the other way around. I will never forget a very frail little old lady, she was discussed with people having problems with coyotes..... She announced .. ' I lived here all my life, they go around my property. There has never been a coyote born I'm a fraud of and they know it. '. I think she has a point. To many are to not afraid enough and I truly think the city coyotes are the most dangerous for that reason.

I wish there was a way to put down a No Trespassing sign for coyotes. I had a problem with raccoons at a house I rented. The last renters feed them and let them in their house. I made serval piles of stones, poured a very fresh yellow liquid on them. The next morning, not one would pass the markers. They all marked on top of my mark and that was that. My new screen on my door remained violated. For a couple of weeks every 3 or 4 days I would freshen it. When I stopped they were out of the habit of coming inside.

Yes, how we interact with them seems to be part of the problem, as also suggested by the paper cited above. We tend to respect wildlife, which is great in the wild, but in an urban environment failure to push back can lead to all kinds of behavioral issues. After analyzing a number of attacks in urban settings, the authors of that paper suggest there is a clear progression of increasing hostility with coyote interactions:



Quote:

Seems my local coyotes have moved from 4 to 5 in the span of a few weeks.

Oh, I forgot to point out that the coyotes may move up and down this scale depending on food stress. In times of pup whelping and higher nutrition demands they become much more bold. Seems just about right for the time of year.

Jim is not herself today. She came out of the nest box for a while, but limped back and spent the rest of the day in the nest box. I think she might have laid an egg though.

 

[pastrymama]

Seems I have gone overboard on the chicks again. I swear I don't know how it happens

If anyone is looking for a few female pullets, I have some for sale, CHEEP!

They should all be around 6 weeks or so. Send me a PM if interrested, I am in the north valley and am available in the late afternoon or on saturday.

Available:
Salmon Faverolle
Bantam Easter Eggers
Ancona

Also have some POL pullets available. Should be laying in the next month:
Basque
SBEL

 

[Timskins]

It seems like spring time is when a lot of chicks are available. I'm still weeks away from being ready for some. Are there local breeders that have them available year round or just certain times?

 

[MaddBaggins]

Here's Pepper, the suspected Barred Rock roo. He was on my lap so the pics are a little blurry.

 

[squeakyballs]

It seems like spring time is when a lot of chicks are available. I'm still weeks away from being ready for some. Are there local breeders that have them available year round or just certain times?

Ask desertmarcy, her chickens are amazing. Most are heritage breeds and she shows them (and wins). The ones I bought are ridiculously friendly... I get the feeling that she spent a lot of time with them.

 

[Demosthine]

It seems like spring time is when a lot of chicks are available. I'm still weeks away from being ready for some. Are there local breeders that have them available year round or just certain times?

I'm not sure about "local" breeders having them "year round", but there are several here that have them fairly consistently. Depending on what you are willing to spend and how close to the show quality you want, you get what you pay for. On the flip side, though, I have absolutely no complaints about the ones we bought from The Stock Shop. They have grown really well and laid in a very appropriate amount of time. The eggs are not as large as I want, but we're only in the first month of laying. They've been very consistent lately, dropping one each every day for going on 12 days. The only one who hasn't been consistent is the new Birchen Maran, but we've barely had her a week or two, so she's still adjusting to the stress of moving.

Oh, and the hatching addiction is strong with this group, so if you aren't particularly picky on what you want, there seem to be groups up for cheep every few weeks.

Ask desertmarcy, her chickens are amazing. Most are heritage breeds and she shows them (and wins). The ones I bought are ridiculously friendly... I get the feeling that she spent a lot of time with them.

The three Black Copper Marans I bought from DesertMarcy have been downright wonderful. They are very quickly adding on weight and feathered in beautifully. They are not as friendly as Squeaky's here, but I got mine at about a week for the older two and about three days for the younger one. I would definitely recommend her if you're willing to take the trip. There are other options here in town, too, though.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

Here's Pepper, the suspected Barred Rock roo. He was on my lap so the pics are a little blurry.

Can you take some full body shots. Including the legs? Also, how old is she/he?
From these pictures, depending on age, it looks like a pullet.