Arizona Chickens

[MaddBaggins]

welcome arizona son and heidisue

my lowest on the pecking order hen is usually crouched low and always ready to run. she hides from the hens that bother her, under the hens that dont. i've seen her sqeeze herself into some pretty tight spots too. now she's old enough and decides to run away from the roosters. she just has an oddness about her that i figured was just low man on the totem pole syndrome.

I hope thats all it is. The crouching bothers me, but if it's just a submissive thing, then so be it.

 

[City farm]

Hi all, I am new here & just wanted to say hello & maybe talk with some other local chicken folks. I live in Avra Valley.

 

Great to have you aboard!!

 

[MaddBaggins]

Here's a video of Button. My daughter and I were feeding them peanuts a few minutes ago. Those went over pretty well. Sorry the vid is sideways, blame the cameraman.

 

[City farm]

OK, so Sasha and Button update. They are both growing and getting a share of the treats, despite the other girls. The other girls don't peck as much and the younger two know when to get away and when to squeeze in for treats.  Sasha is getting noticeably bigger every day and runs around and stands up tall. Button is growing slower and moves slowly and is always squatted. She kind of waddles around. She can't get up to any of the roosts in the coop so she sleeps on the floor in a corner all alone. This started from the day I released the two of them into the main run/coop. She was moving around fine in the mini run I had her in. She has no visible injuries and her wings work fine.

My original girls were ordered online from Purely Poultry and were vaccinated for Mareks.
Sasha and Button came from the local feed store and came from Ideal and/or Cackle. They were not vaccinated.
The older girls are 12 weeks and the other two are about 9 weeks.
I kept the younger ones in a smaller coop/run inside the main run for about 4weeks. They were separated from the rest by hardware cloth during that time.
My coop is 4x8 and the run is 8x16.


Any one have any ideas what may be wrong?

No, I just think they are being chickens. Our flock had 3 late commers.. It took like 4 months for them to chill..
When I let them free range it seem to make it easier.. It is that darn peeking order stuff. I use a spray bottle to discipline..
They know not to go on the front patio from using the spray bottle.. If we had a really mean one, which we do not, but still
I would step in when they would constantly peck at the less dominate girls when we feed them treats..
That is why we started a new flock together as babies.. With in a month of each other.. We might still have issues..if we do
& have a really bad hen we would find her a new home.. I would rather start out with to many & find a new home for one , then add
new ones when they are older.. I just want to enjoy them rather than have a constant worry..

 

[City farm]

My girls still sleep on the floor - a couple are starting to check out the perch, but not sleeping there yet. They are bantams though and I thought button was full size. Maybe she is just still to small for the perch??

I can't remember if I introduced myself on this thread I'm Heidi; I live in Marana. I have followed this thread for months, but I think it's the first time I posted on it, lol! All these coop pics made me want to post mine.

Welcome yes please post.. We would love to see them...

 

[MaddBaggins]

No, I just think they are being chickens. Our flock had 3 late commers.. It took like 4 months for them to chill..
When I let them free range it seem to make it easier.. It is that darn peeking order stuff. I use a spray bottle to discipline..
They know not to go on the front patio from using the spray bottle.. If we had a really mean one, which we do not, but still
I would step in when they would constantly peck at the less dominate girls when we feed them treats..
That is why we started a new flock together as babies.. With in a month of each other.. We might still have issues..if we do
& have a really bad hen we would find her a new home.. I would rather start out with to many & find a new home for one , then add
new ones when they are older.. I just want to enjoy them rather than have a constant worry..

I'm going to try some free range tomorrow evening.

I built a small roost, in the middle of the coop, thats 14" high. I hope she can get up there.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Then, on the way home, stopped by my sister's house in Flag - she had picked up 16 Cornish that they were trying to get rid of at Cal-Ranch up there for .75 a piece. She asked if we would help to butcher them and then get half the birds. I said yes but I need to do some more research on these things... the only thing I've done is 4-8 month-old roosters that we needed to get rid of.
Anyone raise cornish x for meat? What do I need to know?

Hey Countrygirl - I picked up 4 cornish x 4 weeks ago (half way there) I got them at Pratts in glendale and think mine were 2 bucks a piece. They were day old or so.
Unbelievable how fast they are growing. I have been encouraged to feed them FF for nutrition and to fight the STANK. I have been having some troubles with the FF.
But since I use DE in the pet chickens tractor and their food, I started doing the same for the meaties and it works just great. Little to no stank for several days and their
"gifts" are actually formed. Huge Improvement.



first home



last weekend at 3 weeks they are
almost all 1 lb. Can't wait to weigh
again this weekend. They are
becoming little beasts. AND my
FF finally took after I was ready to
toss my second attempt. Apparently
I need a lesson in patience....

 

[ChicksOfHazzard]

I spy the beginnings of the roosting area! WOO! We ran out of materials today so this was our only progress until we can get to Lowes to get the wood for the roost, nesting boxes and a few 2x2's for the curved part of the dirt patch. We're doing a galvanized metal roof over the coop area (above the pallet). I can't wait to get the chickens in here. I know they'll freak out at first because, god knows, it's different! But I'm sure they'll love the added room after they get used to it. My husband jokes with me about all my "demands" for the coop and asked if I wanted a spiral staircase for them out of the roosting area, LOL.

 

[countrygirl74]

welcome arizona son and heidisue

my lowest on the pecking order hen is usually crouched low and always ready to run. she hides from the hens that bother her, under the hens that dont. i've seen her sqeeze herself into some pretty tight spots too. now she's old enough and decides to run away from the roosters. she just has an oddness about her that i figured was just low man on the totem pole syndrome.

I have one in my flock too - she loves it when we let them free-range. She usually will stay clear across the yard - freedom! On the occasion she doesn't know where to go and one of the roos is after her, she will usually end up here:

This time my daughter got it, but sometimes I end up with a surprise on my head too.

Hey Countrygirl - I picked up 4 cornish x 4 weeks ago (half way there) I got them at Pratts in glendale and think mine were 2 bucks a piece. They were day old or so.
Unbelievable how fast they are growing. I have been encouraged to feed them FF for nutrition and to fight the STANK. I have been having some troubles with the FF.
But since I use DE in the pet chickens tractor and their food, I started doing the same for the meaties and it works just great. Little to no stank for several days and their
"gifts" are actually formed. Huge Improvement.



first home



last weekend at 3 weeks they are
almost all 1 lb. Can't wait to weigh
again this weekend. They are
becoming little beasts. AND my
FF finally took after I was ready to
toss my second attempt. Apparently
I need a lesson in patience....

I taught my sister how to ferment the organic mash she had before I left. I don't know how they are doing "stinky"-wise, as I don't have to take care of them. But we'll be doing most of the processing when it comes time, so all's fair, right?

I am hoping that not taking care of them will help us when it's time, as the last time we had to process, they were more like pets and it was hard.

 

[Scottsdale Chic]

I was hoping to get some advice. I have a french black copper marans chick that has two toes webbed together on each foot. Does anyone know if it's possible to have them separated? I had heard that there is a vet in the Phx area that will treat chickens. I'd like to take her in and get her some help, I think she may have better balance if we can have them cut. Does anyone know who this vet is? Has anyone heard of this being done successfully? Thanks so much.