Arizona Chickens

[Demosthine]

Oh, and tell me: did I get fleeced? The 50lb bag of organic feed was $33. It's my first 50lb bag of anything but dog food. I just read a thread where people are buying 100lb sacks of feed for $13.

I've never heard of them getting 100-pound sacks for that price, or I'd get in on that one!!! The Phoenix Organic Feed Co-Op sells 50-pound bags for about $26, but pickup is at 40th Street and Indian School Road, so it may be a bit far. On the west side, we're organizing a group pickup. Someone else just picked up 10 bags yesterday, and I've volunteered to do it for the next one in two months and drop off to everyone on my way home. It's all basically a straight shot west over to my house. That would be my recommendation. It's still mash, but the people that have bought this particular brand say that their flock eats less of it. This is my first time buying it, though, so I can't comment on quality yet.

The single best way I've found to feed is fermenting it. It's not really time consuming and gives you all sorts of benefits over the dry. Best of all, there is absolutely no waste at all from my flock. They eat every last speck they can find, and boy, do they devour it. It definitely seems to take them significantly longer to go through a single bag, too. Natural Chicken Keeping's blog has an excellent article on it. I will never go back to dry after experiencing the fermented feed.

 

[pipemum]

Yeah, I joined the group for the Phoenix Organic Feed Coop a couple of weeks ago--there's a delivery here in Tucson. At the time, I thought I didn't want to do mash, and thought the price was high. Then on Friday, I wiley-niley bought whatever organic feed my local store had, and didn't really notice the price till I found the receipt later! Ha. Dumb me. Looks like the Co-op will be the way to go.

Thanks for the link on fermenting. Doesn't seem terribly difficult--I've managed to make and keep my own sourdough starter for a year now. If I go the fermenting route, can I keep the bucket going in my storage shed, or will that be too hot?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Oh, and tell me: did I get fleeced? The 50lb bag of organic feed was $33. It's my first 50lb bag of anything but dog food. I just read a thread where people are buying 100lb sacks of feed for $13.

That's a decent price for Tucson. I just paid $36/50lbs of Modesto Milling organic grower crumbles at O.K. Feeds. Feed here is so expensive because of how far it has to be shipped. If they don't like the mash, mix it with a bit of water to moisten it. That always seems to make the feed more palatable and less is wasted. There is a feed co-op here in Tucson with feed from the same outfit that supplies the Phoenix group.


Tucson Organic Chicken and Livestock Feed at Wholesale Prices

4926 N. Jersey Ct.
Tucson, AZ 85705
[email protected]

http://www.tucsonorganicfeed.com


You can also check with desertmarcy, she gets pallets shipped directly from Modesto Milling and you might be able to get in on an order with her. I'm not sure how much it would be, but probably better than what you'd pay retail here. Here is her thread on the subject.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

how interesting... i enjoyed these last 6 pages about what to do or not to do for the chickens in our heat. i lost a chicken yesterday, my oldest and best aloha hen. i'm not sure if it was heat, but its possible. its funny i tended to lean towards letting them acclimate, give them shade, cool water, frozen treats. until i found her dead, then i walked around my coop looking for the best place to install a swamp cooler! if it was from the heat, she was the first chicken i've had die from that. actually i've never had a full grown hen die from anything. i usually spot an illness and take care of things myself but i've never had anything drop dead on me. sorry for the rambling, i'm still in my acceptance phase or something.
i turned the misters on today for the first time all year. the new coop is farther from the porch so they dont get much moisture but i hope it lowered the temp in the yard a few degrees. i also fished another dead (wild) bird out of the pond this morning. last year that NEVER happened. the biggest difference i see is that last year i had a piece of flagstone sticking out of the water and leaning against the edge which i took it out because birds kept pooping on it. i put it back today tho because if it helps them reach the water without them falling in it then thats better than dealing with some poop.
counting wild birds, my hen, and some chicks from my most recent hatch - i have had 10 birds die in my yard in the last 2 weeks. thats a first for me, and i'm freaking out a bit.

That number of dead birds would be disconcerting. Hopefully, its just a coincidence. Did your older hen show any sort of symptoms prior to finding her dead?

 

[countrygirl74]

I've never heard of them getting 100-pound sacks for that price, or I'd get in on that one!!! The Phoenix Organic Feed Co-Op sells 50-pound bags for about $26, but pickup is at 40th Street and Indian School Road, so it may be a bit far. On the west side, we're organizing a group pickup. Someone else just picked up 10 bags yesterday, and I've volunteered to do it for the next one in two months and drop off to everyone on my way home. It's all basically a straight shot west over to my house. That would be my recommendation. It's still mash, but the people that have bought this particular brand say that their flock eats less of it. This is my first time buying it, though, so I can't comment on quality yet.

The single best way I've found to feed is fermenting it. It's not really time consuming and gives you all sorts of benefits over the dry. Best of all, there is absolutely no waste at all from my flock. They eat every last speck they can find, and boy, do they devour it. It definitely seems to take them significantly longer to go through a single bag, too. Natural Chicken Keeping's blog has an excellent article on it. I will never go back to dry after experiencing the fermented feed.

X2 on the price!! I would like to get in on the Phx Co-op but I think the gas would end up being the same that I currently pay here locally on my organic mash through Azure.
X2 on the ferment also! No waste - super easy and between the ferment and the organic mash, they eat a lot less! Even if you don't ferment, just wet the mash - they'll love it and no waste with any of the "powder".

 

[desertmarcy]

That's a decent price for Tucson. I just paid $36/50lbs of Modesto Milling organic grower crumbles at O.K. Feeds. Feed here is so expensive because of how far it has to be shipped. If they don't like the mash, mix it with a bit of water to moisten it. That always seems to make the feed more palatable and less is wasted. There is a feed co-op here in Tucson with feed from the same outfit that supplies the Phoenix group.


Tucson Organic Chicken and Livestock Feed at Wholesale Prices

4926 N. Jersey Ct.
Tucson, AZ 85705
[email protected]

http://www.tucsonorganicfeed.com


You can also check with desertmarcy, she gets pallets shipped directly from Modesto Milling and you might be able to get in on an order with her. I'm not sure how much it would be, but probably better than what you'd pay retail here. Here is her thread on the subject.

Hi Gallo, I'm not splitting my Modesto orders right now. I have too many birds to feed so going through it very fast! 54 turkey poults at last count, plus all my breeders, and I don't know how many chicks of various ages I'm growing out but it is in the neighborhood of 300 to 350! And I still have some eggs in the incubator

I'll be processing chickens for sale on and off all year (they will be cleaned, bagged and ready to cook). Contact me if anybody wants these. I know a lot of you just have your flock for eggs and/or pets and don't process and eat them, so if you want organic chicken to eat, PM me. They are $5/pound. Plus I'm taking orders for processed Thanksgiving turkeys. Hard to think about that when it's 100+ degrees out

 

[TucsonWest]

I have an unusual color Polish Crested cockerel who needs a new home if anyone knows someone who'd be interested. I live inside Tucson city limits and we can't have cockerels/roos there.

He's a reddish brown and black color, not a standard Polish color. I bought some eggs from someone on Ebay and he's the only male out of the 3 that hatched. He is 8 weeks old now and starting to crow.

I am new to BYC so please contact me at [email protected].

Thank you.

 

[pipemum]

TucsonWest, I assume you're on the west side? Me too. Can't help you with your Polish cockerel though. I think I might have a couple myself.

 

[desertmarcy]

Have you tried "Certified 100% Organic" corn? Supposedly, under U.S.D.A. standards, they can not label anything 100% organic if it has been genetically altered or fed anything genetically altered. I've heard that these genetically engineered versions, especially corn, are what are causing quite a few of our current health problems. The Institute of Responsible Technology has several studies that have shown direct links, although I hear the statements on their website exaggerate the actual studies. You'd have to do some digging to get to and read the studies themselves. As with everything medical related, it's really hard to remove the bias, but if you dig hard enough...

I would also recommend trying to get the Alcat test done. It is a simple blood test that will tell you which of several hundred different foods you are intolerant of. There is a difference between intolerant and allergic, but most people don't realize it. My daughter, for instance, can not have dairy products. It sends her into a severe form of a depression. She will break down and cry at the smallest little thing. We had kept her off milk for about a month and decided to test it. We gave her regular servings of dairy for two days. The third day, I asked her to get me a glass of water and she collapsed on the floor crying, but she's couldn't tell me why. Since then, we do our best to keep her off dairy, but it's so hard. I feel your pain and frustration. It's expensive, but absolutely well worth it.

I wonder if she would have the same reaction from raw milk? We don't use pasteurized milk anymore, only raw. There is a dairy in Casa Grande that sells it, "Save Your Dairy".

 

[Demosthine]

I wonder if she would have the same reaction from raw milk? We don't use pasteurized milk anymore, only raw. There is a dairy in Casa Grande that sells it, "Save Your Dairy".

Isn't it amazing how that works? Over 70% of "lactose intolerant" people can drink raw milk in moderation without ill effects. I have a coworker who proved that. She has been drinking the raw milk for about two months with great results.

In terms of my daughter, the raw milk had the same effect on her as processed milk. We've been using Save Your Dairy's Guardian Angel program for almost a year and love it. I started getting it for our baby when she was about six months old, when my wife's supply decreased. I doubt I can ever go back.