Arizona Chickens

[countrygirl74]

Okay everyone,
I wanted to go ahead and post how everything is going with the bumblefoot. I was looking for alternatives to actually doing surgery. I took pictures of my worst bumblefoot patient, "Ping", my Jumbo Pekin. After discovering hers, I inspected all the ducks and the other 3 had some in various degrees. The drake's is now completely gone, the female Rouen's is almost gone, and my other Pekin is slowly recovering as well. Since Ping's was the worst, I used her as the example as her bumblefoot still has a little ways to go. I was actually quite amazed that the others' disappeared so quickly.

The first photo was taken on May 25th, so it's been a little under 2 weeks. I ordered the koi meds but they took about a week to arrive. In the meantime, I soaked her feet in epsom salts about 4 times - during the first week. I applied NuStock to her feet daily for about a week, then switched to every other day. I did place "socks" on her feet for the first week to keep the NuStock on better. The next week, I just applied it and then placed her back into her run of clean shavings. I did limit her swimming and took out the shallow pan of water to keep her feet dry with the socks and meds on. I also increased her thiamine intake by letting her have dark leafy greens and peas more often. I also added niacin to their water for a few days. Because I ended up getting sick with a cold for a few days, I actually missed a couple days of treating her at all AND as a result, I hadn't started the koi meds as planned. So, the improvement has been NuStock and diet alone so far. At this point, I might not use the koi meds...we'll see...

BEFORE


AFTER



And here's the other foot...

BEFORE



AFTER

 

[ctroyer]

Hello all! I posted this on the Coop pages but thought I would post here as well as only two people had responded and I just wanted some advice for chickens here in phoenix. My wife and I are proud chicken parents of three roughly 5 week old chicks. Monica (BR), Rachel (RIR), & Phoebe (Amerecauna). I grew up around my Grandfathers cattle farm in Indiana and I have never had chickens before. My wife had chickens as a small girl here in Phoenix but doesn't really remember how to take care of them as see was in grade school. So of course I have questions and mainly because we live in Phoenix where it gets so hot. First here are the chicks at about 2 weeks old in the Brooder box and then now with their new BriteTap waterer:



I figured this was the way to go as the cooler keeps the water go figure cooler in our hot summer months. I have also added a 12lb hanging feeder for them as well but not pictured. Below is the Coop I built thanks to plans I purchased from TheGardenCoop.com I have made some personal modifications and plan to do some more in the future but had to get the main building done first. I could not have done this without the plans as they made it very easy and of course each day I was building it I thought of new ways I could change it and add-on.



The Coop sits on the West side of our house so it actually spends a lot of the day in the shade. However come around 4pm the sun shoots directly under the henhouse and in the run. The roof panels say they block like 90% of the suns UV rays and it does really make a difference as I could tell the temp dropped like 10 degrees after I finished putting it on. It was 107 that day and I was sweating like crazy and actually felt good once I was under the roof. Their is no ceiling in the henhouse as the entire top of the henhouse/run is 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth so it should get good ventilation. I do plan on probably adding a window down the road or this weekend. The entire area has the hardware cloth and I have even put it under our rock in the yard about 2 feet out from the coop on all sides. I have never seen anything but wild birds in our back yard but don't want to chance it.



As you can see our back yard like most in Phoenix is gravel and I wonder if this is ok or should I change the run to sand? Would the sand be cooler for the chicks? I have already added shade cloth that is breathable to the bottom portion of the coop/run so that the chicks have shade all day long. They really like to dig in the rocks and dust bathe which is really funny but I just get afraid that the rocks get too hot during the day. I also installed solar LED Rope lights around the run ceiling which is more for us so we can see at night as the chicks are normally in the henhouse when they come in.

My last question is on the henhouse door. Since they have only been in the coop for 4 days now I have been shutting them in the henhouse at night. Had to physically place them in there the first night but each night since they get closer to doing it on their own. Now we just kind of shoo them in up the ramp but still have to at least put one of them near the top to get the other two to go. Once they get used to going in completely by themselves can I / should I leave this door open at night? In the middle of summer the nights here will still be in the 90's so I was thinking having the door open would give more ventilation and keep it cooler? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I want to make sure the girls are happy and healthy.

Monica and Rachel enjoying the roosting bar in the run.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

ctroyer, first of all,

I would immediately remove the entire wall on the inside part of the coop. I'm wondering about the ceiling in the interior part of the coop. Is the gap between the top plate of the wall (where the rafter sits) and the roof covered with wood or wire or completely open? It's hard to tell from the pics. BTW, nice waterer!

ETA: I would remove the rock inside the chicken coop.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

I'll be curious about everyone's experiences with fermented feed in this heat. I stopped fermenting when the temps got high. We ferment vegetables and sauerkraut and the temps used with that are in a fairly narrow range so it made me wonder.

 

[ctroyer]

Gallo del Cielo There is a gap between the top plate and the roof. Roughly 4" in front and then 1" in the back. The gap is covered only with hardware cloth to make sure no critters get in. And yes the waterer rocks.

 

[notinoz2007]

x2 on that waterer! where can i get one of those? did you make it or order it? i love the idea that it is a cooler, i have been thinking how to keep a 5 gallon bucket cool. love that idea! *smacks forehead

eta: love your new friends, lol

 

[Demosthine]

x2 on that waterer! where can i get one of those? did you make it or order it? i love the idea that it is a cooler, i have been thinking how to keep a 5 gallon bucket cool. love that idea! *smacks forehead

eta: love your new friends, lol

Brite-Tap Chicken Waterer

 

[ChicksOfHazzard]

Gallo del Cielo There is a gap between the top plate and the roof. Roughly 4" in front and then 1" in the back. The gap is covered only with hardware cloth to make sure no critters get in. And yes the waterer rocks.

I immediately ordered that waterer when I saw your post. It's cheaper off of Amazon when you buy the cooler and waterer separately (just for those of you who are also running out to get that waterer!). Great find!! Thanks!! AND welcome!

 

[ctroyer]

I immediately ordered that waterer when I saw your post. It's cheaper off of Amazon when you buy the cooler and waterer separately (just for those of you who are also running out to get that waterer!). Great find!! Thanks!! AND welcome!

Yes I ordered the tap system and cooler separate. The cooler I actually purchased at home depot for about 8 bucks. It's a 2 galloon. It only took about 3 days for the tap to arrive and it easy as can be to install plus it does have instructions for the mechanically challenged.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

ctroyer nice, it looks great to me. Plans really do help. I had a sketch and scrape wood. I worked on what ever I had the materials for. The dimensions of the coop was dictated by the size of the wood. You will enjoy your girls, they are so much fun. As they grow their individual personality will come out. Right now my girls are venerable. From above they have some cover and a lot of hiding places. Coyotes, cats, and snakes no, dogs yes, When I am finished they will have cover and protection from all predictors except any little one not snakes. On the other hand any small snake will be dinner.

Did you have any help in building your coop? Some things are easier with an extra hand.