Arizona Chickens

[Arizonachicken]

RRR: I like French Black Copper Marans, and Blue laced Red Wyandottes. But I'm up to my neck in chicks already! What kind if incubator did you get?

 

[cbnovick]

One is here!!!!

I let my silkie Cloud sit on 4 of her own eggs. At the time, the only roo available was the blue silkie as our cochin started mounting the girls after she started sitting. So, these are pure silkies, though they are only hatchery quality.

I candled a while back and one ended up being a dud - not even fertilized. The other 3 were developing. Well, one hatched yesterday!! The cool thing is that I went out to check on her, lifted her up and actually saw the first pip happen in those few seconds! I left them alone for a while, then snuck a peek later and then again today. Was a little worried about the other two but I gently held one of the eggs to my ear and could hear movement and peeping inside! Yay! She (Cloud) is such a sweetie - never pecked me once during her whole broody time or even when I wanted to see her new baby. Here's some photos....


1st pip


Hatched!




All fluffed up...


Discovered the chick starter left in there for mom...




Hopefully tomorrow I'll have 2 more babies to show!!

CONGRATS!!

 

[Twinklin]

How well would pine shavings compost? I go through several bags of it a week. It shavings, chinchilla pee/poo, twigs, hay and rosehips they dont finish. I feel wasteful tossing it away!

Mine break down faster than the grass clippings. When I add them I spray them down really well, once they get soggy they start to mash together with everything else pretty well. If they don't break down all the way they would just act as mulch, I'd think you could could use them for mulch without composting them at all if you wanted to. I don't use many shavings so can't say how mass quantities would break down. My girls are on sand in the coop and run, i love it it's amazing. I'll be using shavings for their nest boxes when they get that age.

 

[Demosthine]

Are your chickens on this feed already? I considered ordering but I have two bags of feed to go through still. I've heard that chickens can be picky and turn down organic feeds?

I started my clan on it right after it came in last month and they took to it immediately. There was absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. I do ferment it as well, so perhaps that makes a difference?

Even though it's called mash, it has a much nicer, courser consistency than the commercial crumbles. You get a little
it of powdery mess when you dump the bags in to your air tight containers, but it really isn't much worse than the crumbles were.

I've also noticed already that the clan is eating less of the organic fees. I've heard this is really common. I am at six weeks of the same bag and just dumped the very last portion in my fermenting bucket last night. I had been using about a bag a month, so it's a nice improvement.

 

[countrygirl74]

I started my clan on it right after it came in last month and they took to it immediately. There was absolutely no hesitation whatsoever. I do ferment it as well, so perhaps that makes a difference?

Even though it's called mash, it has a much nicer, courser consistency than the commercial crumbles. You get a little
it of powdery mess when you dump the bags in to your air tight containers, but it really isn't much worse than the crumbles were.

I've also noticed already that the clan is eating less of the organic fees. I've heard this is really common. I am at six weeks of the same bag and just dumped the very last portion in my fermenting bucket last night. I had been using about a bag a month, so it's a nice improvement.

I have noticed that it's not even just the organic feeds but the type of feed. For instance, when I ran out of my organic mash, I had to get organic crumble for a while - they went through a lot more of that! So, even though both were organic, the mash lasts a lot longer than the crumble. Maybe the whole grain mash takes longer to digest and fills them up more??

 

[AZ_HenHouse]

What a cutie. It is nice to have a nice broody. My last broody fluffed up at us and would not let us touch them or sometimes even look at them

and needless to say at 9 weeks they still think we are not to be trusted. Hope with my 8 yo playing with them that they get friendlier soon

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote: Yeah, that long straight one was awfully skinny for its length. The curved one is thicker--at least a bit.

 

[AZ_HenHouse]

Found some banty day (or so) old chicks last week for my broody. Gave them to her on Thursday night and she took right to them. I was leaving for a trip early Friday morning and just got back today and happy to see the momma and babies doing great.



Didn't realize how well they blend in with the straw. lol

 

[AZ_HenHouse]

Outside this morning enjoying the overcast skies and the chickens. Turned around to see a hawk trying to get into my run. Have seen this guy around lately and when the girls ere free ranging they either go to the coop or the big palo verde tree in the yard when they hear the warning. He has only tried once to actually come into the yard at the girls and really did not try to get anyone but was close to ground level that time. But today they were in the new run that has bird netting over it

score one for me. Hawk came down but then got caught in the netting and the tree and had to leave. So happy it works so well, now maybe the hawk will go somewhere else to look for food. Now I feel better about them being out in a big yard.

 

[Arizonachicken]

Do you guys put food and water inside you coop and your run?  Or will just putting it in the run be good enough?  Didn't know if they got up for midnight snacks and would need any inside the coop.

I only have food and water in the run.