Arizona Chickens

[desertmarcy]

Hi all, I haven't been keeping up with my threads lately, been too busy. I wanted to let you all know that there will be a story aired on Arizona Illustrated about my heritage turkeys

They came out and interviewed me on 8/26, spent 3 hours outside in the heat and humidity while they interviewed me and took tons of video. Of course it will all be distilled down to a mere 4 minutes or so, but that is still exciting! By the time they were done, I was ready to melt. Not sure exactly when it will air, probably towards the end of October, on their Wednesday show which focuses on Nature and the Environment. The shows can also be viewed on line as they are all archived there. I will post when I know the exact date!

Other news keeping me busy: working on a website for my farm, finally! I've got to take lots of new photos for that. Of course you all know how cooperative chickens are when you have a camera in your hand

And I will have an ad coming out in the new Edible Baja Arizona magazine in the Sept. 7th edition. I don't think that magazine is being distributed in Phoenix since it is focusing on local and quality foods in Southern Arizona, but it is being distributed widely around Tucson and cities south of Tucson. Pretty nice little magazine. The first edition came out in June. Lots of nice articles by well known authors like Barbara Kingsolver and Andrew Weil and color photos. It is free and being paid for through the advertising. I had to finally decide on a farm name and get a website for this; been thinking about it for a long time and this ad was the final incentive to get it done.

So I am officially Feathered Reptiles Farm. Yes you know birds are just feathered reptiles and since I kept snakes for over 30 years, that seemed like a fitting name for me! My website is still in the works but I will have it up before the Edible mag. comes out Sept. 7.

 

[pollo disco]

Marcy, that is cool news. Glad your Turks are doing good in this heat. My RGs are eating like cows and are super friendly. Still haven't found anyone down here with Turks. Lots of chickens, just no turks. My 3yo loves my hen and is the only one that can pick her up willingly.

 

[Demosthine]

Wow, that is such exciting news for you! Congratulations! I've been trying to come up with a name for our "ranch" that fits us. Nothing as big or fancy as you, just something to stick on egg cartons and my homemade jams and such. Plus the wine if I can make enough of it.

The new juicing process came out absolutely great and my wife was a huge help with the last two batches. I can hardly wait for everything to be ripe in the next few weeks.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Now there is 4, the darkest one has the largest comb. Dakota is the oldest. Working on the other names.

Something I wish to share. Originally a GMO bird :/

What do you think? Perfect foe house chicken for someone allergic to feathers and loves to dress up pets. I do not, personally think it was a human idea for the chicken. I read it has a lot of problems, sunburn and not cold or particularly heat hardy. a nice rabbit coat with a soft down lining ?

 

[maryhysong]

Hi all, I haven't been keeping up with my threads lately, been too busy. I wanted to let you all know that there will be a story aired on Arizona Illustrated about my heritage turkeys

They came out and interviewed me on 8/26, spent 3 hours outside in the heat and humidity while they interviewed me and took tons of video. Of course it will all be distilled down to a mere 4 minutes or so, but that is still exciting! By the time they were done, I was ready to melt. Not sure exactly when it will air, probably towards the end of October, on their Wednesday show which focuses on Nature and the Environment. The shows can also be viewed on line as they are all archived there. I will post when I know the exact date!

Other news keeping me busy: working on a website for my farm, finally! I've got to take lots of new photos for that. Of course you all know how cooperative chickens are when you have a camera in your hand

And I will have an ad coming out in the new Edible Baja Arizona magazine in the Sept. 7th edition. I don't think that magazine is being distributed in Phoenix since it is focusing on local and quality foods in Southern Arizona, but it is being distributed widely around Tucson and cities south of Tucson. Pretty nice little magazine. The first edition came out in June. Lots of nice articles by well known authors like Barbara Kingsolver and Andrew Weil and color photos. It is free and being paid for through the advertising. I had to finally decide on a farm name and get a website for this; been thinking about it for a long time and this ad was the final incentive to get it done.

So I am officially Feathered Reptiles Farm. Yes you know birds are just feathered reptiles and since I kept snakes for over 30 years, that seemed like a fitting name for me! My website is still in the works but I will have it up before the Edible mag. comes out Sept. 7.

Wow that is really awesome all the way around! You have been busy! Looking forward to seeing the magazine and the video!

 

[Demosthine]

Now there is 4, the darkest one has the largest comb. Dakota is the oldest. Working on the other names.

Something I wish to share. Originally a GMO bird :/

What do you think? Perfect foe house chicken for someone allergic to feathers and loves to dress up pets. I do not, personally think it was a human idea for the chicken. I read it has a lot of problems, sunburn and not cold or particularly heat hardy. a nice rabbit coat with a soft down lining ?

Actually, I read quite a bit on that. They do not get sunburned from it, unlike us humans. They are a crossbreed of the faster maturing broiler breeds like the Cornish Cross with very selective breeding with breeds like the Turk (Naked Necks). With this increased growth, as we see with our Cornish, the body internal temperature is higher than standard breeds, to which the feathers insulate it from dissipation. They're reportedly very cold sensitive, but handle the extreme heat of the Middle East very, very well. Natural breeding is also an issue, since the talons and spurs of a rooster have direct contact with skin.

Also, notice that you will not have problems with typical mites and lice. They prefer dark, moist environments. That is one reason dog owners who are having mite or tick problems will completely shave them. Meanwhile, other pests like mesquitos might be a problem, but is that a real concern in the Middle East? I've never been there.

Yes, there are definitely problems, but if your impovished country is given the choice between healthy tasty chicken or starving, I'm sure you can guess. Aside from rabbits, chickens are one of the healthiest and easiest sources of meat.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Now there is 4, the darkest one has the largest comb. Dakota is the oldest. Working on the other names.

Something I wish to share. Originally a GMO bird

What do you think? Perfect foe house chicken for someone allergic to feathers and loves to dress up pets. I do not, personally think it was a human idea for the chicken. I read it has a lot of problems, sunburn and not cold or particularly heat hardy.

a nice rabbit coat with a soft down lining ?

I believe they were developed in Israel. There are a number of "naked" genes in chickens. The one you most commonly hear about is Na, as in naked necks and showgirls, but there are others, too. Pretty sure these birds were bred, not GMO.

 

[mckenzy]

Now there is 4, the darkest one has the largest comb. Dakota is the oldest. Working on the other names.

Something I wish to share. Originally a GMO bird :/

What do you think? Perfect foe house chicken for someone allergic to feathers and loves to dress up pets. I do not, personally think it was a human idea for the chicken. I read it has a lot of problems, sunburn and not cold or particularly heat hardy. a nice rabbit coat with a soft down lining ?

Where does one get a naked chicken or two? Very strange! Interesting to see what my girls look like under all those feathers! Amazing!

 

[Beour3rd]

i wish people around me had extras! heh

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

It appears I may have only 4 out of these eggs. I have 13 more cooking. Lock down the 31st. They look like better group. The post office person did not handle them as ruffly..... I do not know before him. I am convinced that the post office is largely at fault, cutting production, temp of shipping and the supplier is the other part. I figured at best 6 checks, at worst 2, 4 seems OK. I still have 5 that may hatch, 2 look good, the other 3 have very large air pockets. The humidity was down to 40% at when I got up. Not sure if that was what did in the little one that only got half the shell broken?

I picked up an older girl to hep the peeps figure out water and the food thing. I showed them water, but at less tge 24 hrs a little young and really didn't need it yet..... But it is my excuses for a Turken.

right hand side Dakota, left hand side Blithe

right hand side Angle, left hand Basil

Sylvia [/SIZE=4]

My brooder (not quite what I wanted but it will work, about 36"x24" I am using a heat element instead of a heat light. It seems much hotter. I got 2 of them a 50/100/150 W and a 250 W. the 250 was way to hot, in no time it was over 130degrees.... I want to keep them warm not cook them. I have the 3 way in right now. Tomorrow I will get a 3 way socket and some wiring. It is a struggle to keep it at 100 degrees, you can see they do not lay to closes to it.