Arizona Chickens

[notinoz2007]

Quote: i found a home for 3 more chickens so that leaves me with 3 - a very sane number... and yet... already i am thinking about going to get my moms pink layer

One of the things I readabout them is they are good with getting rid of bugs and it said ants also. Not sure about that but if they can control the ants then Yeepee!

they are cute when they're chicks. i didnt know that.
i am not a fan of guineas because they are so loud and not visually appealing to me, but heck - if they eat ants we should all have them.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Tina finally CHICKENED UP and joined the other chicks on a day out.

I'm so proud of her.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Tina finally CHICKENED UP and joined the other chicks on a day out.
I'm so proud of her.

How old are your chicks?

 

[Trixy318]

The bantams are very sweet .. Little same follows me every where like a dog now ..

 

[WestSideChicken]

Quote:
Originally Posted by WestSideChicken

My husband went to the feed store on his day off to replace a bantam chick ( we figured out the heat light was not hot enough because we started the chicks in the taller brooder this time which meant lamp was too high). I come home from work and there are not one but another two chicks in the brooder and a baby tortoise in the living room...I look on the printer and I see the HOA rules that say as long as thy are pets we can have them. In a week I went from 4 to 10 chickens plus a turkey. I think I created a monster! (He claimed the turkey and leghorn as his already to the argument of the kids) I guess he figures they don't count if they are bantams or chicks either! I had wanted to wait and hatch a few in the incubator in my classroom, but now that would give me way to many chicks to handle.

Boy your husband sounds like mine.. He tries to claim my pets all the time.. Then he will go off and claim the boys pets..
When are you doing the incubator?


I don't know for sure. I have the incubator I usually use for bearded dragon eggs so I need to pick up a turner for it. I would then just have to find some eggs. I teach kinder, and we already have a dragon, frog, fish and guinea pig in the classroom.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Tina finally CHICKENED UP and joined the other chicks on a day out. I'm so proud of her.

How old are your chicks?

Sylvia is the oldest at 5-1/2 weeks, the youngest is almost 2 weeks. Rosy is the same age as Tina, they are is 3 days older then the youngest 4, Georgina, Gloria, Conny, Ginger. Rosy has not Chcken Up yet, that is fine. I have to constantly be out there when they are out exploring. It is interesting watching them, I can't believe how much of the yard they can cover. Thg older girls will still be working one area, and the little ones will have been from one end to the there. Tina was getting tired so I put her back in the protection of the pen for her to rest. To my surprise she actually napped, then she wanted out to join the others. It was so quit....... I can't leave them alone until the youngest is at lest 8 weeks old I am guessing. They really know their way around. I have to work on the youngest 4 more to tame them down. Right now it is not hard to catch them, to put them away to be safe when I can't be there.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

4000 pages, nice!

 

[MandyFitch]

Help please!

So I've been moving my twelve chicks back and forth between the run during the daytime and the parrot cage in my bedroom at night. Nine of the chicks are almost four weeks now and three of them are huge. I can't keep them in the cage for much longer.

Lows in Scottsdale are in the 60s. Under the brooder lamp it can get to 100+ depending on how I hang it. I actually have two lamps so I could create two warmth stations in the coop. They need the space. Can I leave them out at night?

Three chicks are only three weeks. Should I continue to bring them and the four week silkies inside at night? The younger chicks are all the same size or larger than the silkies already. I'm concerned that separating them at night might create flock relationship problems for them in the morning.

Opinions?

 

[Twinklin]

Help please!

So I've been moving my twelve chicks back and forth between the run during the daytime and the parrot cage in my bedroom at night. Nine of the chicks are almost four weeks now and three of them are huge. I can't keep them in the cage for much longer.

Lows in Scottsdale are in the 60s. Under the brooder lamp it can get to 100+ depending on how I hang it. I actually have two lamps so I could create two warmth stations in the coop. They need the space. Can I leave them out at night?

Three chicks are only three weeks. Should I continue to bring them and the four week silkies inside at night? The younger chicks are all the same size or larger than the silkies already. I'm concerned that separating them at night might create flock relationship problems for them in the morning.

Opinions?

I personally didn't let my chicks into the coop/run until they were fully feathered around 6 weeks. I started them at 95 degrees under the brooder light then lowered to 5 degrees every week. At this rate around week 6 they should be ok at 60 degrees. It also depends on how warm your coop is and if you have supplemental lighting in there. I kept mine in a large cardboard box in the garage as a brooder for the 6 weeks, expanding the box as they needed more space. I know some people let them outside as early as 4 1/2 weeks and if they have a broody chicken raising them they are out in the coop with her from day 1. Kathy the chicken chick has a great article on it
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/04/when-to-move-chicks-from-brooder-to.html

 

[Arizonachicken]

Hey Mandy, I'm in South Scottsdale and I have 3 chicks that are the same age as yours, from Redrocketrooster. They've spent the last 2 nights outside with a Brinsea EcoGlow for heat and they're fine. They were up early this am, temp was 60. They weren't under the heat, they were out scratching just outside the EcoGlow. I was worried about them, there's only three of them and its very cool out, but I think they have enough feathers to keep warm enough. You have more chicks than I do, so I'm sure they'll huddle under the heat and keep warm enough. I think that with twelve all together, I would keep them together and they'll keep each other warm and you won't have to worry about creating separate flocks.

ETA: I have a very laid back approach to raising chicks and chickens. I usually let a broody care for chicks, but she rejected these three. Most people follow strict temperature guidelines, I provide the heat source and observe them and adjust accordingly. I don't even own a thermometer to place in the brooder.