Arizona Chickens

[LMS]

Question for the desert dwellers/no lawn folks here... Is it possible to let your chickens forage in a suburban (ie smallish) back yard and not need to supplement much if any feed? Just wondering if it's possible to grow/salvage the bulk of their food and let them forage their own garden area/compost pile for bugs and other vegetation in such a non-lush environment. How much forage space does each chicken need? (I'm planning to rotate them to different areas of the garden so when they decimate one part they'll have more green space elsewhere while the first area regrows. Is this even possible in the desert without a larger amount of land/lawn?

 

[kpgoldstar]

Another great book that is always my go-to when canning is Preserving Summer's Bounty, although I am not sure how much they accommodate for higher altitudes since I have never had to worry about that. I agree canning acidic foods is so much easier.
http://www.amazon.com/Preserving-Su...950&sr=1-1&keywords=preserving+summers+bounty

Thanks kacklinkelly for the info. What other store did you get your RIR from? I wasn't aware of any others in the Valley who sell chicks. No matter the mix I end up with I will definitely have fun! Is your BO's significantly larger than the RIR?

Mckenzie I can't wait for the day to hold my own eggs. Won't be until about March or April though.

Flower no worries! Man, from SoCal to the mountains of AZ can be a shock. I moved to the desert from the fertile, grow anything Central California. I was bound and determined to figure out how to have a vegetable garden here and up until my major hiccup I was pretty darn successful. I will get back there one of these days!

 

[MaddBaggins]

Another great book that is always my go-to when canning is Preserving Summer's Bounty, although I am not sure how much they accommodate for higher altitudes since I have never had to worry about that. I agree canning acidic foods is so much easier.
http://www.amazon.com/Preserving-Su...950&sr=1-1&keywords=preserving+summers+bounty

Thanks kacklinkelly for the info. What other store did you get your RIR from? I wasn't aware of any others in the Valley who sell chicks. No matter the mix I end up with I will definitely have fun! Is your BO's significantly larger than the RIR?

Mckenzie I can't wait for the day to hold my own eggs. Won't be until about March or April though.

Flower no worries! Man, from SoCal to the mountains of AZ can be a shock. I moved to the desert from the fertile, grow anything Central California. I was bound and determined to figure out how to have a vegetable garden here and up until my major hiccup I was pretty darn successful. I will get back there one of these days!

AZ is higher altitude. My house, in Tucson, is nearly 2600'. I'm not sure if many places in AZ get much lower than 2000' so altitude corrections become important.

My RIR is more slender than the BO's and PBR's I have.

I'm a novice at growing in the desert, but my best luck has always been peppers/chilis and tomatoes. My parents live in Vegas and they have great luck with everything they try.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Question for the desert dwellers/no lawn folks here... Is it possible to let your chickens forage in a suburban (ie smallish) back yard and not need to supplement much if any feed? Just wondering if it's possible to grow/salvage the bulk of their food and let them forage their own garden area/compost pile for bugs and other vegetation in such a non-lush environment. How much forage space does each chicken need? (I'm planning to rotate them to different areas of the garden so when they decimate one part they'll have more green space elsewhere while the first area regrows. Is this even possible in the desert without a larger amount of land/lawn?

My backyard goes pretty natural, meaning it starts growing and turning green during monsoon. I let the girls out to forage whenever possible. I also provide a gravity feeder full of crumble that needs refilling about every 10-12 days. I also feed them some sort of treat every day. usually shaved carrot, minced cauliflower, oats and yogurt. They also get the heel from every loaf of bread, a couple bananas and an apple very week plus grapes and watermelon when we have some. And pretty much any other fruit and veggie that we're not using at the moment.

 

[Twinklin]

Question for the desert dwellers/no lawn folks here... Is it possible to let your chickens forage in a suburban (ie smallish) back yard and not need to supplement much if any feed? Just wondering if it's possible to grow/salvage the bulk of their food and let them forage their own garden area/compost pile for bugs and other vegetation in such a non-lush environment. How much forage space does each chicken need? (I'm planning to rotate them to different areas of the garden so when they decimate one part they'll have more green space elsewhere while the first area regrows. Is this even possible in the desert without a larger amount of land/lawn?

We have mostly the traditional southwest style rock landscaping but we do have a 25x35ft grass area. The girls are restricted to this area. There's lots of bushes that they are able to forage under which have a lot of leaves under them which is great for bug hunting and is where they spend most of their time. They do eat a good bit of grass but not enough that it effects the growth of the lawn which we keep year round switching from bermuda to rye. They were allowed to be in the gardens at the end of growing season mid summer and they destroyed it in about 2 days. They dig holes in loose dirt, they rip off leaves, eat the fruits and vegetables off the plants etc. Now that it's growing time again the garden is fenced off. They free range all day and eat very little feed but they do eat it especially early morning and right before bedtime. If we didn't have the grass area they'd probably go through a lot more feed.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Oh, MaddBaggins my altitude is around 550 ft, big difference!

 

[MaddBaggins]

Oh, MaddBaggins my altitude is around 550 ft, big difference!

Whoa! you must be close to the CO river. Am I guessing right?

 

[MaddBaggins]

I just checked. PHX is lower than I thought it was and Yuma is way lower than I thought. Of course, Wilcox is higher than I thought it was and thats prime farm land around here.

 

[Angelray]

Got my 1st egg! My polish girl, Calico, is the only hen out of 5 chicks that I got from a straight run back in May. I kept 1 rooster & they are the cutest couple!!

My welsummer (summer) and her brooder buddy an ameraucana (liberty) should both start laying in a month or so. Then I have 6 more a month behind them. I have a silver laced Cochin (Lacey), a Marian of some kind I was told (turkey), a salmon favarolle (ivory), an aracana (america), a golden lakenvelder (squeakers) and my favorite a Russian orloff (anya). Nine girls & my buddy Spot (white crested blue polish). In the spring I will get some meaties so I planning a 2nd coop for them & also my garden! I live in Mayer & love this site!!

 

[Angelray]

The FAM!

My buddy Spot

My first egg. They say Polish are low producers but I have gotten one everyday so far! No soft shells or anything...all have been perfect eggs.

I will get some pix of my ladies tomorrow. Goodnight ya'll!!