Arizona Chickens

[pipemum]

My sand is fairly course as can be seen in the pic below. I have watched youtube vids of people cleaning their sand coop and it is super fine, like California beach sand. Mine has lots of small pebbles and is the kind used to level ground before laying brick or pavers.
Someone else told me to wait until 5 weeks on the dried mealworms and 7 weeks on kitchen scraps.
Thanks again for your help!
Kristine

I'm not a chick expert, but you don't need to wait that long on mealworms or scraps. If the chicks were being raised by a mama chicken, she'd have them eating bugs and such from day one. The sand you have is fine for grit. I asked a similar question about grit, wondering if I actually should buy grit from the store or if the dirt/sand in my yard was okay. I did end up buying a package of chick grit with a "chick package" online and turns out, it's coarse sand! So, yeah, waste of money and the shipping cost was steep! For sand...(my kid has a playground in the yard filled with many, many cubic feet of SAND, plus we have a wash outside, filled with SAND)....total sucker!!!

 

[pipemum]

Cooper's are THE chicken hawk. Yes, they will go after your birds, even the large ones--if the bird is too heavy to fly off with, they will eat it where they kill it. And will keep coming back for meals until it is all gone.

Eek, well, dang. There are at least 4 Cooper's hawks in the area (2 pairs). The chickens will have less garden time for a bit. I thought maybe it was coincidence with air thermals, because this weekend I watched a pair circling around my yard while the chickens were out, but this morning the hawk was right there, so guess they knew what they were after. I don't trust my big dogs with my chickens, but maybe the little dachshund mix can keep watch over the chickens? Or pretend to at least--all he really wants to do is follow the chicken's around and eat chicken poop.

 

[kpgoldstar]

I'm not a chick expert, but you don't need to wait that long on mealworms or scraps. If the chicks were being raised by a mama chicken, she'd have them eating bugs and such from day one. The sand you have is fine for grit. I asked a similar question about grit, wondering if I actually should buy grit from the store or if the dirt/sand in my yard was okay. I did end up buying a package of chick grit with a "chick package" online and turns out, it's coarse sand! So, yeah, waste of money and the shipping cost was steep! For sand...(my kid has a playground in the yard filled with many, many cubic feet of SAND, plus we have a wash outside, filled with SAND)....total sucker!!!

You're not a total sucker if you bought the grit in a chick package. Live and learn!!

 

[kpgoldstar]

My chicks did great last night. I checked on them a few times and they seemed to be plenty warm and not too hot with a small bulb in the housing. They all seem very happy and are just peeping away.

24 hours after being home, the girls got their first outing on the lawn while we cleaned the bedding and changed the water. They pecked away at the grass, not sure if they figured out there might be bugs in there. They got to spread their wings, take little hoppy flights. They didn't stray too far from each other. It was about 80 out there, but the sun was starting to set. We spent about 30 minutes then when we got back to the brooder, they were huddling, so I put their light on again even though it is 90 in the garage. Here are some pics of their first taste of grass!

 

[City farm]

My chicks did great last night. I checked on them a few times and they seemed to be plenty warm and not too hot with a small bulb in the housing. They all seem very happy and are just peeping away. 24 hours after being home, the girls got their first outing on the lawn while we cleaned the bedding and changed the water. They pecked away at the grass, not sure if they figured out there might be bugs in there. They got to spread their wings, take little hoppy flights. They didn't stray too far from each other. It was about 80 out there, but the sun was starting to set. We spent about 30 minutes then when we got back to the brooder, they were huddling, so I put their light on again even though it is 90 in the garage. Here are some pics of their first taste of grass!

Love the photo with the ray of sun coming down behind you...

 

[City farm]

Soon-to-be-newbie here... (still scheming, er, planning....)
All this coyote talk has me worried that my setup will not work out well for the long haul, or for the chickens... We live near a wash (about a block up the road) and our backyard faces a dead end street that ends at the wash. I've seen lots of coyotes in our neighborhood, and of course many of them en route to and from the wash on that street. Am I asking for trouble putting chickens in that back corner of the yard (our only option) or is it enough to enclose the run in wire mesh and hope the chickens can make it back in there in time? (We were planning a small enclosed run and a fenced-in but open-on-top range area that will be large enough for 8 chickens to range but small enough to provide cover from hawks/owls.)

We have a (very useless indoor) dog who can't stay outside for long and who would be more of a threat to the chickens than a coyote on the other side of the block wall. Our wall is (mostly) 6' cinder block all around -- some places it might be lower if the ground on the other side is higher.

We don't really want another dog right now, and certainly never planned on a large breed outdoor dog, given the logistics of keeping him cool enough in summer. Thanks for any advice.

 

[AZGardenFarmer]

I have a gorgeous Favorelle. Shes very mellow. I call her name as I approach her coop. She will meet me at the door and talk back at me. Shes pretty independent but will follow me when I bring her food or fresh water. I also have Guinea Hens. They are not keen on more than 1 person in their coop with them. I also have Frizzles. The female gets along with everyone. My boy however does Not like to share his water. He is a water baby. He's veryy protective of his water so we had to separate him from the girls. They're happier now he's moved. Maybe they'll calm down enough to lay eggs for me. *

 

[Mikey D]

Quote:
Yeah, they have that reputation, but my Orloffs fared no worse than any of the other birds this summer. Unfortunately, I don't know if Desertmarcy is hatching at this time of year though.

I called & she's not - maybe next spring

 

[Mikey D]

Quote:
I think you last sentence is really the crux of it...

I amended the order today and got 2 buff orp roos. However Pastry the enabler almost has me talked into a silkie roo as well...

 

[Demosthine]

I think you last sentence is really the crux of it...

I amended the order today and got 2 buff orp roos. However Pastry the enabler almost has me talked into a silkie roo as well...

My Silkie cockerel has been great overall, despite being the runt of the litter. My young Ameraucana pullets are bigger than he is, but he was still willing to chest bump the larger Black Copper Marans and New Hampshire cockerels that I had to help keep them in order. Until they got significantly larger than he is, he was the man of the house. I can't say anything bad about him, except that he's small, ugly and probably wouldn't win out against any predators, in my opinion. But both the Silkies would be the "bait" if you will, for any hawks or yotes that may decide to attempt ordering take-out from me. My wife still loves him and he does serve a purpose, so each to their own.