Arizona Chickens

[MaddBaggins]

Love GT.. Not that I am one upping you or anything, just that I so love
mine.. I have had it for 25+ years.. Hard tails rock..

I rocked a GT freestyle bike back in the 80's, as well as a Haro and a Redline. When I was in the Navy, I had a GT mountain bike. I've had some kind of GT every decade since the 80s. Cannondales too.
Now, to lose some weight and ride a lot more.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Nice bike!

Gracias!

 

[MaddBaggins]

Daughter and I went to Thunder Canyon Brewery downtown for dinner. Then, a stroll on 4th ave and spent some money in the Goodwill store and a cool candle shop. I scored a nice Japanese tea pot for $2 and some nice candles. This dude was jamming in the 4th avenue underpass. Great acoustics there.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Not to highjack this thread... but please do not mention LP's or turntables in my presence. You don't know what's going on up in this camp. A dozen turntables (Marantz, Hitachi, Sansui, Pioneer, Technics), Magnavox/GE/Motorola stereo consoles, Akai/Roberts/Pioneer/Teac/Sony reel-to-reel tape decks, 8-tracks, cassettes, 78's, about 3,000 LPs and 45's. I love the old school stuff...built solid and wore like iron for decades. It's all here.and I'm overdue for a 12-step program. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[MaddBaggins]

Not to highjack this thread... but please do not mention LP's or turntables in my presence. You don't know what's going on up in this camp. A dozen turntables (Marantz, Hitachi, Sansui, Pioneer, Technics), Magnavox/GE/Motorola stereo consoles, Akai/Roberts/Pioneer/Teac/Sony reel-to-reel tape decks, 8-tracks, cassettes, 78's, about 3,000 LPs and 45's. I love the old school stuff...built solid and wore like iron for decades. It's all here.and I'm overdue for a 12-step program. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

I haven't listened to some good old classic rock on vinyl in ages. You're in Tucson, I'm an enabler. Did I mention that I'm a homebrewer?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hey Sonoran, Noel said you could identify the color. Is this splash. Looks like painted with splash.

This is Vincenzo who is 20 weeks old.

He looks splash to me.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Thanks everyone for the condolences. We are fairly new to chickens, only had them for two years. In all that time we did not so much as see a stray cat around our neighborhood (now I know why!!!) and thought the wall might, at the least deter some coyotes. Boy were we wrong! There has been a spike in coyote sightings around our area in the last month or so.

We plan to get more, but not until after Christmas, as we are going back east to visit family for the holidays, and thought it would be less of a hassle to start over after we return. Hopefully during this time we can come up with a design that will keep everyone safe in the future. Any suggestions would be most helpful design wise and budget wise! The real bizarre thing is we didn't hear so much as a peep (no pun intended), and none of our neighbors did either...We are all lamenting the fact we will have to purchase eggs for the next couple months. They had become quite the little neighborhood mascots.
Quote:
Steel frame, welded cage wire--smaller openings are better, but more expensive. Electric fencing at several heights.

 

[FeatherPugs]

I haven't listened to some good old classic rock on vinyl in ages. You're in Tucson, I'm an enabler. Did I mention that I'm a homebrewer?

Sounds like good trouble and better double trouble! These are all great! PLUS a home brew......my....my.....my!

 

[heidisue]

Those shoes are hilarious, makes me want to wear some and see just how many people notice my shoes, lol!

The ant hill casting is amazing.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Hi all, I'm a new member of BYC from Tempe (Phoenix). As far as I can tell, this is the right place to post for advice about AZ chickens? Anyway, I don't have any yet, but we're looking to get started. We're currently in S Tempe with a rocky (but shaded) backyard, but hope to move closer to the univ within a year or so, and we'll have more shade and grass there. I'm thinking of a small flock (4 or so birds) and like the idea of the garden-topped coops I've seen designs for online. I have a few questions, though, and wonder if some AZ chicken enthusiasts could weigh in:

1) What breeds are going to be best for handling the AZ heat?
2) Do I need to plan on anything beyond shade, misters, lots of ventilation, and perhaps some wet sand or shallow pans of water with ice in them to keep the birds cool in the summer?
3) Should chickens have the run of a (fenced) yard during the day and be cooped only at night, or are they pretty much cooped all the time? If the former, what stops them from flying away?
4) Within the confines of the answer to #1 (hot weather birds), any recommendations for birds that will be really friendly and social if hand-raised? I have a preschooler who would get a kick out of "pet" chickens.

Anything else I forgot to ask that you want to answer for me? I'm totally newbie/clueless, so I'll take all the help I can get!

Thanks!!!

neighbor! I'm in south Tempe, too.

I've never known anyone with a garden topped coop, so I can't help you there. I d think they look neat, but wonder whether they would stand up to our summer heat without baking all the plants on top?

Most breeds can handle the heat if you have their environment set up to allow lots of shade, water at all times, fan and/or misters during extreme heat. Some folks put out pans they can wade in or blocks of ice. If I could, I'd use an evap for them, but tht isn't something I can do. Although I have brought some into the evap coled garage on days where the highs were over 115.

Different people do things differently as to cooping and free range, but be aware that there are hawks, owls and coyotes in south Tempe. Some of the hawks are migratory and others live here year-round. You might think that owls wouldn't be an issue if your birds are not out at night, but the reality is that owls stay out through the first few hours of morning, and come out in late afternoon, sometimes even earlier. If you have a specific run for them, I suggest covering it with netting. If they free-range in your yard, you need plenty of plants that they can run hide under.

How well chickens fly depends on the breed, but none fly to the extent of songbirds, raptors, etc. A six foot wall or fence will keep most chickens inside. Some will go over a five foot fence, but not many. If you have "steps" that they can use (benches, chairs, even shrubs that will hold their weight), of course, they can get over a higher fence than I mentioned. You can clip wings, but I recommend against that as it makes them more vulnerable to predators that they might otherwise be able to get away from.

To figure out the best breeds for you, think about what you want from them. Then look through Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart to see which breeds most closely match what you are looking for. The go to feathersite.com and look up those breeds fr photographs and more complete information. Choosing a chicken breed is not unlike choosing the breed of dog you want.

Tempe allows up to five hens, but no roosters...unless you are in the Ag district, where there are no limits. Many of the HOAs disallow them also, so be sure you are legal.