Arizona Chickens

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi! I am new here and new to raising chickens. I know this is a super long thread, but I have some questions about chickens in Arizona and am hoping you guys with experience can help me out. (and some might be stupid questions) I have 12 chickens right now, 9 in one coop and 3 in another. The 3 that are separate are smaller and were getting pecked like crazy by the others, so we separated them for now. The big coop we made with a 10x10 dog kennel. We have a cover on it and extra chicken wire around it with roosting poles inside and adding nesting boxes this weekend. None are laying yet, though we hope some will start soon as we have some that are about 23 weeks. Do we need some kind of hen house in the open coop for winter here? Or will they keep warm enough on their own? Also, will they start laying soon with the cooler weather coming in now, or will that delay them? I have read about adding a light to simulate extra hours, but since they aren't laying yet, I haven't tried that. Thanks for any help you can give this newbie!

Your birds will be happiest if they can escape the rain and wind that will be soon headed our way. The cold we get at lower elevations isn't a problem for them (the real challenge to raising chickens in AZ is the summer heat). A picture of your arrangement would help. The decreasing day length can reduce or delay laying, but it seems to be less of a problem for newer birds. Adding light will help once they are laying, but I don't do it.

 

[flower]

Greetings and

. Go to your profile page and at the bottom is a box for your signature line.

To be able to post pictures and maybe even "getting fancy" requires a certain amount of posts to be made before you loose the "new" tag and become out of the brooder. Look at the top of people's avaitar to see what I am talking about.

 

[Angelray]

Has anyone used San tan valley coops?

I have. He came up & built it in my backyard in less than an hour! He will customize it & quotes his price upfront. I paid $350 for my 8Lx4Wx5H coop with 6 nest boxes (3 stacked on each sidewall) and 2 8' long perches. They only use the highest really. I wish I would have paid extra for a finished roof, but love it otherwise.

You can see the coop behind my bunny hutch.

This is the only place my hen would lay! Its an old cat cube stuffed into a milk crate to keep it from flipping over on top of her!

 

[pipemum]

One of my Polish/silkie mixes laid an egg today. Much bigger than expected! It's the pale brown on the bottom, next to the ee and a barres rock egg.

 

[katmotley]

Your birds will be happiest if they can escape the rain and wind that will be soon headed our way. The cold we get at lower elevations isn't a problem for them (the real challenge to raising chickens in AZ is the summer heat). A picture of your arrangement would help. The decreasing day length can reduce or delay laying, but it seems to be less of a problem for newer birds. Adding light will help once they are laying, but I don't do it.

Thanks! I can post pics tomorrow when it's daytime, but it basically is a wire dog kennel with a cover like this:

No sides, but extra wire wrapped all around it. A couple of roosting poles right now and the feeders/ waterers are all I have in it besides the chickens. Adding an old dresser turned into nesting boxes this weekend. Also, forgot to add I am in the Phoenix area. (Waddell, west of Phoenix)

 

[heidisue]

I'm a newbie who just joined, so I thought I would introduce myself!  I live in an un-incorporated part of Buckeye with my husband and 4 chickens.  One started laying last weekend, another is starting to make alot of noise and spending time in the nesting boxes, and the other two are probably still a couple weeks out.  We are newbies at little birds, but a few years ago, we raised ostriches!  After trolling BYC for the past few months, I figured it was about time I joined!              --Cindy

Hi

 

[Bobby Basham]

This is exactly what I'm looking for....what are the dimensions for that dog kennel, especially the height? Since I'm vertically challenged, about 5'8", I can deal with a 5-foot tall structure, maybe 12x12 or 15x15. That way, the nasty HOA can't see over my wall. --BB

 

[City farm]

Hi! I am new here and new to raising chickens. I know this is a super long thread, but I have some questions about chickens in Arizona and am hoping you guys with experience can help me out. (and some might be stupid questions) I have 12 chickens right now, 9 in one coop and 3 in another. The 3 that are separate are smaller and were getting pecked like crazy by the others, so we separated them for now. The big coop we made with a 10x10 dog kennel. We have a cover on it and extra chicken wire around it with roosting poles inside and adding nesting boxes this weekend. None are laying yet, though we hope some will start soon as we have some that are about 23 weeks. Do we need some kind of hen house in the open coop for winter here? Or will they keep warm enough on their own? Also, will they start laying soon with the cooler weather coming in now, or will that delay them? I have read about adding a light to simulate extra hours, but since they aren't laying yet, I haven't tried that. Thanks for any help you can give this newbie!

Glad to have you aboard...
If the chickens are picking on eachother & having blood or feathers missing, they need more room..
They have to be able to flee to safety.. e

 

[desertmarcy]

Do you mind posting up your web site again..possibly we could or if someone is taking a trip that way, do a carpool ??

Sure, it is www.featheredreptilesfarm.weebly.com It is also in my profile.

 

[City farm]

i jsut noticed his feathers look like heck! they have soft ones coming in. dangit.... definately cant show him with that


whats a good website for aba and apa standards info?

Just saw this.. Like this avatar..

Once it posted I forgot the avatar won't show..