Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

After two disastrous non-hatches due to humidity issues in the incubator, I have 13 eggs due to hatch tomorrow and 5 are already pipping.  Go, chicks!  You can do it!

e

Oh I hope they all work their way out soon... So cute... Hope to see some photos..

 

[Twinklin]

Anyone else have a bird that's butt fluff seems to get messy all the time? The past couple months Phillie has gotten dried poop clumps on her fluff every couple weeks. I end up giving her a bath to wash them off. Her poop seems normal, I guess it's mainly the cecal poop that messes up her fluff. She does very well in the sink soaking in warm water to dissolve it. And she looks so darn cute wrapped up in a towel when she's done. I always wait until afternoon to do it so she can go out in the sun to dry.

 

[desertmarcy]

A friend of mine sent me this link to an article about the practice of injecting antibiotics into hatching eggs.
~~http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/01/organic-chicken-and-egg-antibiotics-edition

If it's not one thing, it's another

 

[MandyFitch]

So in response to my hawk problem, we added a new wing to the coop. It's now 20 ft long and four feet wide. They still free range but I'll feel better about cooping them up when I'm not around to watch them. I think it looks pretty good!

Viola, Le Palais de Poulets

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

i picked this up from another thread. interesting,
[VIDEO][/VIDEO]
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...gn=20140115Z1&et_cid=DM37694&et_rid=399243732

[VIDEO]

Direct copy of article text.

1] The beta-agonist drug Zilmax has been used to promote muscle growth in American-grown cattle since 2007. Within the first two years, the number of euthanized cattle shot up by 175 percent

2] FDA records show that reported side effects of Zilmax include stomach ulcers, brain lesions, blindness, lethargy and lameness, bloody nose, respiratory problems, heart failure, lost hooves, and sudden death

3] Zilmax is already banned for use in horses due to severe side effects, including muscle tremors and rapid heart rates

4] According to previous research, Zilmax is about 125 times more potent than ractopamine—a similar growth-promoting drug that is banned in 160 countries due to its adverse health effects in cattle

5] Organic, grass-fed and finished meat that is humanely raised and butchered is really the only type of meat worth eating, if you want to maintain good health

AND THIS. ..[VIDEO]

 

[Twinklin]

So in response to my hawk problem, we added a new wing to the coop. It's now 20 ft long and four feet wide. They still free range but I'll feel better about cooping them up when I'm not around to watch them. I think it looks pretty good!

Viola, Le Palais de Poulets

Looks great. I hope you don't have any more hawk scares. I hope I never do. I clip the run door open and the girls are never more than 15ft from it or the large oleanders around the yard so hopefully they have plenty of cover and we never have an issue.

 

[MandyFitch]

Thanks. Here's to crossed fingers!

 

[Timskins]

3 days and 3 eggs. Its been a long wait but I think we are officially done buying eggs from the store! Thats just from one hen, another looks close and then 8 more should follow.

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

 


Some wyondottes, americaunas, buff orphintons and hamburgs. I wanted a variety for sure! Main purpose for fresh eggs.


I see hawks quite a bit so I am going to be getting some netting above my open area. I was from western Washington, so mild winters. Chickens did fine. Definitely have read plenty of threads on heat and will continue reading for education. I'll look into the organic non-soy feed and see if it is for me. I'm sure I'll continue to check in on this thread as well.

 
Welcome from another former Washingtonian!

Hello there!!

 


Welcome.   Are you in a town or out in the country? I hope you have full support and help from your wife. She may end up wanting more chickens and you will end up doing more coop building. Have fun.  :cd

I am somewhat in the country. I just moved out of Avondale a little farther west. No HOA now so I can enjoy having some chickens without them breathing down my neck. 

My wife is a little nervous about getting chickens. She is always hesitant when it comes to something she knows very little about. I grew up around them so I feel right at home. She loves animals though and as she has seen me build the coop and get all the supplies, she is getting more and more excited. I cannot wait to show her the first egg! 

Does Litchfield Park allow them?  I'd have thought not, but don't really know.

I corrected the OPPS, I COPYED the address of the commercial. It was late, I closed out with out checking

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

I know wishing for invasive species is a no-no, but I do kinda wish it were warm enough here to have wild parakeets and lovebirds like up there in Phoenix. A few years ago, I was staying in Pasadena...I got up early for a jog, and there were FLOCKS of wild parrots flying all over. I saw macaws, parakeets, just all sorts of parrots. It sounded like a jungle. I guess the parrots cause a lot of damage there, but seeing a freaking flock of macaws flying overhead in the middle of a city is cool. Especially when one doesn't live there and have to deal with the damage!

Congrats on the hatching, MagicChicken!

Normally I put my 2¢ in, I have been corrected at times. Sometimes my souses are not as good as I hoped they were. When corrected, I dig a little deeper to confers. After I get my facts straight I am Because I now have learned something I would not have if I had said nothing.

I used to bread both English budgies and American in Minnesota. It is cold there. I had an out door/indoor flights. All year long they went in and out. I belonged the the Minneapolis Budgerigar Society.

If you could have them out door lights were nice to have. A senior member had a garage size building. One side had 2 out door out side huge flights. It was as big or bigger then some of our chickens have. -15• they would be flying around in the freezing cold. I heard of budges that would stay out all night. Their inside aviaries had to be kept at just above freezing. They were hip fat and hardy birds. The breeding room the kept in the 60's in the winter. Food, not the climate is why they do not survive in the wild. If they have food they can make it just fine. Most have lost the ability to forage. City's, such as NYC have populations. Because of limited food, feeders with seeds they usually do not eat, competition from other birds, it is a hard go.

Budgies would show up at aviaries all the time, attracted to the chatter. One member said, he opens the door to his aviary, sprinkle a few seeds on the ground into the building. Come back and close the door. After netting them he said he examined them, they were usually thin and hungry.