Arizona Chickens

Hey eveyrbody! I haven't checked in for a while.
I was cleaning the coop this morning and I realized the girls are just over a year old now. Amazing. They're out running the yard right now, pecking at the weeds and grass.
I can't believe how mild this winter has been. Where is the cold?? I look forward to some winter all year long. I'm getting ripped off this year.


So good to hear from you... Any brew going?
 
I hard boiled our girls eggs for the first time. I now see why people say fresh eggs are impossible to peel. I used our oldest eggs from the fridge which were about 2 weeks old. I've never had an issue hard boiling and peeling store bought eggs so they must be REALLY old at the store. In any case I remember people mentioning egg steamers so I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and found the Cuisinart Egg Central. It only does like 10 eggs at a time but it worked perfectly. Perfectly cooked and super easy to peel. It wasn't like the steamers I had seen people post pics of. It looks like a metal egg. It supposedly also cooks eggs other ways which I have yet to try. I recommend it. http://www.cuisinart.com/products/specialty_appliances/cec-10.html


Thank you for posting.. I was seriously almost in tears the other day.. I was so upset I squeezed one of the little eggs... Half of the egg white came off. & more than once I might add.. I am headed to the store tomorrow for that.. I totally love all of the other features... :weee
 
 
@Stynch
and anyone else sick or having surgery...sending healing thoughts your way! :hugs



Thanks for all the well-wishes.  I had a bit of a hiccup during the surgery.  When the surgeon was tapping the socket into the pelvis, my pelvic bone broke.  He put a place behind the pelvis and screwed it all together.  Surgery ended up lasting 4 hours instead of about 1 hour.  Now the recovery begins!!


Agh!!! No way, so sorry to hear that..
I had mentioned to a few others that a friend ended up having this one surgery I think 5x... He hept on tearing, or streching or something..
Any way he had to get X-Rays each month for a while.. The doc told him to take this collagen supplement, it is at Costco..youtheory 390 tablets
They had the best price he said.. The doc could not believe how quick his bones were healing. Plus the density was amazing he said..
We are praying for a quick recovery...
 
So glad you have joined in!! Do you have chickens now, if so what breed?
Great place to start here on B.Y.C.

welcome-byc.gif

Don't have any pictures at the moment but have a bantam barred cochin, probably the most adorable chicken I have ever seen or dealt with. Another bantam mutt I think, and very large (I think jersy giants?) black ones. They weigh 10-12lbs live weight right now. Plan on getting a few barred rocks, would love a couple silver laced wyandottes though if I can find them.
 
So glad you have joined in!! Do you have chickens now, if so what breed?

Great place to start here on B.Y.C.

:welcome


Don't have any pictures at the moment but have a bantam barred cochin, probably the most adorable chicken I have ever seen or dealt with. Another bantam mutt I think, and very large (I think jersy giants?) black ones. They weigh 10-12lbs live weight right now. Plan on getting a few barred rocks, would love a couple silver laced wyandottes though if I can find them.


I have only seen a photo of a barred Cochin.. Feather feet are my favorite..
Our buff brahma gave us 2 in a row extra large double yoke'rs... I bet your 10-12lbs will or do give you nice size eggs..
 
Hey all,
I have an update on my girls! Remember I have 4 RIR's that will be 20 weeks on Tuesday. Leticia almost squatted for me a couple of days ago when I reached into the coop to remove the feed trough. Wings weren't completely spread. We put straw in the nesting boxes a couple of weeks ago and they had shown no interest at all. Then last week we found Styrofoam eggs at Hobby Lobby so we put a couple in there and now there seems to be disturbance. Then my little Lemon who has always been the special one, has a much redder face than anyone else has completely squatted since about 3 days ago!!

Each morning the fake eggs have been moved around and Lemon has become much friendlier and more needy wanting to be around us all the time and just being a chatterbox. Leticia has also become much more vocal the last couple of weeks. Eggs are eminent!!

Snoop will probably be the next to show egg-laying behavior. So funny that Lemon was our smallest and least dominant hen and will likely give the first egg. Dottie is the biggest girl, although 3rd on the pecking order and her combs and wattles are much smaller and quite pale compared to her sisters. They are becoming big girls, maturing from chicks to juveniles to rebellious teens just recently. What a joy to watch them grow and change. No one is quite a lady yet, but that stage will surely come.

Thanks everyone for all your help along the way. What a wonderful group of people! I will post the moment we have an egg!

I agree about the cold. We are being robbed of our winter! I planted cucumbers and squash today with the anticipated upper 80's and the end of this week. Jeesh!
 
I am loving the weather! If I could hibernate between Christmas and March, life would be perfect. I always get a touch of seasonal mood this time of year with the low light and cold. But I do miss the drizzly rainy days...we sure need it!

I am wanting to start growing some peppermint, basil, peppers, zucchini, and grapes this week...does anyone know if it is a good time to start these or should I hold off on any of them? When I google I find info on how to care for them, but not a lot of info on when to start them. I am also seeding pasture grass in my two big runs.

Yesterday I finished splitting my horse stall coop into 3 12x15 sections so my older group was really unhappy to give up their usual roost. Not sure how they were doing it but they were roosting on the round metal horse stall fencing. I put several wide tree branches in there a month ago but they wouldn't use them. So last night they were forced into using them and they told me what they thought about that. I swear that I heard them cursing at me...good thing chickens can't talk! LOL
 
This weather is too nice. I was FORCED by the delightful weather to plant some tomatoes and peppers yesterday. Last year I planted my spring garden way too late, this year I'm getting an early start. Hope it doesn't freeze!

So far, so good with the 3rd batch of meaties. Installed a flashing strob motion sensor in front on their pen. Reinforced everything like crazy. In addition to double to triple layers of wire, boulders, cement blocks, and buried wire, I planted a ton of stuff around their pen. Found a dangerous piece of plywood with nails and staples sticking out like tentanus waiting to happen, and put it in front of the pen (for nights only, I still need to get in there, lol). Bordered all my new plantings with spiny ocotillo sticks. Threw a pallet in front of the back side (that already has 3 layers of wire). The only way to get into the pen is to have opposable thumbs. Coyotes better not develop those in the next few weeks.

Here are my beautification attempts at the meatie pen. My 4 year old painted and helped to plant.
 
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This weather is too nice. I was FORCED by the delightful weather to plant some tomatoes and peppers yesterday. Last year I planted my spring garden way too late, this year I'm getting an early start. Hope it doesn't freeze! So far, so good with the 3rd batch of meaties. Installed a flashing strob motion sensor in front on their pen. Reinforced everything like crazy. In addition to double to triple layers of wire, boulders, cement blocks, and buried wire, I planted a ton of stuff around their pen. Found a dangerous piece of plywood with nails and staples sticking out like tentanus waiting to happen, and put it in front of the pen (for nights only, I still need to get in there, lol). Bordered all my new plantings with spiny ocotillo sticks. Threw a pallet in front of the back side (that already has 3 layers of wire). The only way to get into the pen is to have opposable thumbs. Coyotes better not develop those in the next few weeks. Here are my beautification attempts at the meatie pen. My 4 year old painted and helped to plant.
Sounds like the only thing you are missing is a pack of large guard dogs...
 

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