Arizona Chickens

[Twinklin]

Just purchased 3 buff orpingtons and 3 black sex link babies yesterday. While I've been into chickens all my life, and that's a really, really long time, I am not familiar with all the hundreds of different breeds. So - anyone have black sex links? What is their personality, laying percentage, etc. A lot of these breeds did not exist when I was on the farm in Indiana.

I have a BSL hen, Onyxia, she's about 10 months. She's my best hen out of the 4 I have. All the others have something to cause problems. My Welsummer is crazy loud and took almost 10 months to lay, my Easter Egger has a pendulous crop, my Rhode Island Red always has a poopy butt and needs regular baths and she's a sneaky trouble maker. My BSL was my first layer 21 weeks i think, she's my most consistent (usually 6 days a week though starting with her first egg she went 27 days without missing one, she never gets into trouble. She has taken over top hen spot from my EE since the EE has had health problems but she's not a mean leader. She hates being held though, has a freaking hissy fit if you hold her. Here's a video of me playing with the girls a bit today. You can see she's a bit of a control freak and is very impatient. She's the one you hear screeching in the video.

 

[notinoz2007]

*my condolences to sonoran silkies, what a tragic loss.

i also heard at work today that they are working on a law to ban roosters in the city of mesa. does anyone know about this? I dont read the paper or watch tv, and was only able to mention the chance to get backyard chickens approved for the whole state (which she said isnt going to happen according to the last paper she read.
i would love some information about the roosters and an update on the bill if anyone has anything to share. i told her if they ban roosters they may as well start banning dogs too. my rooster is quieter than my neighbors poor neglected puppy.

 

[wondertwinpower]

Here are pics of the Araucana boys

 

[Demosthine]

*my condolences to sonoran silkies, what a tragic loss.

i also heard at work today that they are working on a law to ban roosters in the city of mesa. does anyone know about this? I dont read the paper or watch tv, and was only able to mention the chance to get backyard chickens approved for the whole state (which she said isnt going to happen according to the last paper she read.
i would love some information about the roosters and an update on the bill if anyone has anything to share. i told her if they ban roosters they may as well start banning dogs too. my rooster is quieter than my neighbors poor neglected puppy.

Ain't that the truth?!? When we had our dogs, we had several complaints and were told that if they had one more complaint, they would site us for violating the sound ordinance. So far, after having a cockerel that crows for the last ten months or so, we've not had a single complaint so far. Knock on wood... Pretty ironic, if you ask me.

Not sure about the bill, but it passed the Senate with flying colors. I think it was 29-1. That's a very, very strong sign to send to the House.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Twinklin - I love the fence/barricade ideas you have created. I may copy the idea for the same reasons: Poopy porch and raised bed raiding. Thanks for the ideas. I am sooooo excite that Our BA has finally gone back to laying (as of yesterday) after her ugly molt.

Several months with only one layer. I thought I would go into withdrawals if my RIR ever decided to take a break. Am breathing a sigh of relief now.

Update on the rabbits: They are 3 months old now and 5lbs. They are on target to be very good breeders. Still thinking about what type of buck I want to add when they are old enough for breeding. Now am just enjoying them running around the yard with the chickens. Every once in a while one of the bunnies gets bold and climbs the ramp into the hen's laying quarters. You would think there is a massacre going on. I have to get that sound on video one day. Needless to say, the bunny doesn't stay in there long. It's pretty funny. Other than that, they share the yard just fine. Peace to all - enjoy the weather this weekend.

 

[Ivytwilight]

So, my young birds are spending their second night out in their new coop. I went out to lock them up tonight, and heard a bunch of shuffling. This is what I found. I don't think they have the hang of it yet.

I tried to tell them it was a nesting box and not a sleeping box, but the Blue Ameraucanas didn't seem to care. They never do listen.

Five of them managed to squeeze in, leaving only the splash with the rest below. I guess I should just be happy they put themselves to bed tonight. Last night I had to drag them out from under the coop, and put them INSIDE one by one. They are getting closer every night! I thought it was very cute of them. Cute, but incorrect. I find it strange they nap on the roost, but won't sleep on it yet. Silly chickens. It made me smile.

 

[desertmarcy]

Ain't that the truth?!? When we had our dogs, we had several complaints and were told that if they had one more complaint, they would site us for violating the sound ordinance. So far, after having a cockerel that crows for the last ten months or so, we've not had a single complaint so far. Knock on wood... Pretty ironic, if you ask me.

Not sure about the bill, but it passed the Senate with flying colors. I think it was 29-1. That's a very, very strong sign to send to the House.

My neighbor has a dog across the street from me that bark-bark-barks a lot. If I walk up the street to my mailbox and back, I have to listen to this dog barking at me the whole time. It's not like I am close to their house, we are zoned one house to 3.3 acres minimum. I find barking dogs MUCH more annoying than roosters crowing. I am not going to complain about their dog since I don't want them complaining about my roosters and my macaw who lives outside and likes to scream at the top of his lungs. Have to say though, the parrot was here years and years before they were.

 

[desertmarcy]

So, my young birds are spending their second night out in their new coop. I went out to lock them up tonight, and heard a bunch of shuffling. This is what I found. I don't think they have the hang of it yet.

I tried to tell them it was a nesting box and not a sleeping box, but the Blue Ameraucanas didn't seem to care. They never do listen.

Five of them managed to squeeze in, leaving only the splash with the rest below. I guess I should just be happy they put themselves to bed tonight. Last night I had to drag them out from under the coop, and put them INSIDE one by one. They are getting closer every night! I thought it was very cute of them. Cute, but incorrect. I find it strange they nap on the roost, but won't sleep on it yet. Silly chickens. It made me smile.

Go out after dark and put them where you want them. Over and over if necessary. Chickens are creatures of habit and the sooner they learn not to sleep in the nest box, the better. Otherwise they will continue to do that and they will poop in the nest box. You don't want that. Years ago, we got so tired of that and the hens wouldn't quit sleeping in the nest boxes, so I cut two boards to fit across the front and some wing nuts to hold in place. Every evening, put the boards up and then take down in the morning so they could go in and lay. It was a PITA. Of course my chickens now don't do that, ever

ha, ha, they are standard bred chickens, not hatchery stock, so they know better

 

[Ivytwilight]

Go out after dark and put them where you want them. Over and over if necessary. Chickens are creatures of habit and the sooner they learn not to sleep in the nest box, the better. Otherwise they will continue to do that and they will poop in the nest box. You don't want that. Years ago, we got so tired of that and the hens wouldn't quit sleeping in the nest boxes, so I cut two boards to fit across the front and some wing nuts to hold in place. Every evening, put the boards up and then take down in the morning so they could go in and lay. It was a PITA. Of course my chickens now don't do that, ever

ha, ha, they are standard bred chickens, not hatchery stock, so they know better

If they want to sleep in the box, I don't particularly mind. I clean out the coop every day anyhow. I just put it up because I thought it was adorkable, a precious moment. My other hens did the same thing, but once they were larger moved to the roost. We will see. Most of the Blue Ameraucanas won't be staying anyway, we only plan to keep 4 to 6 at the most of the straight run 12 we got. We already rehomed a very pretty French Black Copper Maran cockerel. You breed Spangled Russian Orloffs, yes? I know it takes quite awhile to tell the boys from the girls? How long does it usually take? Do I just wait until they start crowing? I have three and have a suspicion two of the three are cockerels . Which makes me sad since they were the breed I truly wanted. The others were my husbands choice. Isn't it always the way of it? Any helpful hints for telling the boys from the girls?


Excuse the poo, they were helping us add the final touches to the run/coop, and by help I mean pooing every and anywhere. The orloff in the front is my favorite of all the chicks, but the chicken novice me thinks he is totally a cockerel The breed has a very upright posture anyhow, but this guy stands very vertical all the time, has since the moment we brought them home, and is always the first one to call out a warning.

 

[Demosthine]

Twinklin - I love the fence/barricade ideas you have created. I may copy the idea for the same reasons: Poopy porch and raised bed raiding. Thanks for the ideas. I am sooooo excite that Our BA has finally gone back to laying (as of yesterday) after her ugly molt.

Several months with only one layer. I thought I would go into withdrawals if my RIR ever decided to take a break. Am breathing a sigh of relief now.

Update on the rabbits: They are 3 months old now and 5lbs. They are on target to be very good breeders. Still thinking about what type of buck I want to add when they are old enough for breeding. Now am just enjoying them running around the yard with the chickens. Every once in a while one of the bunnies gets bold and climbs the ramp into the hen's laying quarters. You would think there is a massacre going on. I have to get that sound on video one day. Needless to say, the bunny doesn't stay in there long. It's pretty funny. Other than that, they share the yard just fine. Peace to all - enjoy the weather this weekend.

How much do yours interact? Mine are like best friends, it's just so amazing! They'll even prune each other. At first, I thought the hen was picking on the little rabbit, but then when the rabbit didn't move and it continued, I figured it's just grooming. They do it on a regular basis, too. And then to make it more interesting, the rabbits share the chicken food. Thankfully, I get the basic Start/Grow blend from Big Sky, so there isn't a giant calcium content like the Layer blend. I was comparing the guaranteed analysis and they were so close, I'm comfortable sharing. They love the fermented feed, though. Never thought that would happen.

When we accidentally found the first litter, the nest was in the chickens' nesting box and they seemed perfectly content all around. The chickens were roosting in there every night for at least a week with them and had full access to the coop during the day. The problem only occurred about a week later when I relocated them. That's when five of the eight disappeared. Gotta wonder if the chickens were protecting those babies, too. We just found three new additions to the free-rangers a few days ago. Came home from a doctor's appointment and I noticed a little Oreo looking baby going to town on the tree trimmings I put out there. After an hour long search, I found two more. Not a great sized litter, but considering I practically don't put any money in to them, it's fine by me. Here's photos of the new ones...

Oreo and Snickerdoodle


Blondie​

Blondie may be the runt of the litter, or it just may be the only male. The female rabbits tend to be larger than the males, so it's possible the first two are both females. I haven't attempted to sex them yet. To be honest, since this litter is definitely for food, it doesn't matter either way. The others have grown quite well, too. I have one male from the first litter and I'm thinking he'll be processed with this second litter. Not bad payback considering I've spent a total of about $15 on one bag of pellets of which there's still 1/4 bag left, plus one large mineral lick. I don't think the other four will be old enough to breed before the heat of summer gets here, so it'll probably be fall before we have any more.