Arizona Chickens

[LadyKotaDoria]

Geese are good watch dogs.

 

[kevs-chickadees]

Not as long as your coop is 6' or under, and a certain (low) sq footage. That's for chickens. Not sure how it works for other small farm animals.

I'm not sure about existing coops that don't meet the old or new standards. I think I heard Adam say something like, "it's not a problem till someone complains..." so, hopefully all of our neighbors are cool beans. Grump, grump. I mean, I understand I chose to live in the city, therefore I should expect not to have 6 horses, a cow, a few goats and a llama on my small lot, but for crispies sake...did you know you're supposed to get a permit to replace your water heater? Talk about over-regulation.

Silly isn't it? Not just water heaters either. Toilets are suppose to require a permit too and here in the valley any plumbing item that is changed out is suppose to be permitted. I don't know of anyone who does it, its basically a way the city tries to get into everyone's business and generate more income to blow on something else; like silly laws to regulate chickens.

I'm not sure if the scam big box stores still require it as one of their items or not, getting to hard for them to compete that way. I do know here that any city official who happens to drive by a house and see say a water heater for example can call the office to see if a permit has been pulled and then cause problems if it hasn't. Usually they don't last longer than an hour before some one has picked the unwanted one up to take it to the scrap yard.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Might be a good idea to document the animal shelters you have already, so you can demonstrate that they pre-dated the new regs. That is assuming the current structures are not in violation of current zoning rules. Just a thought.

Good idea! I have a folder full of pics of the construction, all dated.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Geese are loud, so maybe that is why they are not allowed.

Someone in my hood used to have geese. Heard them all the time. Definitely loud birds.

 

[pipemum]

I'm really worried about my little grey girl. She's still getting picked on. I've separated her, separated the bullies...they come back together and she still gets harassed. She's actually starting to lose weight. She sleeps alone on a perch outside of the coop, poor thing.

It's 3 hens that are bullying her...the worst is the marans, but the 2 barred rocks are also in on it. I don't want to start over with a new flock--I have 5 hens, so getting rid of 3 is a big deal. I don't want to give away grey girl either. I'm not really sure what to do. This has been going on for at least 6 weeks and doesn't seem to be getting better.

I processed two of the cockerels last night. 4 left. These dudes had testes the size of their hearts.

I woke in a panic at 1am thinking, "omg, what if those were kidneys and they are enlarged from lack of water????" (I obviously have issues with those water cups,lol). I had to rush to the computer to google I had the body parts correct. Yep, huge balls.

 

[pipemum]

Also, my EE is still laying wonky eggs. Most are broken under the coop perch, like they are just dropping from her body unawares. What the heck? I miss her blue eggs! Otherwise, she seems totally healthy. She's the only one that is sweet to my grey girl.

 

[pipemum]

Regarding my grey girl and the bullying. Here's what I've done: For the flock, protein levels good, calcium available, diet is up to par. When I'm around, I establish my dominance and "peck" the bullies when they go after grey girl, or anything else. Occasionally I've waited until dusk and then put grey girl in the roost, flicked down any aggressive advances towards her till everyone settles (I don't do this often as I have humans to attend to at dusk...). I just discovered that she's been sleeping alone in the run. Have separated bully from bullied for several days, a few times, with no change in behavior. Is there anything I'm missing? Oh, I did check for poultry ticks last night, in case irritation was causing all the bullying. No ticks, but I'll check again for the next few nights. Anything I'm missing in dealing with the bully/bullied?

The hens were all raised together...the bullying started when grey raised this last batch of meaties. Grey girl is a bantam, the other hens are full-sized. Would it help if I got another bantam or two? Or is it best if I rehomed the little one? I really can't let the situation work itself out...it's been weeks and weeks and she's losing weight.

 

[City farm]

Oh, hi peoples! Been awhile!

Hi!!! We have missed you..

 

[City farm]

I just waded through part of the draft, and it does say a max of 8 chickens, and MALE FOWL are prohibited! (PG 32). There are some provisions for getting permission for larger numbers, but don't hold your breath. That lot in Avra Valley is starting to look better!

Some but not all enjoy the sound of a rooster..We do.. plus the benefits of having a rooster is invaluable. .

 

[Arizona Son]

Pipemum, I'm happy to give you a few bantam Cochins if you need them for a distraction. I too, have had issues where Barred Rock hens were tremendous bullies, picking on the Bantam Cochin broody hens that pre-dated the Barred Rocks in my flock! They seemed to especially pick on the hens with broods of little peeps! It was unreal! I tried everything you have tried. And I noticed the bullied hens were losing weight too. Like you have noticed, nothing worked and then I ended up losing the Barred Rocks to a middle-of-the-night predator. I think it was Karma!