Arizona Chickens

[mom-to-5]

yay another NN fan. I have 12 NN and I love them. I also have polish crested, ameraucanas in blue, black and blue wheaton, alohas, cochins, EE, silkies and a few oddballs.

I have two NN's and they are awesome!!! Best personalities and an egg a day, can't complain. My most friendly birds by far. But everyone who sees them looks at them like they are alien chickens. If you can get past the visual differences, great birds!

 

[K9Dave]

I think because I live in town & in developed area of Mesa, I have less predators then those of you that are in more rural and outlying areas. I'm sorry to hear about this this is very sad. *hugs

Correct for me as well. Too many houses backed up to each other and everyone has a dog or two so not many predators around. Cats at night but they are scared of my dogs. I've seen a great horned owl at night but the chickens are under a roof by then.

It's the only thing good about being this far into the city. Lol

 

[Syl in Tucson]

We call them "Shepinois". I worked a dog for Goodyear or Avondale, can't remember. He was a Shepinois and was like a Chihuahua in steroids. Very nasty dog when on patrol, but the handler said he was just a snuggle little bear when his 2 year old tugged at his ears and such. He had a ton of problems with him such as biting handler during a competition and biting him in the Cheif of Polices office too I think. His name was Boris. He was a Baaaaad little doggy.

Handler sent him onto a suspect in a new neighborhood under construction. Saw the dog in plain view, released the dog. The guy dips around a corner and the dog follows handler in trail. Handler gets around the corner to find Boris pulling a guy out from under his truck by his boots. He was working on his truck on a creeper. Lol. No harm done, the dog only got the boot heel.

I've been chomped on a few times. Mostly my fault. But my rules of critters are pretty clear. If you bite me for a good reason, we are even. If you bite somebody else in defense of me or my kids, you probably get a cheeseburger and a cookie. I will walk thru fire for you, if you walk thru fire for me. If you bite somebody for no reason, I will probably euthanize. If you bite one of my kids and draw blood, I will absolutely euthanize. That being said I only euthanized three bad dogs. A chow, a pit, and a chihuaha. My service dog once bit a cop. Not hard enough though. Never knew anybody so deserving of a bite. She got a cheeseburger, a cookie, and an apology. I sure did love that dog.
Btw, I'm not anti cop. (Law enforcement family). I'm anti jerk

 

[kpgoldstar]

Today's veggie harvest. I apparently missed a zucchini last week which grew into this 18" monster. It's a shame because it's my only one this week and they never taste as good when they get too big. I'll find something to do with it. Maybe if I process it with some water It'll make a decent bread. No eggs yet today. Eleanor is broody and the other girls are busy trying to stay cool.

This probably got answered in later posts but I am behind! I make lasagna with oversized squash. Just slice into thick rounds or lengthwise and use in place of pasta noodles.

 

[kpgoldstar]

Hello all! I've been reading about feeding during our hot summer months & have been feeding FF for years (happy discovery for the chickens). My question is what to feed the youngsters coming off of starter but avoiding too much calcium in their diet? I'm sure this has been covered but I can't find it. Thank you in advance & love all the helpful advice here!

I kept mine on FF starter until I got my first egg, then I switched to layer.

 

[Twinklin]

This probably got answered in later posts but I am behind! I make lasagna with oversized squash. Just slice into thick rounds or lengthwise and use in place of pasta noodles.

Thanks. Someone on Facebook suggested lasagna to me too. I'm going to have to try that. I have plenty of frozen pureed tomatoes so I'll pick up the cheese to make it tomorrow and let you know how it turned out.

 

[Stynch]

Cherry, one of our Leghorn mutts, really outdid herself today. Her normal eggs weight in at 48-50 grams, barely a medium. Today's weighed in at 71 grams, borderline jumbo!! Ouch!!!

 

[K9Dave]

I kept mine on FF starter until I got my first egg, then I switched to layer.

You're not Fermenting the layer?

 

[kpgoldstar]

You're not Fermenting the layer?

Yes, I am. Sorry that was misleading. My feed store (super duper tiny!) doesn't carry a grower feed. So we kept them on starter until we got an egg. We ferment the layer too.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
I hope you're both right!

I'm pretty sure we've had BYC members in Mesa hit by predators, but I'm not sure where they lived in relation to you. I live here in the dead center of Tucson and I can't tell you how many other people here in town I know that have been completely wiped out by predators in the past year. We regularly have coyotes in our yard and we've seen bobcats too. Last year a coyote grabbed a chicken right in front of me in broad daylight. I would feel like I let you down if I didn't point out that your birds are at some risk. Even if you don't see them, they're out there. Hopefully, you have fewer predators than we have here.