Arizona Chickens

[desertmarcy]

White Leghorn is the most obvious. Her tail feathers stand crazy high and fairly straight. I get what you're saying about angle now. I'll have to check that out on the different breeds. The BO chick compared to my other two is the main difference. The little ones tail is erect and makes her look "proud" to me. Ha. Vs the older ones tails have barely began to rise.

Leghorns, 40 degrees for males, 35 for females. Orpingtons, male 25 degrees, female 15 degrees. If you got them from a feed store/hatchery, they will not look like the Standard Bred birds.
If these are just chicks, I don't think you can really tell yet what they will do as adults.

 

[Twinklin]

I use the mister from 100 deg up. I did it all last summer when the girls went out into the yard at 5 weeks or so and until Sept when it cooled down. I suspect people say they will get sick because of cocci. Warm and wet is breeding grounds for coccidiosis so if you use shavings in the run I wouldn't put the mister in there. I put ours out in the run only when the girls are locked in there which is rare and our run is sand. Otherwise I put the mister in shady spots in the grass out in the yard and I move it at least once a day as the shade moves and every day I move it a little bit to let the ground dry out.

 

[Timskins]

Looking for some advice. I started with 10 chicks last August. They started laying in January and all was fine until about 2 months ago. 1 by 1 they started eating eggs. I tried to break them but had no luck. It got to the point where they were eating every laid egg if I wasn't out there fast enough. I took 9 of them (1 wasn't eating) and put them in my grow out pen and put my new up and comers in the main coop. Now that they are in the grow out pen they are back to laying plenty of eggs and not eating them. The grow out pen has no roost or nesting boxes or anything. I had pretty much convinced myself that they were going to camp freezer but now I don't know what to do. I think the nesting boxes provided a place for them to sit and be lazy and when they got bored they started pecking eggs and eating them. The last thing I want to do is introduce this behavior to my new birds which could be laying any day now.

 

[rhondita55]

I use the mister from 100 deg up. I did it all last summer when the girls went out into the yard at 5 weeks or so and until Sept when it cooled down. I suspect people say they will get sick because of cocci. Warm and wet is breeding grounds for coccidiosis so if you use shavings in the run I wouldn't put the mister in there. I put ours out in the run only when the girls are locked in there which is rare and our run is sand. Otherwise I put the mister in shady spots in the grass out in the yard and I move it at least once a day as the shade moves and every day I move it a little bit to let the ground dry out.

we are in AJ and there really isn't much for fencing, just keeps the dog in. so I have them next to the house in a pre-made coop for 4 hens. It's just flat on the hard ground. Where the mister hits, they tend to scratch out a little dust bowl. When they are bigger we will have a little run attached. But there are lots of Hawks here, have seen BIG Coyotes walking the fence line and a Turkey Vulture even landed in the yard a few times. Close enough that I took pictures out my window of it eating a Prairie Squirrel, big red bald head.. that is 1 ugly bird.

We are renting, so won't be putting up a good fence. There is a small portion along the back of the house that has a 3' chain link, that is where the coop is. So Free Range is NOT an option.

There is a horse shade in the back with a chain link area for hay? We plan on making that area a better chicken area. The neighbors all have coops, no one free ranges. Would be chickenless the next day.

The mister is just one of those personal single nozzle misters on the end of the hose. I have it mist in the coop, but have plants on the back side that catch the mist too. The ground never gets soppy wet. I do put shavings in the roost, but that's it.

 

[mnabity]

Hi all! Well I have been out of the loop for a while because my phone(pretty much my main source for the internet) was shattered and though it was covered under insurance it takes them forever to get on the ball.

So anyway my broody decided as soon as one of the younger chickens nuzzled up to her it was time to be a momma and abandoned her eggs luckily I caught it in time (I hope

) and got them into the bator I took all other fuzzies I had in the brooder out to her and she has been a great momma to them

. As far as incubation goes today at 12:11pm officially started lockdown I candled them and saw movement in all but one but left it in there just in case. So in 4-6 days we will have chickies

My Cornish X came in early yesterday morning. I have a question, has anyone here ever dealt with or heard of people dealing with Welp Hatchery? Maybe it was just my experience but I have never heard of a large loss of chicks and I'm sure they will be courteous but I lost 17 out of an order of 100. That seems high to me. Well I need to get home, I'm using my parents computer

I am 36 and I feel like I am 14 again lol.

 

[City farm]

Good evening everyone.... I'm the other half to lil chiken. She is, of course, the better half... I have 3 barred cochins, and 2 ducks named Fish and Meatball.... Nice to meet all ya'all...

So glad you joined in!!

 

[moms3cuties]

Ugh! OK now I have a hen going broody!! What is going on here? Why are we all getting broodies in the heat of summer? Mine are hatchery production reds. I didn't think this was supposed to happen. I have 4 girls all about 8 1/2 months old, pretty regular layers with a little slow down due to the heat. A couple nights ago she decided to sleep in the nest box, I didn't think much of it since the boxes are very close to their roost. Then she started acting weird, strange clucking noises, picking at her food. We are not home all day to observe but we let them out of the run every evening. She has been coming out with her sisters to run around the lawn and have snacks, but then moseys back to the coop and starts sitting. She also comes down to have breakfast when I feed in the morning, but just picks then heads back up there.

Last night I took her off the nest, she does let me do that, and made her play out on the lawn. She stayed for a good 20 minutes then back to the nest. Our coop is in full shade all day but it is still hotter in the nest box than the run. None of my birds have yet to show signs of heat stress for which I am thankful. What is the harm in letting nature take its course and let her be broody without any eggs to sit on, or any chicks to give her? Is it crucial to break her? I know she isn't eating very much and when I picked her up she felt lighter but that could be my worrisome nature.

It is happening to all of us at this time.. It does seem that way with laying eggs, broodies ect.. They must all call eachother & plan it... We let our girls hatch out eggs & be a Moma. Our flock does not hurt the babies.. Even the 4 from @arizonachicken.. Those 4 are on their own & I think they are only 2 weeks old.. Not one of our broodies took them in under their wings.

I hope I didn't cause this broody's thing, lol...

@ City Farm, did any of your hens stop being broody once they saw the chicks?

 

[a little chiken]

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

 

[Syl in Tucson]

I hope I didn't cause this broody's thing, lol...

@ City Farm, did any of your hens stop being broody once

they saw the chicks?

Poor chickens. I remember when I went broody. Lol. Pestered my husband to no end about wanting a baby. He eventually gave in.
I'm just glad he didn't stick me in a dog cage!

 

[championsumatra]

I live close to AZ. I go to a lot of shows up there. I raise show quality blue, black, and splash sumatra's I also raise silver spangled hamburg bantams.