Arizona Chickens

[moms3cuties]

so we did not even know she had hatched. What is happening is we have a big pen of mostly Ameraucanas. My first new flock I started with last year. We had a blue Ameraucana go broody and hatch out out 4/7 eggs. We finally put a cage around her after she started hatching out chicks so she could keep track of them better. Those chicks could come and go out of their dog crate in the coop as they wanted and none of our other hens bothered them. We soon removed the crate and mom and the littles have been running around just fine with not a one of the four getting hurt.

Then I had 4 more Ameraucanas and a crested go broody in the bottom 2 nest boxes. all the hens lay in these two nest boxes and we wrote the dates on the eggs and let the hens set them. There did not seem to be any issues (other than trying to collect the fresh laid eggs from the other hens) until chicks started hatching. we noticed one pipped and I went out the next am and it was squished. that happened again 2 more times and then a shrink wrapped chick. 

I got upset and decided to put the dog crate around the bottom 2 nest boxes thinking the other chickens coming in laying their eggs was upsetting the broodies and they were squishing the chicks tying to protect them. we also kicked 2 hens out. well they hatched out 2 chicks that night no issues. they are beautiful. one day after that my son left the door open and all 5 broodies were back in the nest box and I thought it would be ok since no other hens could get in there. 

There is no where a chick or hen can get their head stuck that we can find. I think one of the broodies attacked the chick because there are already 2 chicks and maybe it thought it was protecting the others? I feel like this is my fault.
This is our first experience with broodies (since I became an adult). 

well now we have evicted permanently 3 broodies and so now we have 1 hen in ea nest and the 2 chicks go back and forth in between them. 

As for Momba the chick she is doing good. eating and drinking and very vocal, I think because she cannot see. It seems just to be her fluff off her head and it did not break the skin. her eyes are pasted shut though. she did seem to seep, not bleed really just seep blood but that is done now too. I am watching her closely. I am not sure if she  will be blind or not. 

I think this explains it. It makes me feel like a horrible chicken mama.

, I'm sorry! You'll do great! You can't always be with them 24x7.

 

[Arizona Son]

@moms3cuties I love your set-up. How high do they go up into the trees? When we're at our future place, I'm considering building their run around a tree of some type that they can roost in. I like the idea of them doing whatever they want. I don't use a coop anymore but I do have a run for them to be safe in at night. Is that what that netting is for ?

they actually go fairly high into the peach tree, so they go about,,,, I'm going to say six feet but then the branch drops down to ...maybe about five foot five with 2 to 3 EE hen's per branch. My younger Road Island Red & White Leghorn (5 months old) go about 6.5 to 7 feet up in the air into the same tree. *Keep in mind I started bringing my hens up there when they were about 4 months old to teach them to get the way from predators and where to sleep at night.

..the green netting is where I started to build (kind of )a area around the peach tree,, extended out,, so if I needed to keep them off the grass while I was planting something in the gardens or adding more the dicondra seed; then they might honored that green plastic netting and stay on that side, under the peach tree. But its not completed as of yet, as I do this myself! I'll get you a few more pics

The problem with allowing your birds to roost in the trees at night, is nocturnal predators like owls and bobcats or even feral domestic housecats. You will NOT know the predators are around until you start having birds come up missing. They hunt silently, while you and your chickens are fast asleep. Barn owls are very effective & strong hunters, and can easily carry away the biggest baddest rooster you have! DO NOT underestimate Owls, they kill for a living every single day or they dont eat. And more often when they are raising young themselves. It is nearly impossible to prevent them from entering your yard and enjoying the All-You-Can-Eat Chicken Buffet. Once they have feasted upon fresh chicken on your property, you can rest assured they will return there again & again until their food source is exhausted. Unless you entirely enclose the tree's canopy with a netting of some sort, you will be hard pressed to keep out owls. I have experienced severe losses due to night time raids by Owls (and occasionally a feral cat). Now I keep all my valuable birds cooped at night. Just my 2 cents

 

[K9Dave]

Would all depend on geography I guess.

I just want to use the tree for natural shade mainly. Guess you could throw a big military type net over the tree. Then you could have all kinds of birds in there. Hmmm. Idea. The run will be made if iron so falling branches should to be a problem during storms and stuff.



The problem with allowing your birds to roost in the trees at night, is nocturnal predators like owls and bobcats or even feral domestic housecats. You will NOT know the predators are around until you start having birds come up missing. They hunt silently, while you and your chickens are fast asleep. Barn owls are very effective & strong hunters, and can easily carry away the biggest baddest rooster you have! DO NOT underestimate Owls, they kill for a living every single day or they dont eat. And more often when they are raising young themselves. It is nearly impossible to prevent them from entering your yard and enjoying the All-You-Can-Eat Chicken Buffet. Once they have feasted upon fresh chicken on your property, you can rest assured they will return there again & again until their food source is exhausted. Unless you entirely enclose the tree's canopy with a netting of some sort, you will be hard pressed to keep out owls. I have experienced severe losses due to night time raids by Owls (and occasionally a feral cat). Now I keep all my valuable birds cooped at night. Just my 2 cents

 

[kacklinkelly]

I spent all of my teen years on a Juvenile Youth Ranch in Texas. I know what you deal with and poor you working with Hell-ions like me. Lol.

@moms3cuties I love your set-up. How high do they go up into the trees? When we're at our future place, I'm considering building their run around a tree of some type that they can roost in. I like the idea of them doing whatever they want. I don't use a coop anymore but I do have a run for them to be safe in at night. Is that what that netting is for ?

K9Dave - You made me laugh! I've been doing this kind of work for many years. While some days are better than others, I absolutely love working with these kids. They keep me on my toes. Every so often, I learn something new. They make me laugh every day and once in a while one of them will tell me that something I said or did made a difference. At this point in my life, That's better than any bonus I've recieved.

If I may, one of my favorite stories is about a girl with a very tough upbringing who couldn't stand me at first. I guess I grew on her over time because... There was a new student who arrived and was being particularly "hell-ion like" with me. The 1st girl piped up saying, "Ms. Kelly might be too old to go to jail but I'm not, so you better treat her with respect".

All I could do was laugh out loud and it totally de-escalated the situation. Thanks for letting me share.

 

[Syl in Tucson]

That made me chuckle.  I often think similarly about humans mating.  I work with disadvantaged teens who often times don't have parents or grandparents they can count on or look up to.  

I am a cantankerous person by nature. You would think this would keep me safe....for the past 29 years I have been the recipiant of many an errant child. Why people think this is a good idea, I will never know. I have never gotten a child from the state, but through the church and word of mouth. I've taken in more than one child or dog in the middle of the night. I can't count the number of dogs or cats or horses, but there have been 21 foster children. I have a small house. Funds are always tight. I make them do chores. I MAKE them behave. I scold them, reprimand them. I'm a slave driver. I made them go to church, volunteer, go to bed on time, and dress like a respectable human being. And on the inside I might cry for them, because their life is crap, but I wouldn't ever tell them that. I tell them if they don't like their life...fix it. They have choices.

 

[Syl in Tucson]

Wow. That came out harsher than I meant.
But I am a cantankerous person. It doesn't work for all kids, but most of the kids I've had responded well to my husband and I. He was a correctional officer for 20 years and I worked with animals. You could say we both worked with animals.
Anyway, we are both retired now. Emphasis on tired. And I just got a call from my son about a child that's needs someplace to go. It never ends. People make me mad. I prefer chickens.

 

[maryhysong]

I am a cantankerous person by nature. You would think this would keep me safe....for the past 29 years I have been the recipiant of many an errant child. Why people think this is a good idea, I will never know. I have never gotten a child from the state, but through the church and word of mouth. I've taken in more than one child or dog in the middle of the night. I can't count the number of dogs or cats or horses, but there have been 21 foster children. I have a small house. Funds are always tight. I make them do chores. I MAKE them behave. I scold them, reprimand them. I'm a slave driver. I made them go to church, volunteer, go to bed on time, and dress like a respectable human being. And on the inside I might cry for them, because their life is crap, but I wouldn't ever tell them that. I tell them if they don't like their life...fix it. They have choices.

How wonderful you have opened your home and heart 21+ times to those in need. Your place might have been the first place they ever had discipline, rules, boundaries and routines. I'm sure that some of what you taught them has stuck with at least some of them and hopefully helped them make better choices and have a better life down the road. Bless you.

 

[Syl in Tucson]

Thank you Mary.

 

[pdx2phx]

So glad to have you back..

This is another reason that we love our ducks..

They are not as mean...

Thanks! I lurk.....most of the time. I joined the GA thread but just don't find the right mix there. I really like the mix of AZ peeps...useful information, interesting stories and good times. Miss you guys!

Hope the little chick turns out ok. I only have the one hen that has a mean streak, and it's only when she has chicks. (We don't let her brood/hatch any more). We keep debating on the ducks...I keep thinking yes...then no.. Can't decide

 

[pdx2phx]

Quote:
I felt horrible too. You just can't prevent all of the 'bad' things from happening....no matter how careful you are accidents happen & animals sometimes act in unexpected ways.

I hope your wee one gets better. You may want to try a tepid damp cloth on the eyelids to break up some of the goo on the chick's eyelids. Maybe it will be able to see (or maybe it won't) but at least you'll hopefully have more of an idea what's happening with the chick.

Do you have more pics?