Arizona Chickens

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DesertChic said:
@Sill What about sun chokes (Jerusalem artichokes) instead of or in addition to sunflowers? I've grown them in pots and in the ground too but they do get taller if grown in the ground. They get 4-6 feet tall and are bushy. Once you plant them they come back each year by their edible rhizomes (that taste like starchy artichokes). I've got a few seed tubers if you want to try them. There are also seeds from them in the seed box. They would probably do well in raised beds too.


Sorry about the late response. Work got in the way of my "me time" this week. I actually really like sunchokes, but I'm not currently set up to try growing them. My raised beds are still filled with my winter produce and it could be a few weeks before I'm ready to start planting around the new coop/run. How late into the year can they be planted? Awesome idea! I'd never even thought about sunchokes!
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You can probably put the rhizomes in before it gets super hot. I put my originals in the ground in April and they did fine. The longer you have them in the ground the more time they have to develop next year's rhizomes however.

girlchick said:
Hi! I'm still alive and kicking. Thanks for the shout out. LOL Been busy with chickens and winter visitors here. My chickens are doing great. The Ameracauna gave me beautiful blue eggs starting last week. My BCM has been laying for about 3 weeks and she is giving me lovely dark chocolate eggs. Such fun. I have egg colors from very light tan to the very dark. I just finished wiring sun shade on the top of the run and the next project is screen doors for the coop.

I'm thinking about planting birdhouse gourds along the run and let them cover the whole thing. Anyone have hints on growing these? What sort of soil additions do I need for this sandy soil? Peat moss? Garden soil? How often to water?

I'm pretty sure "chicken math" is going to force me to incubate some eggs real soon. Just can't help myself! LOL
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Treat birdhouse gourds the same as you would any fruiting vine. They do better with afternoon shade, mulched soil. If you can add compost that will help add moisture and nutrients to the soil. Peat moss doesn't have as many benefits as compost. How often to water depends on conditions at the time. In summer probably every few days if they get all day sun, maybe less if the soil is well mulched.
 
Moved the first chicks of the year to a grow-out pen a week ago. My birds don't usually roost on their own until they are 12-14 weeks old. These chicks are barely seven weeks old and like their forebears they have been sleeping on the ground in a corner of the coop. Yesterday I rearranged some stuff in their coop. Went out after it got dark to check on them and found:



Yeah, this group is precocious. Gonna have to bolster the garden defenses before they start to free range.

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(They are Black Javas. The white bits will go away after they molt.)
 
City farm said:
Agh, the black one standing on the rock is my favorite!!!
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Mine too!

MagicChicken said:
If you have so much vinegar in the flock's water that it hurts your plants it will probably kill your chickens before the water ever gets to the plants.
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I do use apple cider vinegar in the chicks' water while they are in the brooder. Only a few drops of vinegar per quart of water. After the chicks move out of the brooder I stop using vinegar, because my big chicken waterers are galvanized metal and the acid will leach zinc out of the container into the water. That is not good for the chickens.

I don't use any other probiotics for the chicks. I use organic, non-medicated feed. And I don't immunize. If birds get seriously ill I cull them. Fortunately I have not had a major disease problem in the flock. I cannot keep wild birds out of the coop/run when the chickens are free ranging, so my chickens have to be fairly resistant to whatever they encounter. I don't cull for mild symptoms they get over in a couple of days. I do cull for problems that have a major or long-lasting impact. And I try to breed from the birds that had no symptoms at all. (This is where wing tags and leg bands come in handy.)

Be careful bringing recently vaccinated birds into an unvaccinated flock. With some live vaccines, recently vaccinated birds can infect unvaccinated birds and decimate the unvaccinated flock. Breeders in other parts of the country sometimes vaccinate for things we don't tend to have here. Do the research on different vaccines before ordering vaccinated birds (or bringing unvaccinated birds into a recently vaccinated flock.) Be prepared to properly quarantine new arrivals until any danger of disease shedding has passed.
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MaddBaggins said:
It's so relaxing to come home from a long day and sit barefooted in the backyard with a glass of home brew and watch my chickens while my daughter has Jimi Hendrix playing in the kitchen.
How's that for a run on sentence.
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Sounds good to me!
 
Hey all, I have a 13 week old gold laced wyandotte roo for sale if anyone is interested. I will post pix if anyone is. If not He will go to freezer camp in a couple months. On that note, what age does everyone recommend for butchering?
 
So only two chicks hatched out of my last batch, I'll probably be setting anouther dozen pretty soon. On Friday or Saturday I'm going to be getting five new hens, two polish and three white leghorns! They are all supposed to be laying right now
 

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