You can check craigslist or the buy trade sell forum on byc. I'm in Kingman will have a few chicks soon for available
Arizona Chickens
- Thread starter paynemom
- Start date
Love your icon btw would like to get some of the Cemani chicks for my paddocks
Awwe! I loved your story about finding her, what a joy!Cute little babies.........mommy wasn't too happy with any type of photo op!!
These are our "surprise" babies.......
Hey all!!! I know it's been forever and I'm going to be very long winded here so I apologize for the wall of text. I had a much harder time dealing with the loss of my ladies than I thought I would and basically separated myself from all things chicken for a while. I spent 5 months blaming myself because as many of you know those birds were my world. I'm just now getting back into the swing of things as far as cleaning up the coop and run and getting ready to build an extension onto the run. My new flock arrives next week from MPC. I'm excited but scared to death. It will be a while until they need to be outside but I'm still scared. I'm pretty confident in the security of my coop and run as long as I never forget to close the doors again. It kept them safe for a year and 1/2 until I left the darn doors open which negated any security measures we had in place.
When shut up properly there's large doors on the resin shed that have latches that would need to be pried open to get in, or the coyote would have to go in the way it did when I left the doors open which is through the run. If the run door is closed it has galvanized wire fencing on all sides including the roof and 2 ft of the wire fence skirted out around the bottom to prevent digging and once in the run it would also have to try to push in the plywood pop door. I'm seriously contemplating installing an automatic pop door too. I am also planning on changing our small flood lights on that corner of the house to have a motion sensor. I know coyotes would learn quickly that the light is just a light but it might help for a bit. I'm planning on doubling up the wire fencing on the sides of the run too. We believe now that the coyote got in the yard over the RV gate. The rest of our yard is completely surrounded by 6ft concrete block wall but the RV gate is slightly lower plus it's only one piece of wood thick so it's much easier for a coyote to grab onto the top of and pull itself over. My boyfriend claims he saw where the coyote kicked the rocks away in front of the gate when it jumped over. I'm thinking of putting coyote rollers on the gates but I know if the coyote really wanted to it could still get up on the block part of the wall and I can't really put rollers on that without ticking my neighbors off with an eyesore.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do about day time free ranging. My old girls were out all day every day until it got dark. They spent most of their time under the bushes looking for bugs or on the patio in the shade so I didn't worry too much about predators. I always knew I could lose a bird during the day, but by letting them free range I felt they were getting the best life possible. I will really hate to keep them confined full time so I'm hoping to get to the point I'm comfortable with them ranging because I know how happy my girls were out in the yard. When they're in the yard and I'm not out doing yard work I check on them very frequently and I would have the blinds open and windows cracked a little to be able to hear and see them as much as possible. I hope during the day they'd be able to protect themselves a little better than being trapped in the coop at night where the coyote got them.
I just have to keep reminding myself that it was just that one mistake that ruined everything and that if I do what I did for a year and 1/2 without making that one mistake again everything will be fine. I remember reading a while back on the MPC site on their opinion on free ranging they say
"If you allow your chickens to range freely, you WILL lose some to predators-- make no mistake. It can be devastating, especially to those of us with small, well-loved flocks. For some people, the thought of a loss is too overwhelming to consider the alternative. Once you've seen how excited your flock becomes when they know they're about to be let out, it's really difficult to deprive them. We feel that the trade-off is worth it: quality of life vs. our own devastation over a loss. We certainly don't judge those of you who just couldn't bear to lose a beloved hen or rooster, though."
Reading this is what helped me free range my birds in the first place and I still believe in it. I think I would have handled losing a single bird to a predator during the day much better than waking up to all 8 gone in the morning. Now that I've experienced a loss of the magnitude I did I think I can handle anything.
So on a happier note and to remind you guys of what I'm expecting to arrive next week here's the new breeds I chose.
1. Olive Egger
2. Blue Ameraucana
3. Salmon Faverolles
4. Golden Laced Polish
5. Silver Laced Cochin
6. Black Copper Marans
7. Blue Silkie
8. Easter Egger
9. White Sultan
Thanks if you actually read all of that <3! Writing it out helps me a little to rationalize things and make myself feel better and more secure in my decisions and abilities. Happy to be back!
When shut up properly there's large doors on the resin shed that have latches that would need to be pried open to get in, or the coyote would have to go in the way it did when I left the doors open which is through the run. If the run door is closed it has galvanized wire fencing on all sides including the roof and 2 ft of the wire fence skirted out around the bottom to prevent digging and once in the run it would also have to try to push in the plywood pop door. I'm seriously contemplating installing an automatic pop door too. I am also planning on changing our small flood lights on that corner of the house to have a motion sensor. I know coyotes would learn quickly that the light is just a light but it might help for a bit. I'm planning on doubling up the wire fencing on the sides of the run too. We believe now that the coyote got in the yard over the RV gate. The rest of our yard is completely surrounded by 6ft concrete block wall but the RV gate is slightly lower plus it's only one piece of wood thick so it's much easier for a coyote to grab onto the top of and pull itself over. My boyfriend claims he saw where the coyote kicked the rocks away in front of the gate when it jumped over. I'm thinking of putting coyote rollers on the gates but I know if the coyote really wanted to it could still get up on the block part of the wall and I can't really put rollers on that without ticking my neighbors off with an eyesore.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do about day time free ranging. My old girls were out all day every day until it got dark. They spent most of their time under the bushes looking for bugs or on the patio in the shade so I didn't worry too much about predators. I always knew I could lose a bird during the day, but by letting them free range I felt they were getting the best life possible. I will really hate to keep them confined full time so I'm hoping to get to the point I'm comfortable with them ranging because I know how happy my girls were out in the yard. When they're in the yard and I'm not out doing yard work I check on them very frequently and I would have the blinds open and windows cracked a little to be able to hear and see them as much as possible. I hope during the day they'd be able to protect themselves a little better than being trapped in the coop at night where the coyote got them.
I just have to keep reminding myself that it was just that one mistake that ruined everything and that if I do what I did for a year and 1/2 without making that one mistake again everything will be fine. I remember reading a while back on the MPC site on their opinion on free ranging they say
"If you allow your chickens to range freely, you WILL lose some to predators-- make no mistake. It can be devastating, especially to those of us with small, well-loved flocks. For some people, the thought of a loss is too overwhelming to consider the alternative. Once you've seen how excited your flock becomes when they know they're about to be let out, it's really difficult to deprive them. We feel that the trade-off is worth it: quality of life vs. our own devastation over a loss. We certainly don't judge those of you who just couldn't bear to lose a beloved hen or rooster, though."
Reading this is what helped me free range my birds in the first place and I still believe in it. I think I would have handled losing a single bird to a predator during the day much better than waking up to all 8 gone in the morning. Now that I've experienced a loss of the magnitude I did I think I can handle anything.
So on a happier note and to remind you guys of what I'm expecting to arrive next week here's the new breeds I chose.
1. Olive Egger
2. Blue Ameraucana
3. Salmon Faverolles
4. Golden Laced Polish
5. Silver Laced Cochin
6. Black Copper Marans
7. Blue Silkie
8. Easter Egger
9. White Sultan
Thanks if you actually read all of that <3! Writing it out helps me a little to rationalize things and make myself feel better and more secure in my decisions and abilities. Happy to be back!
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wow that was a long but interesting post I did like reading it and getting to know you in the process. I applaud you for being brave and trying again. Life can deal up a bowl of lemons and it is painful and sour. Out here I don't free range to many raptor birds. I do have paddocks with no more than 9 birds in each and pick weeds and greens for them daily. Bugs find their own way into the pens. Nice choice of birds. Post photos as they grow would like to see themHey all!!! I know it's been forever and I'm going to be very long winded here so I apologize for the wall of text. I had a much harder time dealing with the loss of my ladies than I thought I would and basically separated myself from all things chicken for a while. I spent 5 months blaming myself because as many of you know those birds were my world. I'm just now getting back into the swing of things as far as cleaning up the coop and run and getting ready to build an extension onto the run. My new flock arrives next week from MPC. I'm excited but scared to death. It will be a while until they need to be outside but I'm still scared. I'm pretty confident in the security of my coop and run as long as I never forget to close the doors again. It kept them safe for a year and 1/2 until I left the darn doors open which negated any security measures we had in place.
When shut up properly there's large doors on the resin shed that have latches that would need to be pried open to get in, or the coyote would have to go in the way it did when I left the doors open which is through the run. If the run door is closed it has galvanized wire fencing on all sides including the roof and 2 ft of the wire fence skirted out around the bottom to prevent digging and once in the run it would also have to try to push in the plywood pop door. I'm seriously contemplating installing an automatic pop door too. I am also planning on changing our small flood lights on that corner of the house to have a motion sensor. I know coyotes would learn quickly that the light is just a light but it might help for a bit. I'm planning on doubling up the wire fencing on the sides of the run too. We believe now that the coyote got in the yard over the RV gate. The rest of our yard is completely surrounded by 6ft concrete block wall but the RV gate is slightly lower plus it's only one piece of wood thick so it's much easier for a coyote to grab onto the top of and pull itself over. My boyfriend claims he saw where the coyote kicked the rocks away in front of the gate when it jumped over. I'm thinking of putting coyote rollers on the gates but I know if the coyote really wanted to it could still get up on the block part of the wall and I can't really put rollers on that without ticking my neighbors off with an eyesore.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do about day time free ranging. My old girls were out all day every day until it got dark. They spent most of their time under the bushes looking for bugs or on the patio in the shade so I didn't worry too much about predators. I always knew I could lose a bird during the day, but by letting them free range I felt they were getting the best life possible. I will really hate to keep them confined full time so I'm hoping to get to the point I'm comfortable with them ranging because I know how happy my girls were out in the yard. When they're in the yard and I'm not out doing yard work I check on them very frequently and I would have the blinds open and windows cracked a little to be able to hear and see them as much as possible. I hope during the day they'd be able to protect themselves a little better than being trapped in the coop at night where the coyote got them.
I just have to keep reminding myself that it was just that one mistake that ruined everything and that if I do what I did for a year and 1/2 without making that one mistake again everything will be fine. I remember reading a while back on the MPC site on their opinion on free ranging they say
"If you allow your chickens to range freely, you WILL lose some to predators-- make no mistake. It can be devastating, especially to those of us with small, well-loved flocks. For some people, the thought of a loss is too overwhelming to consider the alternative. Once you've seen how excited your flock becomes when they know they're about to be let out, it's really difficult to deprive them. We feel that the trade-off is worth it: quality of life vs. our own devastation over a loss. We certainly don't judge those of you who just couldn't bear to lose a beloved hen or rooster, though."
Reading this is what helped me free range my birds in the first place and I still believe in it. I think I would have handled losing a single bird to a predator during the day much better than waking up to all 8 gone in the morning. Now that I've experienced a loss of the magnitude I did I think I can handle anything.
So on a happier note and to remind you guys of what I'm expecting to arrive next week here's the new breeds I chose.
1. Olive Egger
2. Blue Ameraucana
3. Salmon Faverolles
4. Golden Laced Polish
5. Silver Laced Cochin
6. Black Copper Marans
7. Blue Silkie
8. Easter Egger
9. White Sultan
Thanks if you actually read all of that <3! Writing it out helps me a little to rationalize things and make myself feel better and more secure in my decisions and abilities. Happy to be back!
Thanks! It's nice to meet you. I live in a very residential part of North Scottsdale and we see the occasional hawk but we have 15 ft Oleanders that surround almost our entire yard and they give a lot of cover to the chickens' part of the yard, and like I mentioned it is worth the risk to me. If we lived in a more rural area I'd think differently for sure. We live right next to the 101 wash and unfortunately the coyotes make their way up and down that and come into our neighborhood occasionally. We also know they live in the abandoned lot behind the Target on Frank Lloyd Wright which is close to us. Our attack happened this past Oct and heard of a lot of other people having issues with coyotes during that time. I guess they were doing some extra hunting then.
Twinklin
Yes, it would be different for us too, but we live on five acres and there are a lot of raptors. Our fence is only 4 feet so the coyotes just jump it but not to often. There are enough rabbits out here to keep them busy.
Right now I have
: Black Copper and White Marans Hatching Blue copper ordered lavender Marans
We have dark Cornish and Sexlinks, just hatched gold laced silver laced and splash Cochins
Hatching Ayam Cemani and some more black copper
On the way fly tie roos and hens and Isbars
Just bought my domain name and will start setting up my website tonight it will be called Feather Meadows. There aren't any meadows out here but I liked the name
Yes, it would be different for us too, but we live on five acres and there are a lot of raptors. Our fence is only 4 feet so the coyotes just jump it but not to often. There are enough rabbits out here to keep them busy.
Right now I have
: Black Copper and White Marans Hatching Blue copper ordered lavender Marans
We have dark Cornish and Sexlinks, just hatched gold laced silver laced and splash Cochins
Hatching Ayam Cemani and some more black copper
On the way fly tie roos and hens and Isbars
Just bought my domain name and will start setting up my website tonight it will be called Feather Meadows. There aren't any meadows out here but I liked the name
It's so good to see you getting back to raising birds Twinklin! It was nice reading your very thoughtful post about your experiences too. We'll be looking forward to meeting your new flock.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
I know that we have a local small farm breeder in Tucson and their are local pet stores that sell hatchery chicks, however check with some of those here to see if anybody has some backyard mix if you'd like that. I prefer heritage breed chickens and not from the hatchery myself. I will be going down to Tucson probably on the 8th of April if anybody want some chicks or started pullets from @desertmarcy. She is in Tucson, fyi.
In Mesa hatchery chicks are found at the Pets Clubs and Mesa Feed Barn. Mesa feed barn is locally owned. Call Tempe Tack, locally owned and nice folks, to see if they have any hatchery chicks. @City farm... may know of a breeder up in Scottsdale that may have some chicks.
Are you raising the chicks for eggs or for their meat? Are you planning to show any of them at the State Fair? When you answer some of those questions will determine whether or not you should get quality heritage bird from a breeder vs a hatchery stock bird.
@Twinklinbig hugs and welcome back!
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