Arizona Chickens

[pipemum]

That makes sense that they would be naturally thinner and I'm sure they could use more food. I'll try to separate them to see if I can get the Buffs more food, maybe let them eat first. They are definitely not as high in the pecking order. It's funny I have 4 barred rocks. They are not intimidated at all by the bigger birds. They peck right back and keep on eating.

I did want to say that parasites like tapeworm wouldn't affect the whole flock. They get tapeworm from insects, and not every bug will be a carrier. The other chickens can even eat the tapeworm segments from the poo, and still won't get tapeworm that way. So yeah, it's possible to have one badly infected chicken, and the rest are a-okay.

But you probably don't have that problem. At 5-6 months they still aren't full grown, and if they are getting chased from the food...it's a good plan to give them a chance to eat without the others.

I've been putting little stashes of food here and there for the chickens on the low end of the pecking order. They can eat in peace for a bit, and if they get chased away, they can just go to the next stash of food.

 

[pipemum]

chuska, a 16lb rooster! Holy moly! That's huge.

 

[kitchenjockey]

We pick up extra baby chicks at Ace Hardware in Chandler. We've had great luck with getting hens only and they are hatched locally

 

[AZGardenFarmer]

*My babies are here. I ordered my 5 rare girls and got 10 Barred Rock babies for free. They're soo fuzzy at 3 days old.

 

[azchickens14]

OK! Here's whats all the commotion is about at my house! !! Cell pics though. ..



White Orphingtons! 5 now....2 more to go and it's only day 19 yesterday! Wow!

@ChuskaMtns Are they auto sexing? Or is the the word auto sexting?

SO CUTE!!! I love seeing baby chickens! I'm not sure how I am going to resist getting some next year

 

[ChuskaMtns]

chuska, a 16lb rooster!  Holy moly!  That's huge. 

There's a few breeders out there of English Orpingtons that have larger roosters. My blue boy is average although he does look huge compared to my Marans rooster. My Chocolate Cuckoo boy is not as big, about 12 lbs. But I think that's average for that color. He's the smallest of my English boys.
@moms3cutiesDon't be surprised if you get a frizzled Orpington. I also have a Black Frizzle pullet in the BBS pen. Just wanted you to know so you don't freak out if one of them turns up with curled up feathers.

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:
Per the APA Standard of Perfection, standard weight for an Orpington cock is 10 pounds. Regardless of color. Hens should be 8 pounds. Show birds are supposed to be disqualified if they are too far above or below the standard weight. I know that doesn't happen much because they never seem to weigh birds at shows, but if people are truly breeding to the standard they should be keeping the birds within a pound or two above the standard weight. Follow the standard, not the fad.

Edited to add: I don't know what the English standard is for Orpingtons. If you want to show them in the US they should meet the US standards.

 

[Sill]

I had to process a couple of my sister's chickens that she had dropped off today. No one was home and I didn't want to keep them longer than necessary so I dispatched the first one myself.

I did a very poor job of killing the bird, and I made it suffer needlessly.

I feel very bad that I couldn't end it's life quickly and relatively painlessly. Needless to say I waited for help with the second one. Never again will I attempt to do that with a full sized chicken.

So can anyone recommend a good killing cone? I've used an old bleach bottle before but the bird still thrashes in it and has to be held until it stops twitching. I'd like to buy or make one that is more efficient.

 

[cyborg]

I had to process a couple of my sister's chickens that she had dropped off today.  No one was home and I didn't want to keep them longer than necessary so I dispatched the first one myself.  I did a very poor job of killing the bird, and I made it suffer needlessly.   I feel very bad that I couldn't end it's life quickly and relatively painlessly.  Needless to say I waited for help with the second one.  Never again will I attempt to do that with a full sized chicken.

So can anyone recommend a good killing cone?  I've used an old bleach bottle before but the bird still thrashes in it and has to be held until it stops twitching.  I'd like to buy or make one that is more efficient.

Use an old plastic traffic cone. If necessary, you can cut the top off to make the hole larger.

 

[MrsFitzDarcy]

Hey, everyone! I know it's been awhile. I've been super busy. Anyway, I'm putting in m my last batch in the incubator for a bit. I have some extra space. Would anyone be interested in bantam black Wyandotte chicks? I cod throw some of their eggs in.

They are show/breeder quality I got from a reputable poultry breeder. They'd make excellent 4-H projects.