Arizona Chickens

[cyborg]

I have some welsummers that love eating ficus tree leaves, does anyone know if that is bad for them? Does anyone have good plants for their chickens to munch on that grows well here in the heat? I would love to have a chicken run garden.

I grow buckwheat and BOSS, and I'm planting alfalfa and clover as soon as the first monsoon storm hits.

 

[ejcrist]

Oh yeah! I was getting 3 dozen per day, dropped down as low as 18, and have been vacillating between 22-30. The egg size has also gotten smaller for several of my girls.

Thanks Desert Chick - I figured that would be the case but I didn't see it first hand yet as I'm still new to this game. I'll tell ya though, I've learned more valuable information from raising my flock in the 6 months I've had them than I probably learned in a decade of going to college. You learn a lot about animals when you tend to them everyday.

 

[ejcrist]

I grow buckwheat and BOSS, and I'm planting alfalfa and clover as soon as the first monsoon storm hits.

The alfalfa works really good. I grow Ameristad 901TS which is bred for the arid southwest. You can get it at Hearne Seed online (http://hearneseed.com/ameristand-901ts-alfalfa/).

 

[FeatherPugs]

I grow buckwheat and BOSS, and I'm planting alfalfa and clover as soon as the first monsoon storm hits.

Where do you get your buckwheat, Alfalfa and clover?? I'd like something smaller than 100 lb bags!!

 

[cyborg]

 
I grow buckwheat and BOSS, and I'm planting alfalfa and clover as soon as the first monsoon storm hits.

Where do you get your buckwheat, Alfalfa and clover??  I'd like something smaller than 100 lb bags!!  

Mine is from the Amazon, and delivered to my door.

Seriously, you can get quantities as small as one pound, or 5, 10, 25 pound packages. I'm only doing a half acre in alfalfa, buckwheat, and clover mixed (chicken heaven) so I buy 5 pound packages.

 

[ejcrist]

Where do you get your buckwheat, Alfalfa and clover?? I'd like something smaller than 100 lb bags!!

There's a bunch of places you can get small quantities. I don't have my seed sources list with me at the moment but one that comes to mind is Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in California (https://www.groworganic.com/). I order a lot of stuff from them. Then there's Hearne Seed, Hancock Seed, Burpee, Territorial Seed, etc.

Alfalfa is a perennial so you can cut and use as you need it, or there are a lot of cover crops you can grow over garden beds that are not being used. For winter medic is an excellent clover to grow. It's very drought tolerant and widely grown as a cover crop in arid parts of Africa and the Middle East. It'll self re-seed like buckwheat if you don't till it in before it flowers. Another really good perennial/biennial is yellow clover. The seeds are cheap and it is also extremely drought tolerant.

 

[cyborg]

 
Where do you get your buckwheat, Alfalfa and clover??  I'd like something smaller than 100 lb bags!!  

There's a bunch of places you can get small quantities. I don't have my seed sources list with me at the moment but one that comes to mind is Peaceful Valley Farm Supply in California (https://www.groworganic.com/). I order a lot of stuff from them. Then there's Hearne Seed, Hancock Seed, Burpee, Territorial Seed, etc.

Alfalfa is a perennial so you can cut and use as you need it, or there are a lot of cover crops you can grow over garden beds that are not being used. For winter medic is an excellent clover to grow. It's very drought tolerant and widely grown as a cover crop in arid parts of Africa and the Middle East. It'll self re-seed like buckwheat if you don't till it in before it flowers. Another really good perennial/biennial is yellow clover. The seeds are cheap and it is also extremely drought tolerant. 

I buy a lot of stuff from Peaceful Valley (fruit trees, garlic, tomatoes, chili's, etc.), but every time I've ordered from them, they screw up my order, and it usually takes a week or two to get it straightened out. Too bad, because they have a lot of stuff I want, but now I tend to order from them only as a last resort. I did get an order of mason bees from them that established well, and are still going strong.

 

[DesertChic]

Thanks Desert Chick - I figured that would be the case but I didn't see it first hand yet as I'm still new to this game. I'll tell ya though, I've learned more valuable information from raising my flock in the 6 months I've had them than I probably learned in a decade of going to college. You learn a lot about animals when you tend to them everyday.

That's the truth! When I initially told my husband I'd like to have "a few" chickens for eggs, he went out and bought me a lovely small coop, but I knew nothing about chickens. For two years I ordered and read every book I could get my hands on about chickens and poultry husbandry and finally settles on the breeds I wanted to try out. He wanted me to get 4-6 chicks to start with. I got 12, of three different breeds...Silkies for their broodiness (and because they're so darn cute), Australorps because they're great egg layers and are purported to handle the heat well, and Barred Rocks because they're an American standard. For the first several months I was terrified I would inadvertently kill my chickens, but I didn't. Instead I learned so much and had a great time doing it. Now....well, I have 80 chickens right now.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

chickens legit DESTROY clover in about 10 seconds flat... my mom didn't appreciate it much XD but if its meant for eating, they will probably love it. Pomegranate, when available, is a great treat as well.

 

[cyborg]

chickens legit DESTROY clover in about 10 seconds flat... my mom didn't appreciate it much XD but if its meant for eating, they will probably love it. Pomegranate, when available, is a great treat as well.

Yes, I'm fencing off a half acre expressly for feeding the chickens. Clover, buckwheat, BOSS, alfalfa, and whatever weeds come up with it. I already have quite a bit of what I think is wild mustard, and the chickens love it.