Arizona Chickens

[cyborg]

Arizona chickens - I am in Tucson. Have 7 chickens 3 BO, 2 EE, 2 Cali White - keeping them cool has been a challenge in the 117 scorchers.. but they made it.
"it's a dry heat"  I have questions about having a roo in the flock...   Wondering if I have one and he is not too mean.. does having one inspire the girls to lay more?
then if so do I need to candle all the eggs?

Depends on what you want to do with the eggs. If you are just eating them, you don't need a rooster. Adding a rooster can give you more problems, like tearing feathers off the head, neck, and back of the hens. Also, if you are in town, roosters are a no-no according to the recently passed zoning laws. I don't believe just having a rooster will increase the hens laying productivity.
If you plan on hatching the eggs, you definitely need a rooster.

BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[FeatherPugs]

Arizona chickens - I am in Tucson. Have 7 chickens 3 BO, 2 EE, 2 Cali White - keeping them cool has been a challenge in the 117 scorchers.. but they made it.
"it's a dry heat" I have questions about having a roo in the flock... Wondering if I have one and he is not too mean.. does having one inspire the girls to lay more?
then if so do I need to candle all the eggs?

Welcome!! We have a number of folks in Tucson! A rooster will not inspire your girls to lay more. They lay one egg a day - except in the horrid heat - and a roo won't make them lay two. Should you get a roo there is not need to candle the eggs unless you are hatching. There is no problem with eating eggs that have been fertilized and you probably gather daily like most of us so there would not be time for anything to "grow". I personally like to keep my flock roosterless. My choice only.

 

[ejcrist]

Welcome!! We have a number of folks in Tucson! A rooster will not inspire your girls to lay more. They lay one egg a day - except in the horrid heat - and a roo won't make them lay two. Should you get a roo there is not need to candle the eggs unless you are hatching. There is no problem with eating eggs that have been fertilized and you probably gather daily like most of us so there would not be time for anything to "grow". I personally like to keep my flock roosterless. My choice only.

Ya know something FeatherPugs, I sometimes wonder about a rooster possibly inspiring the gals to lay more myself. I'm still very much a greenhorn so take this with a grain of salt, but I just got my fellow (Hoss) last Sunday and we seem to be getting more eggs since then. I know it sounds nuts but we were getting 21-22 from 25 birds every day just before the heatwave hit a few weeks ago. Then it dropped off to 15-16 until last Sunday, and now we're back up to 21-22 and it hasn't gotten any cooler. So I don't know, maybe it's just a coincidence but they sure seem to be laying more. They certainly seem a lot more lively and happier but maybe I'm just imagining things.

 

[MagicChicken]

Arizona chickens - I am in Tucson. Have 7 chickens 3 BO, 2 EE, 2 Cali White - keeping them cool has been a challenge in the 117 scorchers.. but they made it.
"it's a dry heat" I have questions about having a roo in the flock... Wondering if I have one and he is not too mean.. does having one inspire the girls to lay more?
then if so do I need to candle all the eggs?

If you are inside the Tucson city limits you can't have a rooster so it's a non-issue.

If you are outside the city limits and you are not in a subdivision with restrictions prohibiting roosters, then roosters are an option. If your hens are confined to a small area a rooster may cause more problems than he solves. But if you let your hens out for most of the day a GOOD rooster can be helpful. "Good" meaning he is respectful around people, and he takes care of the hens - finds and calls them to yummy tidbits, lets them eat first, keeps an eye out for predators, keeps track of their location, and breaks up hen-fights. Good roosters are awesome. Mean ones are stew.

Roosters will often cause some damage to the hens' back feathers. I will put up with some rooster-related feather loss but I won't tolerate a rooster who tears the hens' skin. A few months ago I ate a rooster who had taken best of breed at a local show. He tore up several hens in his pen. None of the hens liked him (which may be why they got torn up - they struggled to get away from him.) He became a tasty soup.

Fertile eggs won't develop unless they're at a specific temperature. That is why the chicks all hatch at the same time. The hen lays for several days, builds up a clutch of eggs, and the eggs don't start developing until she starts to sit on them. Then they all develop at the same time, and hatch at the same time. So pick up the eggs every day and refrigerate them if you plan to eat them. No need to candle.

 

[twinsmom6]

thanks so much featherpugs.. I have young girls but one is questionably a roo.. so my question was really if it is and I keep him do I need to candle eggs.. But you answered it.. gathering daily so no problem. Thank you. New chicken owner.. I do want to keep the flock together and live out of city limits so no problem with the ordinances etc.. just heard they are mean.

 

[twinsmom6]

thanks magicchicken.. very helpful all of you thanks

 

[DesertChic]

Ya know something FeatherPugs, I sometimes wonder about a rooster possibly inspiring the gals to lay more myself. I'm still very much a greenhorn so take this with a grain of salt, but I just got my fellow (Hoss) last Sunday and we seem to be getting more eggs since then. I know it sounds nuts but we were getting 21-22 from 25 birds every day just before the heatwave hit a few weeks ago. Then it dropped off to 15-16 until last Sunday, and now we're back up to 21-22 and it hasn't gotten any cooler. So I don't know, maybe it's just a coincidence but they sure seem to be laying more. They certainly seem a lot more lively and happier but maybe I'm just imagining things.

Everything that has been said here about rooster vs non-rooster rings true when the hens are fairly or completely confined. The ONLY exception may occur when the birds free range or at least have a much larger territory to roam about in. Although I have runs in which I can completely confine my birds, the majority of them roam about freely on about 1/2 - 3/4 of an acre, and I've noticed that all of my girls have always shown a preference to having at least one rooster watching over them. A very good, very dedicated rooster will always keep a wary eye out for predators and instantly sounds the alarm if anything seems awry. I've seen this happen hundreds of times. The hens will blithely go about their business, knowing full well that they're being protected. When there's danger, not only will the hens run to the rooster on command, but with more than one rooster the boys actually work together to rush the girls to safety. There is a peace of mind that comes with this that allows the hens to feel less stressed and therefore more comfortable about laying eggs. I even have one group of hens that simply refuses to be separate from a rooster. He escorts them to the nesting boxes and remains with them until they're all done laying, and then they roam about the yard as a very tight-knit little group. But again...this may only be relevant for birds that aren't really confined.

As far as your production fluctuations...I experienced the same thing and I've got lots of roosters. I think the heat just came on so overwhelmingly that the birds didn't have time to adapt. Now that monsoons have begun my egg production has increased again....along with the number of hens turning broody again.

 

[FFFAviaries]

In response to an older post about keeping chickens cool in the Arizona heat:

Another fun trick is to take a corn cob and freeze it. Then they have something to peck at during the day, but it also helps cool them down.

I make sure that all of my birds have water bowls that they can walk through. It means you have to change the water daily, sometimes more depending on how much they use the water bowl to cool off, but giving them something to get into helps a lot as well.

 

[DesertChic]

In response to an older post about keeping chickens cool in the Arizona heat:

Another fun trick is to take a corn cob and freeze it. Then they have something to peck at during the day, but it also helps cool them down.

I make sure that all of my birds have water bowls that they can walk through. It means you have to change the water daily, sometimes more depending on how much they use the water bowl to cool off, but giving them something to get into helps a lot as well.

Corn raises their body temperature, so maybe that's not the best choice of frozen treat.

 

[FFFAviaries]

Corn raises their body temperature, so maybe that's not the best choice of frozen treat.

If you only give a little, when still frozen, it won't raise their body heat significantly. The biggest thing to worry about with corn is that it isn't necessarily a healthy option and, in large quantities, detracts from feather condition. Also, I know there is a lot of debate about corn and body temp. Based on all of the research I've done, most studies show that corn will only raise the body temperature of the chicken when the corn has been dried. Fresh corn, however, did not seem to have an impact. I'm not positive, and clearly there is debate, so I would agree frozen corn should be monitored when giving it to your birds.

Watermelon still remains one of the better options for treats. I usually cut one into a few pieces and come back later for the rind. And nothing makes up for providing shade and some water to walk though.