Arizona Chickens

[moms3cuties]

 


They tell me the orpingtons don't do well because they are chunky.. I am in Tucson and gets hot and dry like LH.
some heat resistant chickens I think are australorpes..  I have a rooster and hen of that breed.. but am pretty new to chicken"ing"  
we have only been through one hot summer with the girls... we found fans with misters and frozen veggie treats or frozen melon treats work well.  Cool water available and something to dip their tootsies in if that is an option.. must have good shade.. but fans are the most important.. I have found.. it was 117 F last summer

Darn, I have Orpingtons and I love them! But that makes sense because they are so fluffy. I am new to chickens as well. My obsession started last fall after my daughter joined 4H poultry. I have heard good things about Australorps and plan on getting some at some point, so that is good news! Thank you for the advice

I think your orpingtons will do fine. I got some from @ChuskaMtns ( a local breeder) and I have a lot of shade with Oleanders (which I hate) , some bamboo, sugarcane and some fruit trees. My plant drip system that waters the ground every morning an evening for the plants and trees and I just fill up a whole bunch of water containers for them to drink and step in. This year I finally added a stainless steel self-filling water pan under my sugar cane for them @Sill -- that showed me if I got really wide plant saucers and filled them with water, my chickens would step in them to cool their feet and it's works really well. I have not lost any of my 5 orpington except by a fox eating a couple my chickens.

So in a nutshell, I have a lot of natural shade for them( they are not cooped chickens), wet ground twice a day, a whole bunch of waters for them to drink from and stand in and that's all I use. Usually I only lose like an Amerucana or an Easter Egger once during the summer. I know some people will just coop their chickens at night and it will depend on where you live & the kind of predators you have. ( I live in the city) l have had mine for about 4 years with no coop, and they just Roost in my fruit trees.
It is my opinion as long as they can cool off they should be fine so, misters, fans, blocks of ice,bottles of Frozen water in their Waters is all a plus if you have the time and whereabouts to do so.... good luck to you!!

 

[Deebee123]

I think your orpingtons will do fine. I got some from @ChuskaMtns ( a local breeder) and I have a lot of shade with Oleanders (which I hate) , some bamboo, sugarcane and some fruit trees. My plant drip system that waters the ground every morning an evening for the plants and trees and I just fill up a whole bunch of water containers for them to drink and step in. This year I finally added a stainless steel self-filling water pan under my sugar cane for them @Sill -- that showed me if I got really wide plant saucers and filled them with water, my chickens would step in them to cool their feet and it's works really well. I have not lost any of my 5 orpington except by a fox eating a couple my chickens.

So in a nutshell, I have a lot of natural shade for them( they are not cooped chickens), wet ground twice a day, a whole bunch of waters for them to drink from and stand in and that's all I use. Usually I only lose like an Amerucana or an Easter Egger once during the summer. I know some people will just coop their chickens at night and it will depend on where you live & the kind of predators you have. ( I live in the city) l have had mine for about 4 years with no coop, and they just Roost in my fruit trees.
It is my opinion as long as they can cool off they should be fine so, misters, fans, blocks of ice,bottles of Frozen water in their Waters is all a plus if you have the time and whereabouts to do so.... good luck to you!!

That's good to hear! I'll do my best to keep them cooled off. We won't have many shade trees so I (my husband) will have to build a coop with a large covered run. I will try to run misters out there, frozen 2 liters, kiddie pool, anything to try to keep them cooled off. I'll just have to try my best! I can't wait to move to AZ! I am in the central valley in CA and it gets over a 100° easy in the summer, but still not as hot as Havasu! Thank you

 

[MagicChicken]

Hi all, I am planning on moving to Lake Havasu City within a year or two. In your experience are there any chicken breeds that don't do well in the extreme heat? Thank you!

If you are moving to a new area, the best thing you can do is find a local breeder with a healthy line of birds you like and work with whatever breed they have. The locally-adapted birds will be best suited to the local climate, regardless of the breed. Beware if the breeder relies heavily on artificial cooling techniques. In that case all bets are off because the birds aren't really adapted to the local climate, and the stress of a move may increase the odds of losing birds.

When I started my flock I ordered 25 chicks from Duane Urch in Minnesota. They arrived in mid January, during one of the worst freezes we have had in the 30+ years I have lived in Arizona. Those birds did fine in the Tucson heat as long as they had sufficient shade, ventilation and water.

Having healthy, hearty, well bred stock is the key. Hatchery birds are usually bred for production with little regard to breed standards. As a result the chicks are not always as hardy to environmental extremes. Sometimes you get lucky. But chick quality is typically hit or miss.

The way to get a healthy, locally adapted flock of any breed is to cull the ones that don't do well in the heat and keep the birds that are okay. There is always variation among the individual birds. You can develop a more heat-hardy line of anything if you are willing to cull heavily. Keep the vigorous birds. Don't keep the weak ones. You will eat a lot of chicken the first few years but it will be worth it.

 

[DesertChic]

Yeah I haven't gotten around to those fella's yet. And don't forget the new movies like Mal, Payden, etc., and even go back a little ways to Hondo and those. I feel like John J. Books is near (The Shootist). Yeah I guess the list is endless.

So he is a power tool - bless your heart! I was right for once. I could've swore your Monty was really Montelius but now I've been redeemed.

Galt, Taggert, and Rearden? Never heard of 'em. Who are those fellas?

Characters from my favorite book of all time, "Atlas Shrugged". I get a lot of names from my favorite literature, sometimes movies, and often from nouns that just pop into my head. I even went through a breakfast faze with Pop Tart, Lucky Charms, & Cocoa Puffs. I'm thinking Cheerios, Fruity Pebbles and Sugar Smacks need to be used for a few of their offspring.

 

[cavemanrich]

All my pets have names, and I NEVER reuse a name, so after a long time it gets challenging.
So I CHEAT...

 

[twinsmom6]

I think your orpingtons will do fine. I got some from @ChuskaMtns ( a local breeder) and I have a lot of shade with Oleanders (which I hate) , some bamboo, sugarcane and some fruit trees. My plant drip system that waters the ground every morning an evening for the plants and trees and I just fill up a whole bunch of water containers for them to drink and step in. This year I finally added a stainless steel self-filling water pan under my sugar cane for them @Sill -- that showed me if I got really wide plant saucers and filled them with water, my chickens would step in them to cool their feet and it's works really well. I have not lost any of my 5 orpington except by a fox eating a couple my chickens.

So in a nutshell, I have a lot of natural shade for them( they are not cooped chickens), wet ground twice a day, a whole bunch of waters for them to drink from and stand in and that's all I use. Usually I only lose like an Amerucana or an Easter Egger once during the summer. I know some people will just coop their chickens at night and it will depend on where you live & the kind of predators you have. ( I live in the city) l have had mine for about 4 years with no coop, and they just Roost in my fruit trees.
It is my opinion as long as they can cool off they should be fine so, misters, fans, blocks of ice,bottles of Frozen water in their Waters is all a plus if you have the time and whereabouts to do so.... good luck to you!!

I have 4 orpingtons.. and I have not lost one yet.. I read about the heat intolerance after I got them.. but I think with all these tips they will be fine.. like mine.. the knowledge and experience on this site is pretty amazing

 

[DesertChic]

Am I the only one with a broody hen in January? Am I?

 

[FeatherPugs]

Darn, I have Orpingtons and I love them! But that makes sense because they are so fluffy. I am new to chickens as well. My obsession started last fall after my daughter joined 4H poultry. I have heard good things about Australorps and plan on getting some at some point, so that is good news! Thank you for the advice

I have 3 orpis in my flock and with the cool water for their feet, misters, etc they do okay. I do watch all of them more closely when over 110 degrees because its horrid on both man and chicken. I just wanted to say don't throw them down the drain yet.

 

[FeatherPugs]

Am I the only one with a broody hen in January? Am I?

No I don't think so - I noticed a lot of "extra feathering" in one of my nests so I've been keeping an eye on it. I'm relatively sure that will lead to a broody. This year since I have a rooster, I'm going to let my broody set - I'll probably have three of them. If I give them 3/4 eggs each that should boost my flock of 4/5/6 year old girls! I have a flock of 25 with the rooster. I have very few who are in their first or second year. AND I'd like to add 3 or 4 Naked Necks!! So I'll be culling a few come March or so...........

 

[DesertChic]

No I don't think so - I noticed a lot of "extra feathering" in one of my nests so I've been keeping an eye on it. I'm relatively sure that will lead to a broody. This year since I have a rooster, I'm going to let my broody set - I'll probably have three of them. If I give them 3/4 eggs each that should boost my flock of 4/5/6 year old girls! I have a flock of 25 with the rooster. I have very few who are in their first or second year. AND I'd like to add 3 or 4 Naked Necks!! So I'll be culling a few come March or so...........

Yay! You're going to have a Mama hen!

Just let me know if you want any NN hatching eggs. I know for a fact that I've got some fertile ones here. If I had room to house my broody I'd be letting her hatch them, but I'm at full capacity and then some with 93 chickens. I seriously need to spend some time butchering the extras.