Arizona Chickens

[MagicChicken]

Hi Guys!!!!

I've been living in AZ for the past year and just got my first place. Hoping maybe I can make friends with local chicken peeps who can help me with getting started with chickens.

Is there any sort of local chicken club in the Central Tucson area that I can join? or any friendly local chicken people who would be willing to help me? I'm more of a hands on person, so I am hoping to get a hand on getting set up and caring for my first flock beyond just what I'm reading in books!

I have a few questions to start!

1. is it cheaper to buy and raise chicks or just buy pullets and start there.
2. is it true that it can get to hot for the chickens to lay out here? Thats what I was told.
3. Should I Install a small AC unit to keep the coop cool? if so what temp should I set it at? cause I know from living in CT that it can get to cold for egg laying.
4. I work 5AM to 2PM Its still dark when I leave for work, can I open the coop that early if their pen is fenced in? or is there some sort of auto door opener I can put in to open it for me once the sun comes up? that isn't to expensive.
5. Does anyone have any ideas on where to get Chicks or Pullets in Tucson. Im central. Im hoping to find a place that can sex them as I don't want to deal with roosters and I'm sure my neighbors would hate me if I had a rooster lol.
6. Are there any crafty chicken keepers out here in Tucson that want to come over and help me with my shed project?
7. What are some good heat hearty breeds that lay well/often and are friendly?

Thanks! I'm so excited to join everyone

I am overrun with pullets. Most of them are laying. They hatched in January and February. They are supposed to be Black Javas. The ones I would be selling are showing mixed breed characteristics, including apparent Australorp, so I don't want to breed these particular birds as Javas. I haven't raised them as pets but I can work in the coop with them and they are fine, as long as I stay calm. They will startle and get flighty if you aren't calm. They come running for treats and can get downright pushy when food is involved. They handled the crazy June temps just fine with no AC. (I did have a misting system running for a few afternoons when the temps were 116+.) I'm southwest of Tucson. Let me know if you want any birds. They are $10 apiece.

I agree with the others who have pointed out that shade and ventilation are more important than AC. LOTS of shade. LOTS of ventilation. And remember that the sun comes from all angles here. What is shaded at noon in June can be in bright, hot sun by September. Shade on the north and west sides in summer is critical because the blazing afternoon sun swings to the northwest in the hottest months of the year.

 

[MagicChicken]

View attachment 1169944 View attachment 1169945

I can't say enough about cool water puddles for toe dips!

I totally understood & sympathized with your question, and I am honestly wondering the same How are these big ol feathered things supposed to be better in the heat than the rest? Lol I'm learning as I go.

Feathers provide insulation from heat as well as cold. Chickens don't sweat like people do. Instead they dissipate a lot of excess heat through their combs. And by panting.
Edited to add - a lot of people have already said this. Next time I will read the rest of the thread before answering. Sorry about the redundancy!

 

[Bobby Basham]

gosh yes i think the really cold air from an ac unit would be the worst idea its called an air conditioner, that is never a good idea for birds, no matter what kind of birds the air from that kind of unit is just to cold , & its not even think able to use in an open air coop HA ,which would just create a gigantic electric bill, to even try to air condition an open air coop.....lol.... its actually an insane idea....lol.. but cooling an open air coop is best done with a cooler & fan taking the heat off the roof and cooling down the coop in its shade it works great

With our climate, I'm thinking that chickens hang outside for most of the day except to dash in the coop and lay a few eggs, then back outside again, not to return until bed time. I have a 12 x 20 tarp that covers the coop and three-quarters of the run, so they'll have plenty of shade. The tarp is not attached yet, but only the 4 x 8 observation deck and a 4 x 8 strip of the run directly behind it will be exposed.

I think that all the extra creature comforts with frozen water bottles and wading pans, hopefully, A/C shouldn't be necessary. I like the idea of possibly using solar-powered fans to boost the air circulation in a coop. No coop yet, constantly being remodified.

This is just a 16 x 16 run, so that's why the 12x20 tarp won't extend over to the observation deck and a piece behind.

 

[SonoranChick]

@Bobby Basham that's what my girls do, laying or not. They stick to a very strict routine: wake up with the sun; immediately go outside in the run. About one hour later, into the box to lay (those who are laying, and sometimes those who are just coming to watch haha). Spend all day in the run, go in the coop late afternoon if it's a hot day, then up into the roost at sundown. They spend most of their life out in the run, and I love that your set up will be 3/4 shade! It looks great so far.

 

[Bobby Basham]

@Bobby Basham that's what my girls do, laying or not. They stick to a very strict routine: wake up with the sun; immediately go outside in the run. About one hour later, into the box to lay (those who are laying, and sometimes those who are just coming to watch haha). Spend all day in the run, go in the coop late afternoon if it's a hot day, then up into the roost at sundown. They spend most of their life out in the run, and I love that your set up will be 3/4 shade! It looks great so far.

Thanks, looking straight back in the pic, that 4x16 foot strip (deck and part of the run) will be exposed. I've also got some eye-bolts where I can unscrew and roll the tarp completely back, exposing everything.

 

[Bobby Basham]

@Diannastarr well I wouldn't say I'm insane guess you have to actually see our design in person the way I work the a/c is just to bring down the intense heat, in a mostly enclosed place and it's timed so it costs me 50 dollars in electricity a month to provide them with relief during the hottest part of day,

I do understand your viewpoint though

Also to credit those against a/c my hen turned rooster gets ice bottles shade and misters only and survived without a/c perfectly, for me though I cool my girls bc have you ever noticed they need to eat more than roos so they heat up that way and staying in the nesting box during heat is hard on them with no water and they heat up pushing out an egg so I put their nesting boxes back there and they didn't have to pant so much

I'm gonna add some small screened vents on the sides and rear of my external nest boxes to let the air pass through. I wouldn't want to sit in a small box when it's 105-115 outside.

 

[Diannastarr]

@Diannastarr well I wouldn't say I'm insane guess you have to actually see our design in person the way I work the a/c is just to bring down the intense heat, in a mostly enclosed place and it's timed so it costs me 50 dollars in electricity a month to provide them with relief during the hottest part of day,

I do understand your viewpoint though

Also to credit those against a/c my hen turned rooster gets ice bottles shade and misters only and survived without a/c perfectly, for me though I cool my girls bc have you ever noticed they need to eat more than roos so they heat up that way and staying in the nesting box during heat is hard on them with no water and they heat up pushing out an egg so I put their nesting boxes back there and they didn't have to pant so much

its not insane to want to cool off your birds, but an air conditioner or a/c is not the way to go about it if you live in AZ, the best way to cool off your open air coop is to use An evaporative cooler, thats what i use and its on all day long so my hens can lay their eggs in peace with out dying from the heat, they lay more eggs that way, its on all day long until the temps drop at night , the evaporative cooler is also know as a swamp cooler, its a device that lowers air temperature , with the use of running water through cooler pads, and a fan that blows air through the cold wet pads , Unlike an air conditioning systems, which works to remove humidity from the area & wont work very well at all in a open air coop because they are made to remove humidity in a sealed room in states heavy with humility like fla. in AZ evaporative coolers use the natural ability to lower air temperature. plus running one of them is much cheaper then running a air conditioner, most evaporative coolers use this technique to make indoor and outdoor spaces more comfortable, this is the cooling i use for my hens in their open air coop they love it and spend most days in the cool air,

 

[Diannastarr]

Thanks, looking straight back in the pic, that 4x16 foot strip (deck and part of the run) will be exposed. I've also got some eye-bolts where I can unscrew and roll the tarp completely back, exposing everything.

very nice..!!!!

 

[igorsMistress]

@meetthebubus I purchased birds from a local breeder because of the heat. Her stock has bloodlines from another breeder who had many generations bred here. Beating the heat should be in their blood.

Also, Australorps have big combs. My EE roo had the hardest time with the heat last summer...he has a pea comb.

My Aussie girl still panted, still got hot, but she didn't seem as uncomfortable as the others and typically seemed to stop panting sooner. A short stand in cool water and she was good. She's also the most relaxed bird I've ever seen. Nothing bothers that girl!

There's never a guarantee of course. Too hot is just too hot. I can't afford to put a/c in my coop, it's not designed that way, but I wish I could!

 

[Diannastarr]

@meetthebubus I purchased birds from a local breeder because of the heat. Her stock has bloodlines from another breeder who had many generations bred here. Beating the heat should be in their blood.

Also, Australorps have big combs. My EE roo had the hardest time with the heat last summer...he has a pea comb.

My Aussie girl still panted, still got hot, but she didn't seem as uncomfortable as the others and typically seemed to stop panting sooner. A short stand in cool water and she was good. She's also the most relaxed bird I've ever seen. Nothing bothers that girl!

There's never a guarantee of course. Too hot is just too hot. I can't afford to put a/c in my coop, it's not designed that way, but I wish I could!

i have to say all our work is still a work in progress, its all about doing our best, so our work is never done, if we want to change something like a way to cool our coops ,i say if it dont work then fix it. but if you believe you cant do that then you wont ,but if you leave it open ended and wish for better then that will happen ,so keep the faith & an open mind that what you wish for will come to you & expect change for the better thats progress and always keep an open mind and expect the best...! so a swamp cooler for every coop here in AZ