Arizona Chickens

[howesmr]

The CCLB trio look like they have settled in good. Last night I gave them a few strands of the noodles of my left over Chicken Alfredo that I made. They acted afraid of it at first. I left the room and came back later, and not one noodle was left! They have feathers coming in, but not as many as I like to have to put them outside yet.

I will wait a couple weeks to put their hatchmates out. I try early to get the chicks to eat meal worms from my hand. they were not buying anything i had to sell yet. still pretty young.

 

[BlueBaby]

I will wait a couple weeks to put their hatchmates out. I try early to get the chicks to eat meal worms from my hand. they were not buying anything i had to sell yet. still pretty young.

I figured that it would be a couple more weeks for those chicks before I can put them outside in the crate yet. They are still a bit nervous, but they are eating and drinking. They'll come around. May I ask you what day they were hatched, because I like to keep track of mine. I have a notebook that I write down my chicken stuff in.

 

[howesmr]

I figured that it would be a couple more weeks for those chicks before I can put them outside in the crate yet. They are still a bit nervous, but they are eating and drinking. They'll come around. May I ask you what day they were hatched, because I like to keep track of mine. I have a notebook that I write down my chicken stuff in.

December 15

 

[Salty Skroob]

With rain on the way, I finished up s dewing down the roof to the bunker this morning. We get some wind here when it storms, hoping that this first bit of rain isn’t to harsh, this will be the first bit of weather for my chickens.

Gave them a couple ways tand get to their roost recently, they’ve been sleeping up there the past few nights, and get up there on their own in the evening.

 

[SonoranChick]

With rain on the way, I finished up s dewing down the roof to the bunker this morning. We get some wind here when it storms, hoping that this first bit of rain isn’t to harsh, this will be the first bit of weather for my chickens.

Gave them a couple ways tand get to their roost recently, they’ve been sleeping up there the past few nights, and get up there on their own in the evening.

They are getting big!! Looks really nice

 

[SonoranChick]

Here's an update to the pinless peepers vs. the bratty barred rock situation...
Separation in chicken jail was not working. It was a temporary solution, but as soon as she was returned to the flock, she went right for the barnevelder. My poor Biddy barnevelder has such a gorgeous feather pattern, and you can barely even tell because the barred rock has picked her ragged. She also pecked at my leg (hard!) yesterday and left little bruises, so my patience was up. As terrible as I felt about it, I decided to try the pinless peepers.
I had DH help me put them on while I held her and comforted her. She didn't like it of course, but she was a good sport about it and after about 10 minutes of fussing, mostly me, they were on!
So far, I could not be more pleased. She shook her head and scratched at them for a few minutes, and then went on her usual chicken business. She can still see, just not directly in front of her. She can eat and drink, but I have yet to see her use the ladder. Most importantly, SHE CANNOT PECK! She will unfortunately have to wear them for a few weeks (maybe longer...I would like Biddy to grow her feathers out again) but this should be enough time to correct the pecking order and the bad behavior. I do recommend this product, although it should be a last resort in my opinion. I only intervened because the behavior was getting worse after time.
Biddy still runs and cowers when she sees her former bully, but I'm sure by the end of today she will realize that the threat is gone

 

[Salty Skroob]

HA HA HA.... The cone of shame for chickens. Glad that worked out for you.

How do you like the Barred Rocks otherwise? I'm looking to get 3-4 here soon.

 

[SonoranChick]

Lol...cone of shame...
I only have the one barred rock, so my opinion may not be the best. I have heard that this breed in particular can either be very sweet and docile, or very dominant and bossy. Mine is clearly the latter haha...but that being said, she is a great, reliable layer and lets me pick her up whenever, carry her around, love on her, etc. She is a good bird and I am happy to work with her on her behavior issues. I do not think I will get any more barred rocks in the future though.

 

[BlueBaby]

December 15

Thank you!

 

[DesertChic]

HA HA HA.... The cone of shame for chickens. Glad that worked out for you.

How do you like the Barred Rocks otherwise? I'm looking to get 3-4 here soon.

My first flock was partially comprised of Barred Rocks. It's a very hardy breed, good layers, and confident birds. In my experience, the hens are assertive enough to not be picked on, but not typically so aggressive that they become problematic for other birds. My birds were all hatchery stock and the rooster turned out to be very people aggressive. (He was the first bird I ever butchered after he tried to spur my eyes out.) That's not atypical of hatchery BR roosters. I still have a 3 year old BR hen that's currently laying four very large eggs per week, and averaged 200 eggs per year for each of her first two years of laying.