Arizona Chickens

[meetthebubus]

I guess I've never paid attention to any fussing from my girls in the early morning because my roosters are usually making so much noise by then. So it's not just their egg laying songs?

It's definitely not the egg song it reminds me of the time I put up a canvas over their cage the cries they all started the "bock bock bock bock bock BAAAWWWK" cries I think the material flapping up reminded them of a hawk, but when they see a real hawk they get dead silent so who knows? They are a sensitive group...

 

[SonoranChick]

Your dog must have been reincarnated into my dog, they look like twins!! This is my mastiff Lacey Lou. She thinks she is a tiny little lap dog and is afraid of chickens

how old is your Lacey Lou...??? she looks to be still young, and by young i mean under 2 , mastiffs are not fully grown until around 5 to 6 years old, Mastiffs are greatest dogs aren't they..! the best in the world i would say...! i bet your Lacey Lou is such a sweet heart..! all my giants the girls & boys starting at 240 pounds on up are all just giant huggie bears , and will guard your children or any of your animals, but only if they are bred to be like that, thats the most important with such giant dogs, its very important to make sure they all have great temperaments , were did you get your Lacey Lou...? here is another pic my big Bubba she was larger then most male mastiffs at 2 years old , and here she is laughing,yes mastiffs do have that giant smile, im sure you know that HA and they look like they are laughing...lol...HA my Bubba 7 months old here looking like the hound from hell....lol... but she was just the opposite...lol.. im sure your sweet Lacey Lou, will surely get use to your chickens as she grows, mastiffs can feel what you want from them, amazing dogs i must say I STILL MISS THEM, im sure you can tell...lol.. View attachment 1239184[/QUOTE]
They are the best! Lacey Lou came from a lady in Tucson who does Neapolitans x English. She had a litter and someone bought Lacey, but put her in an apartment. Could you imagine such a gorgeous beast holed up in a tiny apartment? So they decided to rehome her at 6 months and that's when she came into our lives! She turns 7 years old in February and still acts like a puppy. Those pictures I posted are old...she has lots of gray in her face now

 

[SonoranChick]

So far, I LOVE my baby chickens!! I'm having fun with them, I just want them to stay safe, healthy and keep growing.

Aren't they a blast? They are so dang cute at that age. Whatever breed you ended up with, I like the feather pattern going on...very pretty. Welcome to the thread! We are quite a chatty bunch

 

[RainForestBird]

This is kind of off topic, but I just moved to Southern Arizona and I'm having a bit of a problem getting used to the environment with my animals. The burrs and stickers are really doing a number on my long haired dogs' coats. Just when I have all of them combed and pulled out, they run out the backdoor and get more in the backyard. I have wheedwacked the entire backyard, several times, but you just can't get rid of them all. I have dry grass for a lawn back there, and trampled down dry grass where the chickens are-two separate yards, one for people and dogs and the other for ducks and chickens. I tried to sow clover, buckwheat and winter wheat back there, to no avail, even though it rains a little, nothing comes up. There are a lot of wild birds that pick the yard clean before the chickens ever get to come out of their coops and play. I put compost and soil out there as well so the seeds would have a better chance. Also, all my clothes have burrs embedded in them, and I feel I may as well throw them away because they are too uncomfortable to wear even after going through the laundry. I am out in the yard with the chickens and ducks for a major part of the day. How do you avoid getting burrs and stickers in your clothes and on your dogs? The cats seem ok by the way. But they are semi shorthair. I banned cactus from my yard by the way. This was after trying to pick prickly pear fruit (with gloves on) and getting the spines stuck in my hand - that got infected. I have some fruit and sycamore trees and that's it. I'm trying to plant some flowers that thrive in dry climates, but so far - nothing. We get 19 inches of rain a year here.

 

[SonoranChick]

I loathe those little sticker-burr things, they are painfully persistent and seem to have a way of embedding themselves into everything they touch. We found that weed whacking made it worse because it spread the burrs and just caused them to reseed all over the next season. My husband has a little handheld torch that he fires up after the weeds have all died and dried up (this is when I find the stickers to be at their worst)- a controlled burn done in targeted areas over time will most definitely help. He does them really, really small and we monitor the burn because obviously the last thing you want to do is set the desert ablaze

 

[MagicChicken]

This is kind of off topic, but I just moved to Southern Arizona and I'm having a bit of a problem getting used to the environment with my animals. The burrs and stickers are really doing a number on my long haired dogs' coats. Just when I have all of them combed and pulled out, they run out the backdoor and get more in the backyard. I have wheedwacked the entire backyard, several times, but you just can't get rid of them all. I have dry grass for a lawn back there, and trampled down dry grass where the chickens are-two separate yards, one for people and dogs and the other for ducks and chickens. I tried to sow clover, buckwheat and winter wheat back there, to no avail, even though it rains a little, nothing comes up. There are a lot of wild birds that pick the yard clean before the chickens ever get to come out of their coops and play. I put compost and soil out there as well so the seeds would have a better chance. Also, all my clothes have burrs embedded in them, and I feel I may as well throw them away because they are too uncomfortable to wear even after going through the laundry. I am out in the yard with the chickens and ducks for a major part of the day. How do you avoid getting burrs and stickers in your clothes and on your dogs? The cats seem ok by the way. But they are semi shorthair. I banned cactus from my yard by the way. This was after trying to pick prickly pear fruit (with gloves on) and getting the spines stuck in my hand - that got infected. I have some fruit and sycamore trees and that's it. I'm trying to plant some flowers that thrive in dry climates, but so far - nothing. We get 19 inches of rain a year here.

You probably figured this out already, but you have to pick off all the burrs and sticker things BEFORE you put your clothes in the wash or they will transfer to the rest of your clothing.

Pay attention to which plants are producing the most stickers. Then learn to recognize those plants when they are small. And pull them. By the roots. Before they flower and set seed. If you wait until they are dried up you run the risk of having them spread even more.

Foxtails and other grasses with stickers are a problem. The weed-burning advice you got may be the best option. But you have to do it before the seeds have spread or it will be too late.

Unless you are in an unusual microclimate, the chance of getting clover and buckwheat and winter wheat to grow is virtually nonexistent. You might be successful if you water like crazy and get really lucky. In which case, I hope you have your own well because if you don't the water bill is likely to be exhorbitant. Many water companies have incremental pricing. The more water you use, the higher the price per unit of water.

I used to have a lot of weeds in my yard. Now the only weeds are in the areas the chickens can't get to. They are the best weeders.

If you want to try collecting prickly pear fruit again, or if you want to remove stray cactus joints from the yard, try using tongs. They help a lot.

Good luck. Those stickers and burrs are a real pain.

 

[BlueBaby]

This is kind of off topic, but I just moved to Southern Arizona and I'm having a bit of a problem getting used to the environment with my animals. The burrs and stickers are really doing a number on my long haired dogs' coats. Just when I have all of them combed and pulled out, they run out the backdoor and get more in the backyard. I have wheedwacked the entire backyard, several times, but you just can't get rid of them all. I have dry grass for a lawn back there, and trampled down dry grass where the chickens are-two separate yards, one for people and dogs and the other for ducks and chickens. I tried to sow clover, buckwheat and winter wheat back there, to no avail, even though it rains a little, nothing comes up. There are a lot of wild birds that pick the yard clean before the chickens ever get to come out of their coops and play. I put compost and soil out there as well so the seeds would have a better chance. Also, all my clothes have burrs embedded in them, and I feel I may as well throw them away because they are too uncomfortable to wear even after going through the laundry. I am out in the yard with the chickens and ducks for a major part of the day. How do you avoid getting burrs and stickers in your clothes and on your dogs? The cats seem ok by the way. But they are semi shorthair. I banned cactus from my yard by the way. This was after trying to pick prickly pear fruit (with gloves on) and getting the spines stuck in my hand - that got infected. I have some fruit and sycamore trees and that's it. I'm trying to plant some flowers that thrive in dry climates, but so far - nothing. We get 19 inches of rain a year here.

That's why we drag the yard over here. All dirt now except for the trees that we want. We still have to trim back this Chilean Mesquite tree though, so that will be sacrificing some blood. Most of my neighbors here do that above ground gardening in those boxes that are lined with some sort of plastic to help keep in the moisture. You might want to look into something like that if you really want a garden.

 

[cactusrota]

For the burrs it's like SonoranChick said: burn! And learn to identify what those plants look like when they are young so you can pull them before they get big enough to make more stickers... It's an ongoing process.
And what alot of people in this climate have learned when it comes to cover crops, flowers, and even vegetables... is deep watering. Literally, heavy flood watering less often than you would water most anywhere else in the country. Shallow frequent watering encourages shallow roots that dry out too quickly. Deep, long, flood watering less often encourages deep roots and plants that can handle everything else this area has to toss at them. It also helps to flush any salt or other excess minerals that could be causing an alkaline soil and burning tender roots.

 

[Diannastarr]

how old is your Lacey Lou...??? she looks to be still young, and by young i mean under 2 , mastiffs are not fully grown until around 5 to 6 years old, Mastiffs are greatest dogs aren't they..! the best in the world i would say...! i bet your Lacey Lou is such a sweet heart..! all my giants the girls & boys starting at 240 pounds on up are all just giant huggie bears , and will guard your children or any of your animals, but only if they are bred to be like that, thats the most important with such giant dogs, its very important to make sure they all have great temperaments , were did you get your Lacey Lou...? here is another pic my big Bubba she was larger then most male mastiffs at 2 years old , and here she is laughing,yes mastiffs do have that giant smile, im sure you know that HA and they look like they are laughing...lol...HA my Bubba 7 months old here looking like the hound from hell....lol... but she was just the opposite...lol.. im sure your sweet Lacey Lou, will surely get use to your chickens as she grows, mastiffs can feel what you want from them, amazing dogs i must say I STILL MISS THEM, im sure you can tell...lol.. View attachment 1239184

They are the best! Lacey Lou came from a lady in Tucson who does Neapolitan's x English. She had a litter and someone bought Lacey, but put her in an apartment. Could you imagine such a gorgeous beast holed up in a tiny apartment? So they decided to rehome her at 6 months and that's when she came into our lives! She turns 7 years old in February and still acts like a puppy. Those pictures I posted are old...she has lots of gray in her face now [/QUOTE] Awww i can tell she is your special darling & your Lacey Lou actually looks like m y Bubbas mother my giant darling bessy , here is a pic of her, & me back in the 1970's HA

Bessy, i got her from England back in the late 1970's she had 17 pups in the first litter and Bubba was the pick of the litter female and weighted 3 pounds at birth....lol... but true they all think they are tiny lap dogs...lol.. and will try to get on your lap , but end up crushing us...lol....HA right HA

 

[howesmr]

Tomorrow is hatch day. All Svart Honas. This is first batch we have had that 100% of the eggs have made it this far. Hoping for our first perfect Hatch. Very happy with the quality of the source parents and chicks from last batch. Anyone in AZ interested in Svart Hona chicks please let me know. Limited supply my incubator only holds 28 eggs.

Crested Cream Legbars are going in on 1/25 so they can hatch when family is visiting, so if interested in those let me know too.

Lasting looking for a few high quality White French Bresse (American Bresse) we hatched 7 a few weeks ago and i would love to put a few more in with the CCLB on the 25th.