Arizona Chickens

[cactusrota]

Fans would be good. I'm on the fence about misters. When their surface feathers get wet they can actually stick together and keep the heat in, so I'm not really comfortable with my birds feathers getting wet when it's hot. Most birds cool off through their feet and head (and other exposed skin like with naked necks), so lots of shade and mud puddles, or water to wade in to wet their feet, are usually more effective and safe. I've found my birds like to take dust baths in dirt/sand that's been dampened because then the damp soil can get through the feathers to the skin and that helps to cool them off, too.

 

[Btruax]

Fans would be good. I'm on the fence about misters. When their surface feathers get wet they can actually stick together and keep the heat in, so I'm not really comfortable with my birds feathers getting wet when it's hot. Most birds cool off through their feet and head (and other exposed skin like with naked necks), so lots of shade and mud puddles, or water to wade in to wet their feet, are usually more effective and safe. I've found my birds like to take dust baths in dirt/sand that's been dampened because then the damp soil can get through the feathers to the skin and that helps to cool them off, too.

That is a good point, in the event of all day use, but its not really necessary, just short times during the peak heat hours. But you do make a good point about the "enveloping" of the heat due to the moisture content. As of now, I only mist my girls when they just start to show signs of heat stress, and only long enough to feel the coop temps drop. They do have huge stainless dog water dishes for pools, and I freeze water bottles during the summer to put in their waterers. Lol Im a germophobe sort of, wrong hobby for that I know so my girls only get the pools, no mud holes.

 

[Jadesun6]

Lol they just dont get it sometimes, my gf didnt get excited until my girls finally started laying.

That is for sure. Now my husband asks almost everyday how many eggs were layed that day. Funny how his attitude changed! When I take eggs to my parents my mom wants to know how many blue eggs I brought. Her favorite color is blue, so I save her as many as I can. Her excitment level has changed too, now she knows chickens can lay blue eggs!!

 

[Jadesun6]

My husband's friend told us he has an incubator he was going to give us. I was pretty excited. I was hoping it was a diamond in the rough since he didn't know anything about it. My husband brought it home yesterday. Here it is.

Not exactly what I was expecting!

 

[MagicChicken]

So I also had to cull one o f my hens about a week ago. I had an egg eater on my hands. I was losing at least an egg a day for at least a month. I tried the fake eggs and mustard eggs with no luck. I have read they can teach the other hens to do it too. I saw one of my hens with egg on her comb and tagged her leg. This was the only time I actually saw egg on her. My husband came up with a great idea. I put a small hole in an egg and put blue food coloring in it. Sure enough the tagged hen had blue egg on her. Plus I caught her eating the egg when I was collecting them. This was a bantam hen that would fly on my shoulder everyday and talk to me. It seems strange without her. Has anyone ever had this issue? They have oyster shells available 24/7 so calcium wasn't the problem. I honestly think she just got a taste for it. I havent seen any signs of anyone else doing it thankfully.

I wonder if the habitual egg-eaters need the extra protein for some reason. If one of my birds breaks an egg in the nest box the chickens will usually eat it, and they don't go on to become habitual egg-eaters. But every once in a while I'll have one bird who seems to be breaking and eating them on purpose. It's a mystery.

 

[Jnners]

Hello! Our family is new backyard chickens and we purchased 6 ‘hens’ a few months ago. Turns out that one is a white silkie rooster (roughly 4 months old) and we will be unable to keep it in our neighborhood due to the noise. Is there anyone who would be interested in a free silkie rooster?

 

[azurbanclucker]

Heh, You beat me to it.

 

[cactusrota]

My husband's friend told us he has an incubator he was going to give us. I was pretty excited. I was hoping it was a diamond in the rough since he didn't know anything about it. My husband brought it home yesterday. Here it is.View attachment 1309365
View attachment 1309366
Not exactly what I was expecting!

Wow! That's crazy. I saw one posted the other day in a fb group that looked like a popcorn machine, literally. I don't know that I'd use one that doesn't have a viewing window..

 

[nicollee]

View attachment 1304266

My husband's friend told us he has an incubator he was going to give us. I was pretty excited. I was hoping it was a diamond in the rough since he didn't know anything about it. My husband brought it home yesterday. Here it is.View attachment 1309365
View attachment 1309366
Not exactly what I was expecting!

If the thermostat works it might be ok, BUT I suggest testing for at least a week to see if it will maintain temperature... Speaking from experience, it is heartbreaking to find out after you put your eggs in it that it will not maintain temperature properly . We tested for 24 hours, and it seemed to be ok, but after putting the eggs in found wild temperature swings from 90-110, SOOO SAD

 

[igorsMistress]

You won't be alone in that mentality. I give myself heatstroke every single summer caring for my flocks' needs. That's part of the reason I've been working so much harder during the cooler months to plan shade areas, plant trees, etc. so each summer I can work a little less hard than the year before. This year....I'm buying a tractor/backhoe so I can make REAL progress rather than killing myself with just a shovel and wheelbarrow.

What kind of trees did you plant? We added a Chilean mesquite to the back yard this Spring and we are building an enclosed garden this weekend that will also give the girls afternoon shade in Summer. Adding a mister too this year.