Arizona Chickens

[FeatherPugs]

Well - here its boring! Mine get their layer crumbles all day long along with a bit of greens,(they are not fans of kale!) a small bit of scratch and BOSS in the AM and less scratch and BOSS plus mealy worms (we call this ice cream) at night. They also have oyster shell and whenever we have eggs, eggshells. I am a fan of less is more so the "treat" stuff is not much for all my girls. I will soon be changing to all flock or starter or starter/grower soon as I will have a number of ages of girls roaming around the yard. I'm looking forward to trying garlic and a few other goodies I learned about from @DesertChic - love it when I get information and the science is added in to back everything up. Thanks for that DesertChic! Planted a giant area of oregano today too.

 

[igorsMistress]

I think the little buggers are playas and manipulators and know our weak spots.

Yes, we certainly let them do that don't we?

 

[Btruax]

Frozen water bottles in their waterers and pools, plenty of shade, and good airflow help alot. Misting works very well to lower the temp in the outdoor enclosures, the straw can mold, but if exposed to this weather, not likely, at least here in Casa Grande lol. I haven't had an issue with that when the straw has exposure to sun or airflow.
Cold treats are good for them too, as others have stated. Mine love iced pumpkin lol. Good luck everyone, might be a warmer summer....

 

[igorsMistress]

Hi everyone

I've been keeping up but been pretty busy this Spring. We recently switched the coop floor to hay from pine shavings since I use a poop board. I also covered the little yard the coop is in with hay. It was a very good decision. There's so much less dust in the coop and the girls really enjoy digging around in that yard now. It's also helped a lot with flies.

I've been running the hose every morning to keep the area under the picnic table cool and moist and the girls spend quite a bit of time under there already. I'm going to look for a stand mister this weekend though. We've also been saving juice bottles to freeze before long. I can't believe it's already so warm.

I've finally figured out how to compost here so I'm gardening again. It's work in progress but chicken poop really helps

Everyone's chicks are adorable I'm being good, 9 is enough. Don't think my poor yard could handle any more.

I've been observing the girls in the heat to see how the Australorps and NNs are doing. The Aussies have been a little warm, a little panting, but the NNs are doing great! No panting even when it's the hottest part of the day. As we loose girls I am going to replace with NNs and have one breed in the future. Hubs can get over their appearance.

Stay cool over the next few days
Then we get a brief respite

 

[Catwest]

Hi everyone

I've been keeping up but been pretty busy this Spring. We recently switched the coop floor to hay from pine shavings since I use a poop board. I also covered the little yard the coop is in with hay. It was a very good decision. There's so much less dust in the coop and the girls really enjoy digging around in that yard now. It's also helped a lot with flies.

I've been running the hose every morning to keep the area under the picnic table cool and moist and the girls spend quite a bit of time under there already. I'm going to look for a stand mister this weekend though. We've also been saving juice bottles to freeze before long. I can't believe it's already so warm.

I've finally figured out how to compost here so I'm gardening again. It's work in progress but chicken poop really helps

Everyone's chicks are adorable I'm being good, 9 is enough. Don't think my poor yard could handle any more.

I've been observing the girls in the heat to see how the Australorps and NNs are doing. The Aussies have been a little warm, a little panting, but the NNs are doing great! No panting even when it's the hottest part of the day. As we loose girls I am going to replace with NNs and have one breed in the future. Hubs can get over their appearance.

Stay cool over the next few days
Then we get a brief respite

My husband recently decided he likes the NN look. Wish he would have told me when he was insisting on Australorps

I think we are also going to do hay in the coop, but I’m not sure if we are going to put anything down in their run. It’s pretty soft dirt, so I may at least scoop a lot of the excess out. They should be moving out this weekend!

 

[cactusrota]

Never seen this pattern on a chick before! This is from the green egg laying Naked Neck hen that I got from Bluebaby. Pretty sure the daddy is my blue wheaten. Looks like it's gonna be a boy.. On the edge of my seat to see how it grows out....

 

[Bobby Basham]

I use Alflock which is 2% calcium. I offer oyster shells free choice. My reason is, some are layers and some are not. My laying chickens supplement their calcium needs by taking in the oyster shells as they feel need. Chickens are able to determine their needs usually, if the items are available to them.

I was concerned because I found an egg two weeks ago. A few days later, there were two. After that, I saw an Austra-White stand up against the wall, pulsating, and plopped out an egg. I can't remember which color, but someone is laying a light beige and someone else is laying a light tan. It looks like 3 layers at the moment. Then again, it almost looks like three shades of egg color. I suspect 2 Austra-Whites and a RIR meanie.

After I woke up from the floor (LOL), I immediately went to the store and got some oyster shell and more grit since they've been getting that already.

This is two week's labor from guessing three hens. What am I going to do when the other three BA's and three BR's kick in?

Almost all the eggs are clean, with an occasional spot here and there, and could be from the bedding. There are no deformities, weird shapes, tiny pigeon starter eggs etc.

 

[cavemanrich]

What am I going to do when the other three BA's and three BR's kick in?

You are going to visit with your neighbors and share the joy.
Also share with your choir group as well.
You can take out the guessing game as to who did the laying. Get some food color and swat a small amount on chickens vent. Usually food color packs come with 4 different colors. Guessing game over.

 

[cactusrota]

In the meantime.... lots of egg salad...

 

[Salty Skroob]

You guys were talking about 20% protein feed a few pages back.

is this what you were referring to?

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/purina-flock-raiser-crumbles-premium-poultry-feed-50-lb