Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

Yep! Animals don't know what "disabled" means. They just keep on living, keep on surviving. I admire that.

Me too!

 

[13lue]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! The hen that died might have been an older hen that had a hard time with our heat. Some breed's do better than other do out here. What part of Az. are you in?

South of Florence between Phoenix and Tucson.

 

[BlueBaby]

Ok, I'm over in Maricopa outside of the city.

 

[13lue]

@13lue Hi and welcome! Make yourself right at home here! Sounds like you have a good mix of various breeds. Yes, sometimes even the best behaved dogs cannot control their instincts around chickens...sorry to hear your hen passed away today. I wonder if it had something to do with the heat, even though she had access to shade & water. Some are just less tolerant of our extreme weather.

No clue really, she was from the same area literally right down the road here and she was the same breed as the one in your picture there with the white ear spot. She was very antisocial so the kids didn't notice when they got home.

 

[SonoranChick]

If she doesn't mind being handled, I'd recommend monitoring her breast meat along the keel first and foremost, and then her thighs second, but just once per week. If you check her too frequently you may not notice subtle differences, but from one week to the next you can detect the changes. Also note her posture. If she starts to stand more upright with her tail tilted down then she probably has a growth weighing down her bum.

You can also feel her bum, below the anus. When a hen puts on too much fat you can DEFINITELY detect it in their bums, and also fluid accumulation if they have ascites (aka water belly) and sometimes growths or lodged eggs. The girls don't much enjoy having their butts groped, but you can learn a lot from...um... copping a feel.

She doesn't mind being handled at all so I can definitely monitor her this way. Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate it. Honestly I have just been focused on her big crop and neglected to check other areas like her thighs. When checking along the keel should I be feeling to the left and right of it? I can feel her actual keel bone, but that's normal right?

 

[SonoranChick]

South of Florence between Phoenix and Tucson.

I'm fairly close to you, south of Picacho, north of Tucson.

 

[meetthebubus]

South of Florence between Phoenix and Tucson.

Sounds like Marana area maybe, everyone from this thread is spread around the state but we have lots in the southeast areas welcome,

@Michelle Guynn how's vacay? Pics stopped?

@DesertChic I always appreciate your knowledge about chickens, learning alot

 

[BlueBaby]

@SonoranChick How's your pregnancy doing? Is the baby moving around much?

 

[Michelle Guynn]

Going great.

 

[BlueBaby]

View attachment 1476201 View attachment 1476202 View attachment 1476203 View attachment 1476204 View attachment 1476205 View attachment 1476206 Going great.

Wow that sure is a fancy shirt in that first picture there of what I can see! Lot's of work look's to have gone into the eagle on it! Think your hubby will ever ride a real live buffalo? Yee haw!