Arizona Chickens

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

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Sorry, we have no more room here. I built my coop/run anticipating 8 chickens and we now have 13 hens. Thankfully, they get along well and we let them out to free-range for about 5 hours per day. They seem very happy.

 

[Detail]

Quote:
Sorry, we have no more room here. I built my coop/run anticipating 8 chickens and we now have 13 hens. Thankfully, they get along well and we let them out to free-range for about 5 hours per day. They seem very happy.

That's what happenend to me too! I started out with 8 hens 5 years ago and now I am up at around 40 hens with three roosters. I had to build another chicken coop two years ago and it just keeps growing.

 

[ChickenManJoe]

The person that posted this post re: CC Feeds and Hatchery Completely making up this bogus information. I will respond to these false statements made about the hatchery.

1. New Egg Says in his post,"I saw a posting on Craigslist about them selling adult chickens and having a rooster sanctuary, but when I went down there the guy in charge said that he only sells the chicks.

I reply with,"we occasionally sell adult chickens that are laying. we generally have chicks from day old to 14 weeks. When changing Breeding stock, we often sell the adults to people to spend their life free ranging or living in a friendly environment. One more thing, we don't eat our birds, we could if we wanted but we choose not to.

2. This place is no sanctuary and I wanted to get the chickens out of there. Its horrible with chickens stuffed into tiny cages getting picked at and with terrible eye infections not to mention disgusting cages that needed to be cleaned. I saw a guinea with a broken leg that looked like it needed medical attention, but wasn't getting any. I also saw a Road Island Red hen stuffed into a cage with 8 other hens including a huge Jersey Giant rooster and the hen didn't have any feathers and was cowering in the corner under a feeder. The cage was about 4ft by 4 ft and he had 10 standard chickens in there.

I reply with,"We definately have not only a rooster sanctuary, but an exotic wildlife sanctuary with many beautiful and well cared for exotics from more than 5 continents.
Well, I wont deny that I have an isolated americana which has been picked in the eye and is being treated and is in the process of healing very well, and as far as disgusting cages that need to be cleaned, that is a straight out lie. Every day we clean and work on our pens, which are more than adequately large enough for the chicken, and you must be insane to think we would put 10 regular size chickens in a 4X4 pen on display. We have thousands of happy folks that come through our hatchery and really enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, there is always someone like you try to hurt honest people with your slanderous remarks. Oh I forgot to reply to the hen with very few feathers.
A short time ago we showed up at our hatchery, and to our surprise, 9 chickens(roosters and hens, a variety, were on the ground on the inside of our gate. We pulled in and checked them out. 8 were barely alive and one was dead. We immiediatley cleaned them up and got them into quaranteen cages with the hope to heal them. At this time, They are still alive and recovering, and if you think I should hide them in a closet so you dont have to see them, well I am sorry, they belong just like the healthiest chicken around, they are little souls that need care. We love chickens, and if the person that wrote this negative post didn't get that idea, then open your eyes.

3. He had so many roosters there wondering around his property and attacking each other. I assume that coyotes are taking out the roosters because I am assuming that they are not being caged at night and he lives in the middle of the desert.

My reply,"We also have ducks that free range and they all have plenty of shelter and just in case you did not notice, our entire property is enclosed by a dug down under th ground, 6' no climb fence and our pens that they sleep in have compte tops covering them, oh and they also have swamp coolers, air conditioning where needed, and heat lamps as well as radiating heaters in the winter. Thank You!

4. He is selling the 3 week old bantams for about $30 each and just hatched silkies for $40! This is outrageous for a hatchery. He’s not a hatchery he’s a breeder and the chickens did not look show quality! I asked if he would ever sell the full grown birds and he said only in a desperate situation for like $80 each! I don't know how he is still in business because I don't know how anyone would ever pay that much for a chicken in those conditions.

My Reply," I will simply reply to this by saying, I refuse to let a jealous person like you try to dictate our prices. The prices this person is quoting is again complete lies, and I would never say in a desperate situation, because if I sold my adults, I would not have eggs to hatch then we would have to close, and since we love what we do, not going to happen. I can see why this person who wrote the post is bitter, I am sure they wanted to purchase and adult, because most of our stock is show stock, and I refused and they are throwing a public tantrum. Buddy, I am sorry, I dont sell adults except when I am bringing in new blood and replacing birds, nothing personal.

5. A neighbor of mine said that she bought a hen from there and several weeks later it died and transferred the symptoms to her other chickens now all of her chickens have a Mycoplasmosis disease, so she can't find another home for them or get anymore.

My reply," I have never had a bird with Mycoplasmosis disease, thats NEVER! Nice try!

6. Other then not having a pool to bathe in, the ducks and geese seem fine, but they might have bumblefoot.

My reply," we have a pond and several watering holes on the grounds and in different pens for the ducks and geese. Also No bumblefoot. I think maybe you have bumble foot.

7. The turkeys looked okay and the Alpacas are in good shape and conditions as well as the deer he has in the back. All the animals had clean food and water, but not any shade. It’s the chickens that are in really bad conditions. This place is still giving me nightmares. I am going to report him to Serif Joe’s pet posy tomorrow and hopefully something will be done about his business.

My reply," Nice to hear you approve of the turkeys, Alpacas, and deer, and how nice of you to say they had clean food and water oh and bye the way, they have all kinds of shade, Lots and lots of shade, this is Arizona, animals don't live here without shade. Do you think I would put all this into our Sanctuary and Hatchery and Not have shade. Buddy, not even remotely believable, you are a complete and total jealous person who feels like lying to slander us, why I don't know but you are not a nice person and what comes around goes around, you have lots of bad carma going your way for the lying about us.
Oh and About calling Sheriff Joe, Please do, maybe he needs some chickens. We would love to have him out.

The same person from Gilbert called New egg who wrote this bogus post, also wrote the next post explaining how our website is a joke. We do not have a website, nor have we ever. We have always worked off word of mouth and craigslist ads. Then they proceed to tell you how much there livestock they are selling costs. Does that tell you an upset competitor being unethical, maybe a touch of jealousy. You see for yourself.

Everyone, I spent the time replying to this nonsense because I want everyone to know this is complete fabrication by someone who has a problem. Don't know what it is but I would guess they are competitors feeling like we are hurting their business since we opened our doors to local business. We feel we would rather sell our birds to local folks and avoid shipping than have to ship and put the stress on the birds. Anyone can call and make an appointment to come on out and check our hatchery, we have nothing to hide and would love to meet you and discuss your chicken concerns and help you with your chicken needs.

Here is my number if you would like to come out. 602-539-2397. Remember we do everything by appointments.

Final Note: I will not reply to try to defend myself against competitors or anyone else. I meet lots of happy and friendly people everyday that come over. SEE FOR YOURSELF of not. Anyway see ya.
If you have been out to our hatchery and have had a positive expereince, please take a moment and let people know. Hey New Egg, No reason to tell 5 of your friends to get on here and make up bogus stories, I am not having a pissing contest with you.

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Greetings Fellow Arizona Chicken Lovers!

Thank you for the many helpful and interesting posts. I was very worried about heat (and still am a little) but your posts gave me courage to move forward as a new chicken owner.

Last Nov we got 6 Black Australorps babies and now we are starting to get about 3 eggs a day. They free range in my back yard in Mesa and we are enjoying them a lot.

It is so fun to find the eggs each day.

I have also appreciated learning about various business around town. One post helped me find Mesa Feed Barn which is near by and has been a helpful resource.

I am also glad to learn about other places around town, as I work in Phoenix and could check out some other stores there easily.

I have seen the hatchery in Queen Creek on Craigs list and my cousin got some of her animals there. My neighbor also reports that it is a fun place to go tour and is looking forward to taking her kids down to see the animals one day. She got a good report from her family members who already have chickens which they purchased there.

Veronica, I appreciated the pictures of your waterer and am glad to learn about you as well.

It is wonderful to be part of such a great community of folks.

I am saddened about the negativity that came out that I suspect is a result of some mis-understandings. I look forward to many more positive posts from this great community.

Meanwhile, I am still a bit concerned about the heat. It is barely approaching 100 degrees and sometimes I have panting chickens at night.

My chickens sleep in their hen house which has a screen wall on one side and screen on the bottom. However, their roost is a little above the screen wall and out of direct breeze.

I am wondering if I need to add more screen walls or high ventilation.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Sock Puppet]

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Welcome! Where did you get your chickens from? Im interested in getting an Australorp hen soon. Being that my SLW (from the pullet bin) turned into a Roo

Im a little concerned about the heat as well, since most of my chickens are black this time, but chickens do fine here if they have shade and plenty of water. Ive never had a problem.

I would probably add some ventilation near the top, that way its not so enclosed. This will give them adequate air flow through their coop.

I dont have an enclosed coop. I have 3 sides open, because its up against our block wall fence and they just have a roof. Their shelter is located under a tree for plenty of shade. Their run is going to extend out into the sun, once we get it completed.
In Mesa a coop has to be 75' away from any other residence, which makes it extremely hard to have a coop. That is why I have what I have. Its not considered a coop, called (animal control/code complience) and asked to make sure so I dont get in trouble (I have a mean neighbor).

I like Mesa Feed Barn, their prices are pretty good. Plus you can buy feed by the pound, which makes it nice.

I got my 3 standard chicks from Pet Club, happened to go in and they had just gotten them in 1 hr before, couldnt resist

I had tons to chose from too.

Anyway, I like this thread because its nice to talk to others that live here in AZ.

Again, welcome any new members.

 

[gckiddhouse]

I think we all worry about the heat. One thing we do is provide a mist system.

Our little hen house is inside a chain link run, so not closed in at all. They do get moving air at night. It does have a wood roof and shade screen all over it. It stays nice and shady inside the run.

So, inside the run, we strung up an inexpensive mist system ($19) and we have it on a timer so that during the hot months, it goes on once every hour for about 10 minutes or so. Our chickens free range during the day, but when they hear the mist come on, they all come across the yard to congregate inside the run to cool off. Each year, we soak the little mister heads in vinegar so that they are in good working order.

We also have an automatic waterer. It fills automatically. The unique lid keeps it clean, too. And it provides shade so that it doesn't get too hot. We have the line that feeds it burried so that the water in the hose is cool when it fills. Here is a pic of our waterer.

The other thing we zonies have to remember is NOT to feed scratch or cracked corn as a treat in the hot months. I have been told that it is a "hot" feed, in that it heats up the birds. Great for a treat in the winter months, but not so good in the summer. We take out frozen fruit sometimes, and cool lettuce, apples, etc. They love it. You could freeze just about any treat for them and offer it during the summer to cool their bodies down.

The people I know that have chickens tell me that they DO lose chickens to the heat, so we try to keep them as comfortable as possible.

I see these wonderful chicken coops that people put pics of up all the time. You know, the big houses with a little chicken door. I think that would be so cute to have, but then I remind myself that in the desert southwest, it would just be a sweat house for dead chickens. LOL.

I am surprised to see our chickens already panting and sleeping outside the hen house, but I think, maybe, they are just getting used to the heat. I don't know.

I would sure appreciate any other tips you all have for keeping the chickens cool.

 

[Sock Puppet]

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Mister is a great idea and I like the look of your waterer. Its compact too. Some of the ones Ive seen are not.

I did not know about scratch, thank you for the info. What do you feed? Its been so long since I have had chickens, I cant remember what I fed. Mine arent old enough to switch yet.

 

[gckiddhouse]

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Mister is a great idea and I like the look of your waterer. Its compact too. Some of the ones Ive seen are not.

I did not know about scratch, thank you for the info. What do you feed? Its been so long since I have had chickens, I cant remember what I fed. Mine arent old enough to switch yet.

We keep a constant supply of layer pellets. I also try to keep some grower feed out, as I have chicks that are only 7 weeks old, but the hens eat it up. Scratch grains are mostly corn and milo with some other grains in there. I don't know why they are "hot", but that is what I have been told by the folks at Western Ranchman Feed and Tack. I figure they know more than I do. I may have to research it a bit.

 

[gckiddhouse]

Just did a little more reading up on this. It is the carbohydrate content of the scratch that heats them up. There is very little protein in scratch which is why it is not appropriate as a regular ration.

Also, another tip I found is to add electrolytes to the water on days over 100*. That would be all summer here. With the auto-waterers, you could add it every few days, I would guess. It is like giving them gatorade. Electrolytes are important for helping them get the water to their cells.

Anyone have a favorite eloctrolyte mix that you like to use?

 

[Sock Puppet]

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Thank you, that makes sense

I will have to get some electrolytes as well.