Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

@Parront Did you beat the rain back home?

 

[Parront]

@Parront Did you beat the rain back home?

It started to rain pretty hard when I was about a half hour from my house, it caused the traffic lights in Prescott Valley to go out, they were flashing yellow, so I took about 15 minutes longer than usual that last stretch! Not bad, though, lots of lightning in the mountains!

 

[BlueBaby]

It started to rain pretty hard when I was about a half hour from my house, it caused the traffic lights in Prescott Valley to go out, they were flashing yellow, so I took about 15 minutes longer than usual that last stretch! Not bad, though, lots of lightning in the mountains!

At least you made it back home ok. The 3 Dorking's are still hanging out in the coop. The red Naked Neck hen was laying next to the Red Dorking cockerel in one of the far corners, and when I got her to move there was an egg under her.

Thank you again for your extra stovetop pressure cooker. I had been wanting one for a few years now that wouldn't have to rely on electric to use it.

 

[BlueBaby]

There's a new thread going about dealing with those pesky flies:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dealing-with-flies-and-poultry.1485052/

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

How many hen's do you have?

I'm not sure yet, have 18 chicks, 6 are 6 weeks old and 12 are 2 weeks old. So far 2 of the 6 week olds are cockerels. I'm building for about 15 hens, estimating up in case we have more girls in the younger bunch. Thinking of doing 8-10 nesting boxes and 4 of those could be larger boxes like @cavemanrich suggested.

 

[CaroleW]

I'm not sure yet, have 18 chicks, 6 are 6 weeks old and 12 are 2 weeks old. So far 2 of the 6 week olds are cockerels. I'm building for about 15 hens, estimating up in case we have more girls in the younger bunch. Thinking of doing 8-10 nesting boxes and 4 of those could be larger boxes like @cavemanrich suggested.

My suggestion - build about 4 boxes total and you will still have too many boxes for 15 hens.

Here's why I say that-- I have about 12 hens that lay in 4 of the 6 that I have open. Other coops 8 hens lay in 2 of the 4 boxes I have open. No need to over build - I have too many boxes and just have to close them off. My DH is a carpenter so he usually overbuilds for chickens and previous owner had way overbuilt also- we cut the previous owners setup in half and only open 4 of 12 boxes - then hens use only about 2 of them!

 

[BlueBaby]

I'm not sure yet, have 18 chicks, 6 are 6 weeks old and 12 are 2 weeks old. So far 2 of the 6 week olds are cockerels. I'm building for about 15 hens, estimating up in case we have more girls in the younger bunch. Thinking of doing 8-10 nesting boxes and 4 of those could be larger boxes like @cavemanrich suggested.

I have 2 large nesting boxes that can each fit 3 hen's inside at the same time without them squashing each other. It worked out ok, until I got 2 hens at a time that are broody and each broody hen want's her own box.

 

[Parront]

I have 2 large nesting boxes that can each fit 3 hen's inside at the same time without them squashing each other. It worked out ok, until I got 2 hens at a time that are broody and each broody hen want's her own box.

I gave the broody duck I have her own corral and a doghouse for her nest. She hatched 2 ducklings, not a great hatch, but I did zero work for 2 more ducks. And the nests were not being guarded.

 

[BlueBaby]

I gave the broody duck I have her own corral and a doghouse for her nest. She hatched 2 ducklings, not a great hatch, but I did zero work for 2 more ducks. And the nests were not being guarded.

For the past 2 or 3 years every time that I have a hen go broody on me, it's always been a Naked Neck.

 

[Parront]

For the past 2 or 3 years every time that I have a hen go broody on me, it's always been a Naked Neck.

Yes, I have a broody NN that is supposed to be busy paying her rent in green eggs! She is guarding the one side of the nest boxes, the other birds are laying in there with her, too. She keeps trying to hatch the fake egg, going to have to take that out.