Arizona Chickens

[cavemanrich]

auto sexing smart chicks?

I just use the SMART CHICKS wording to express a diverse gene pool instead of getting an inbred sort of flock.

 

[igorsMistress]

Hydroponic gardening is on my to-do list!

Paragraphic (an excellent YouTube channel) did a story on a family in Tucson that does aquaponics/hydroponics, backyard chickens, dogs, and pet pigs.

The family's channel is here.

Charles does regular updates with lots of great info about his systems and what they use and don't and why/why not. Also he's really positive and encouraging. I love his attitude. His videos are always uplifting and a pleasure to view. They make me happy.

Thanks Emma! I really appreciate this info!

 

[igorsMistress]

Some years back I worked with a man who had a hydroponic setup where he had a big tank of tilapia on the bottom fertilizing the plants above it. Somehow he made it work. I've been interested in maybe trying a more conventional hydroponics system but am not sure how well they actually work.

And welcome back to the thread!

Thanks so much!
I suppose it depends on what you want to grow as to whether hydroponics would work well. I can tell you that lettuce and herbs grow quite well in aerated water with plant food. You just have to monitor the water and add vitamins every two weeks.
Veggies with large roots do better in a flood and drain system, tomatoes and peppers and such.

I’m trying a single patio tomato plant in my bigger unit. This thing is expensive but we have a points for performance thing at work that allowed me to get it. I’ve had four heads of lettuce and some herbs in it that I fed the bunnies. It’s just an aerated water system but does show the water level and reminds you to add vitamins.

This little unit I bought at walmart for $80. It was worth it for me though because I can start things in it, harden them off and put in the garden, then start the next crop. It works beautifully for that. Otherwise it’s too small for any real growing but if you like to cook with fresh herbs it would be nice. It only holds three plants for growing or 15 starts.

I don’t know that I could grow enough to feed the family year round but if we did it right it could certainly help supplement.

 

[BlueBaby]

One of the Naked Neck pullet's was standing in the nesting box when I walked in there and she started talking to me. I reached down to get the egg that her mother had layed, and instead of running, the pullet squatted. I petted her while talking gently to her. She should start laying egg's herself by the end of this month. She's already bigger then what her mother is.

 

[CaroleW]

I was off the grid for field survey work at Roper Lake and Dankworth Pond for very long work days (but short daylight hours). We worked dawn to dusk and then drove 3 hours to/from home in beginning and end. Recuperating... by working at my desk today.

These work trips are how I find out how the restaurants are doing (I rarely eat out at home)- Pizza Hut marked off salads, most pasta, and all drinks but fountain drinks from the menu; the local Casa Manana restaurant had a full menu, Arby's crossed out many menu items and ran out of napkins and gave me paper towels from the handwash sink, Cirkle K (convenience/gas) had many coffee drink dispenser out of service. This report is from eastern Arizona locations like Safford, Globe, Miami, and Cordes Junction (Arby's in Love's truckstop in north central AZ). YMMV

 

[BlueBaby]

I was off the grid for field survey work at Roper Lake and Dankworth Pond for very long work days (but short daylight hours). We worked dawn to dusk and then drove 3 hours to/from home in beginning and end. Recuperating... by working at my desk today.

These work trips are how I find out how the restaurants are doing (I rarely eat out at home)- Pizza Hut marked off salads, most pasta, and all drinks but fountain drinks from the menu; the local Casa Manana restaurant had a full menu, Arby's crossed out many menu items and ran out of napkins and gave me paper towels from the handwash sink, Cirkle K (convenience/gas) had many coffee drink dispenser out of service. This report is from eastern Arizona locations like Safford, Globe, Miami, and Cordes Junction (Arby's in Love's truckstop in north central AZ). YMMV

What? No coffee? Better brew a pot at home and take a thermos full of it with you!

 

[CaroleW]

On aquaponics - there are some very interesting ideas in the link below with aquaponics, hydroponics, poultry, waterfowl, rooftop garden, and intensive permaculture on a small urban lot.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwHPb66Ag_c

or search for​

FedEx tinkerer custom builds no-waste micro farmstead​

 

[EmmaDonovan]

We are ready to buy one of these to start our coop but before we do I'm looking for some feedback from my fellow Arizonans:

We decided on this because it's metal and lumber is prohibitively expensive around here. Also, we can disassemble it and take it with us when we move. Metal will also last longer than wood in our desert environment.

As you can see this design needs some alterations to become predator proof. The entire thing will be completely enclosed in 1/4" hardware cloth, including the floor as we have a huge ground squirrel population. We're also adding our own door.

The coop is 6'3" (important to me; I'm 6'1") in the walk-in area. With the extension it'll be a total of 172 sq. ft. for 10-12 chickens. The door faces south, nest boxes are on the north side.

Here are some examples of how we plan to modify it. Please excuse my lousy Sketchup skills; Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

Here are more detailed illustrations of the hen house. I'm posting this here instead of in the coop design section because I think it's difficult to understand our crazy climate and needs if you don't live here. I don't mean to insult anyone by that. It's just tough to grasp the combination of 20F - 115F temperature swings, sideways monsoon rains when it's 100F, microbursts, snow, 1% humidity, etc. unless you've lived through it all.

The proportions of the hen house are somewhat constrained by the geometry of the run. It's 6' wide by 4' high and 4' deep. The legs are 1'6". We tried positioning it outside the coop but decided we wanted the weather protection and security of it being inside. Only the nest boxes are outside, for easy egg retrieval.

The silly white rectangles on the sides are my version of soffit vents, the green part in the inside is vinyl flooring for a deep litter system. The ramp is removable.

We tried to design a hen house that can be opened or closed up in increments, to match the weather and the hens' needs. The bottom door in the front only drops down for deep cleaning. The top/ceiling of the hen house can be removed entirely.

 

[wolfwalker]

We are ready to buy one of these to start our coop but before we do I'm looking for some feedback from my fellow Arizonans:

We decided on this because it's metal and lumber is prohibitively expensive around here. Also, we can disassemble it and take it with us when we move. Metal will also last longer than wood in our desert environment.

You are better off buying the parts you need and the pipe local. http://tarps.com/fittings2.htm is where you can buy all the connections at a decent price then go to the local lowes / home depot/ace hardware and buy the pipe.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

We are ready to buy one of these to start our coop but before we do I'm looking for some feedback from my fellow Arizonans:

We decided on this because it's metal and lumber is prohibitively expensive around here. Also, we can disassemble it and take it with us when we move. Metal will also last longer than wood in our desert environment.

As you can see this design needs some alterations to become predator proof. The entire thing will be completely enclosed in 1/4" hardware cloth, including the floor as we have a huge ground squirrel population. We're also adding our own door.

The coop is 6'3" (important to me; I'm 6'1") in the walk-in area. With the extension it'll be a total of 172 sq. ft. for 10-12 chickens. The door faces south, nest boxes are on the north side.

Here are some examples of how we plan to modify it. Please excuse my lousy Sketchup skills; Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

View attachment 2896946

View attachment 2896947

View attachment 2896951
View attachment 2896953

Here are more detailed illustrations of the hen house. I'm posting this here instead of in the coop design section because I think it's difficult to understand our crazy climate and needs if you don't live here. I don't mean to insult anyone by that. It's just tough to grasp the combination of 20F - 115F temperature swings, sideways monsoon rains when it's 100F, microbursts, snow, 1% humidity, etc. unless you've lived through it all.

The proportions of the hen house are somewhat constrained by the geometry of the run. It's 6' wide by 4' high and 4' deep. The legs are 1'6". We tried positioning it outside the coop but decided we wanted the weather protection and security of it being inside. Only the nest boxes are outside, for easy egg retrieval.

The silly white rectangles on the sides are my version of soffit vents, the green part in the inside is vinyl flooring for a deep litter system. The ramp is removable.

View attachment 2896967
View attachment 2896968

View attachment 2896969

View attachment 2896972
We tried to design a hen house that can be opened or closed up in increments, to match the weather and the hens' needs. The bottom door in the front only drops down for deep cleaning. The top/ceiling of the hen house can be removed entirely.

View attachment 2896971

View attachment 2896973
View attachment 2896974

We are ready to buy one of these to start our coop but before we do I'm looking for some feedback from my fellow Arizonans:

We decided on this because it's metal and lumber is prohibitively expensive around here. Also, we can disassemble it and take it with us when we move. Metal will also last longer than wood in our desert environment.

As you can see this design needs some alterations to become predator proof. The entire thing will be completely enclosed in 1/4" hardware cloth, including the floor as we have a huge ground squirrel population. We're also adding our own door.

The coop is 6'3" (important to me; I'm 6'1") in the walk-in area. With the extension it'll be a total of 172 sq. ft. for 10-12 chickens. The door faces south, nest boxes are on the north side.

Here are some examples of how we plan to modify it. Please excuse my lousy Sketchup skills; Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

View attachment 2896946

View attachment 2896947

View attachment 2896951
View attachment 2896953

Here are more detailed illustrations of the hen house. I'm posting this here instead of in the coop design section because I think it's difficult to understand our crazy climate and needs if you don't live here. I don't mean to insult anyone by that. It's just tough to grasp the combination of 20F - 115F temperature swings, sideways monsoon rains when it's 100F, microbursts, snow, 1% humidity, etc. unless you've lived through it all.

The proportions of the hen house are somewhat constrained by the geometry of the run. It's 6' wide by 4' high and 4' deep. The legs are 1'6". We tried positioning it outside the coop but decided we wanted the weather protection and security of it being inside. Only the nest boxes are outside, for easy egg retrieval.

The silly white rectangles on the sides are my version of soffit vents, the green part in the inside is vinyl flooring for a deep litter system. The ramp is removable.

View attachment 2896967
View attachment 2896968

View attachment 2896969

View attachment 2896972
We tried to design a hen house that can be opened or closed up in increments, to match the weather and the hens' needs. The bottom door in the front only drops down for deep cleaning. The top/ceiling of the hen house can be removed entirely.

View attachment 2896971

View attachment 2896973
View attachment 2896974

I have no desire to mess with your coop plans, but I have a friend who told me never to use aluminum frames for a greenhouse because of the high winds. She has had them completely destroyed, and now has a sturdy wooden framed one. I'm guessing chicken coops would have the same issues, unless the winds down there aren't as vicious as the ones we get out here. I have a small aluminum flag pole that bent in half due to the winds.

You might be able to get building materials at a decent price from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, or maybe if your area offers one of those newspapers with stuff for sale at the convenience store you might find something there. Or maybe someone has a second hand coop available. I know you really, really want a coop and the one you picked is pretty, but I think safe is better.