Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

I saw mention of the hatchery having to temporarily lock down one of their barns. I'm thinking at some point people who wouldn't otherwise consider keeping roosters, will reconsider....

I'm glad that I don't have to be worried about looking around for chick's now. I'm all set, and I have more then one rooster to pick from.

 

[BlueBaby]

Well, 10 little eggs just entered lockdown here, so there will probably be more roosters available, just sayin'. The countdown on the incubator just hit 3 days this evening, so I did a quick candle, removed the egg divider, and added the water. Now it's time to wait and see.

Since you already have 2 rooster's, I hope that most of the egg's that hatch will be girl's for you. I don't know if people will be smart enough to keep a rooster or not, and some people live where they can't have one at all.

 

[springvalley123]

I don't know if people will be smart enough to keep a rooster or not, and some people live where they can't have one at all.

Well for some of us, it wouldn't be smart to keep a rooster (some of us just aren't good with possibly dominant animals) I bet there'll be more people who aren't supposed to have roosters, trying to keep them though.

 

[BlueBaby]

Well for some of us, it wouldn't be smart to keep a rooster (some of us just aren't good with possibly dominant animals) I bet there'll be more people who aren't supposed to have roosters, trying to keep them though.

I know what you mean. I used to cull any that were bad boy's, and then try to rehome any of the extra good boy's that I had. But, now that there's talk about a food shortage coming up, I think I might have to hold onto all of them, in case I need a meal.

 

[CaroleW]

I know what you mean. I used to cull any that were bad boy's, and then try to rehome any of the extra good boy's that I had. But, now that there's talk about a food shortage coming up, I think I might have to hold onto all of them, in case I need a meal.

I'm glad my DH is good at building out pens - I can keep a few extra roos just in case.

 

[CaroleW]

Thank you! Even though we aren’t really near getting our chickens, we’ve been looking a lot about how to keep them cool. The shallow pan idea is one I’ll remember.

As far as predator proofing the coop, we saw hardware cloth (I think that’s what it’s called) is better than just chicken wire.

Thank you again!

I also use expanded metal that is used for stucco systems if hardware cloth is unavailable.

 

[BlueBaby]

I'm glad my DH is good at building out pens - I can keep a few extra roos just in case.

Exactly! With all that's been happening, you have to look out for you and your family first, even in keeping your older hen's that are no longer laying around for chicken soup.

 

[springvalley123]

Exactly! With all that's been happening, you have to look out for you and your family first, even in keeping your older hen's that are no longer laying around for chicken soup.

Well I don't know about older hens, but I have a few likely cockerels that are acting like they don't want to live to be old enough to crow. I put them out into the pen today. They were 4 weeks yesterday. They have space, but are still picking "fights". My idea of which will be the first to process, keeps changing!

 

[BlueBaby]

Well I don't know about older hens, but I have a few likely cockerels that are acting like they don't want to live to be old enough to crow. I put them out into the pen today. They were 4 weeks yesterday. They have space, but are still picking "fights". My idea of which will be the first to process, keeps changing!

How big is your freezer? If it's big enough you could do up all 4 of them at the same time while you have all of your equipment out so you won't have to drag it out again. I have a chest deep freezer.

 

[springvalley123]

How big is your freezer? If it's big enough you could do up all 4 of them at the same time while you have all of your equipment out so you won't have to drag it out again. I have a chest deep freezer.

I have a chest freezer. I just started it up (early) so there's room.

Edit: probably more than 4 cockerels out of the 13 straight run hatchery surprise. I'm thinking 4-6 pullets but was just going by feathering speed and growth speed, thickness of legs and pink/larger combs. But with all possibly different breeds not a lot for comparison, just "my what a big pink comb for 4 weeks!"