Arizona Chickens

[CheerfulHeart2]

Thank you all for sharing your heat survival tips.

Here's what we are doing.


Our 6 chickens free range in the back yard that has a 6 foot cinder block wall to keep them in and predators out. I live in town, so no hawks. They are a heavy breed and happy to stay on the ground which keeps them inside the fence. When they were little, to protect them from cats we built a small run 2 feet tall that is 4 feet wide by 8 feet long. It has wheels and I move it around the yard. They usually get fed inside the run...trying to avoid feeding the doves. They have free access to the run. I covered the run with burlap on the top and the side facing the sun and set a $15 mister on top that uses 1 gal of water per hour. The mister runs during the day. It gets the burlap wet and "ta da" one chicken swamp cooler! Above the mister, I have an aluminet (metalized cloth) shade cloth. This give complete shade in the run and keeps the mister water from evaporating. By 12:30 those that aren't broody (and even some that are) are all in under the run or on top of it by the mister. [I am tolerating broodiness, but make them get up and eat twice a day.) They stay in or on the run until about 5:30 or 6.

(The mister idea came from one back yard chicken member who gave me a link on where to buy it. The alument idea from another member. And using a cloth covered area as the swamp cooler from a third.)

I also cut their feed down and only feed them in the morning and late afternoon. (The wild doves feasting contributed to the dismissal of open feed as well)

Of course, I am very diligent in keeping water supplied (thanks to the poster early in this thread who said - skip a day on water and you are out of the chicken business). Also, I learned from another members sad story that they must always have access to shade, which they do.

Oh, their small coup for egg laying and night sleeping is under a tree on one side and shaded with aluminet on the other. Also, we put a table in the back of it to set the nest boxes on to open up the sleeping area with more air cirulation at night. (The opposing wall is a screen wall.) Sometimes I put frozen 2 L bottles of water in the coup, but I don't know that it helps much.

 

[Tonopah Pati]

Update on the misters & Mites. I got rid of the Mites, restrung the mister, I dust the pen about 1x a week, as well as my girls. They now have several tubs with water to cool their feet, they sure love that. I have the tubs placed where the misters drip, the girls lay around the tubs and jump in the tubs when they need to. I also wet down the holes for them. Oh how they love to stand in the mud as well as laying in it. I placed an old dog house on top of one of the hutches. They now have a Loft, I put straw down for bedding, dusted well, lo and behold the girls made nest's and are laying eggs. I didn't know if it would be too hot as it is plastic, however it has a very large opening, the whole front. Some of the chickens were roosting on the roof of the hutch before, so they were used to flying up there. I have my pen completely covered with shade. Camo netting and shade cloth. The south and east side. The west side is blocked for the most part by a shed. Where the west sun hits I have a section of bamboo fence, sun screens that didn't fit house, and a camo hunting blind that extends across the door across the front of the pen. There is about 2 1/2feet open from the ground up. I can lift it up or down when needed. It also helps with wind and our famous dust storms. The pen also has a med. size tree grow in it, and gets the wading pond tea water. The bottom 2 1/2 feet are open so they can see out, and it helps with venting.

 

[Tonopah Pati]

The Loft

 

[Tonopah Pati]

Mr. Peep, The little taz devil

 

[Harry's Pollos 1G]

Dede, thanks for the links. The best advice I found was that in order to make the waterer work you need to some how create pressure in the bucket so the water will not continuously flow out. I went to Home Depot and got a 2 gallon bucket (white) with lid in the paint department and bolted that to a potting plant bottom. I put 1 hole at about the height of the dish. When you feel the bucket, simply put your finger over the hole so water does not run out. Once you get the lid secured you can remove your finger and the water will flow out to just below the drilled hole. It will then work much like the mini waters we use for the chicks and provide continuous water till the water goes below the drilled hole. I've also found that if I want the base brimming I can lift the lid slightly off and let some water out without completely losing all of the pressure. Once the water arrives to where I want it, I secure the lid again and the pressure is still sufficient to work in the same manner as described previously.

Recently I have been filling the bucket half full and filling it the rest with ice so as to keep the water cool pretty much all day. Plus I leave the waterer on the ground and the girls lay around it to stay cool. I have also been freezing milk gallons and putting out in the coop for the girls to sit next to. They seem to love the idea!!!

If anybody wants pictures of the waterer let me know and I can post them or send them to you in a PM. Good luck and have a great night!

Quote:
Perhaps this other thread will be more helpful to you.

Or try this link also .

Let us know when you find out what the problem was!

 

[LarryPQ]

Hello! I am a newbie in PHX up by PV mall area.

Here are my new babies:

 

[cap1717]

Welcome. . . looks like you need lots of space for you "brood (s)", a very handsome lot, by the way! I am also in the paradise valley Neighborhood, but a bit further North and west from the mall. So far, no problems with neighbors. . . .but my girls are both clean and quiet, and I have a feeling the neighbors can be bribed with eggs, if necessary!

 

[LarryPQ]

I have no problem bribing the neighbors with eggs....but I would be one of the last to "keep up with the Joneses" when it came to raising chickens. The people behind me have a roo or two, but he only crows in the morning/evening and he isn't terribly loud.

We had a problem a few years ago where one house let their flock run wild---the whole flock was flighted and would roam the neighborhood attacking dogs. I suppose it wouldn't have been a huge issue but one neighbor breeds Papillions...so a roo could easily take out her whole income! Her daughter lived next door to me and had a "reject" Papillion. He was a scrapper---he took out a roo and two hens over 6 weeks. Nobody wanted to hurt the chickens, but they were out of hand.

ANYWHOO- Mine will be in a run/coop and will only be out when the dogs are penned. Since the chicks in the pic are straight-run, and I can't tell the difference, I bet I will end up with 6 or 7 pullets. Not to many to start with

BTW-the boy "eating" the "crunchy chicken" in my BIL...he thinks he's funny but he would PASS OUT if he knew about Alice Cooper.

edited for info

 

[Prester John]

Just returned from Glendale where I picked up more Cinnamon Queens and a beautiful Americauna from ArizonaNessa.

Even picked up an extra 2 nesting boxes (much better than what I made myself!)

Everyone, I must confess that, although I get nothing for saying it (and we're not related), I highly recommend Vanessa for all your 'get more chickens' needs.

She's simply the best - the standard by which all others seemingly pale in comparison to.

Thanks again, Vanessa!

 

[samandramey]

I fully agree with the above post about arizonanessa!

I got some girls from her and couldnt be happier. i would make the drive out there again and im way out in queen creek. the one place out here (that isnt a feed store), was less than wonderful and disappointing.

not to be an advertisement, but to anyone in the phoenix valley... arizonanessa has great birds!