Arizona Chickens

[igorsMistress]

How old are your chicks? I’m awaiting my first eggs from my ladies but their 17 weeks and I think the heat is holding them off, soooo ready for September and October and cooler temps

They could start by the end of the month or so. The heat isn’t stopping my pullet or one of the older girls. If not by then, certainly by the end of September.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

How old are your chicks? I’m awaiting my first eggs from my ladies but their 17 weeks and I think the heat is holding them off, soooo ready for September and October and cooler temps

She was 17 weeks last week when she laid her first egg. I'm surprised we're getting any eggs in this heat and the way they're penned up right now but I'm delighted they are laying. Do your chickens have ways to cool down?

Today I got two olive eggs. We bought them as Easter eggers but maybe they're wheaten olive eggers? They have the wheaten coloring and pattern but they also very large upright combs, not pea combs, so I'm not really sure what they are. At any rate we love the olive eggs and we're glad they're not roosters!

I'm done with summer, too. I'm ready for life to start again. November can't get here soon enough!

 

[BenisonsChickns]

They have full shade and I keep them supplied with ice water to drink they seem to be doing well just panting but once the sun goes down their ready to run around the yard before the roost up… I though my egger was a roo too but turns out I have 8 ladies at least from all physical characteristics… I thought about putting up misters but they don’t seem to fond of water when I’ve had the hose mister around them…

 

[EmmaDonovan]

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. It took our chickens a while to figure out the mister. At first they avoided it but now they like to stand under it.

If you get one of the stand-alone misters make sure you don't shape it like it is in the photo, that looks like a snake and can scare away the chickens.

You could also try adding fans or some ice blocks. We freeze blocks of water with broccoli or peas. The chickens like to stand on the ice and then in the ice water as it melts and they pick out the treats. After the water has evaporated they lay down in the plastic tray (maybe it's still cool)?

They also like to stand on frozen water bottles. We freeze different sizes and leave them around the pen on their sides. I work them down into the dirt a little so they don't roll around when the chickens stand on them.

Our chickens pant, too, sometimes even at night. It's so hot! It's 110 today.

 

[PaysonBackyardChickens]

Ok all you AZ folks, with new chicks and rain - when is it okay for them to be outside when it rains? mine aren't quite ready for overnights yet, they will be 4 weeks on Wed but we are in monsoon season and we get rain up here in Payson - when they are 6 weeks, I was planning to leave them outside, in the enclosed run with coop (the adults are free range in the entire backyard). I have heard chickens drown just looking up when it rains. Should the chicks be locked in the coop when it rains?

 

[City farm]

Whewww, it's here in East Mesa.
I have been moving the mister around the run for the girls. They like to lay in the deepest part of where it is the shady, under the Arabian lilac bush-tree.
The ducks hang under the mist, so cute.
Stay cool and safe.

 

[igorsMistress]

Ok all you AZ folks, with new chicks and rain - when is it okay for them to be outside when it rains? mine aren't quite ready for overnights yet, they will be 4 weeks on Wed but we are in monsoon season and we get rain up here in Payson - when they are 6 weeks, I was planning to leave them outside, in the enclosed run with coop (the adults are free range in the entire backyard). I have heard chickens drown just looking up when it rains. Should the chicks be locked in the coop when it rains?

They’ll usually take cover like the bigs. As warm as it is they should be fine.

 

[igorsMistress]

G’morning AZ. Did anyone get rain with this last round of storms? It looked promising here but then it pooped out and we only got wind.

 

[BenisonsChickns]

G’morning AZ. Did anyone get rain with this last round of storms? It looked promising here but then it pooped out and we only got wind.

Nothing here at my house in North Phoenix but not far from here there was some, always seems to go right around my house, the garden was pissed

 

[EmmaDonovan]

We had a nice steady rain without wind tearing up the yard. I was glad because I had just cleaned out the pen. I know chickens don't like change but I swear they're happy and dance around when everything is clean and fixed up and they have fresh pine shavings and some new natural perches (tree branches) and extra treats. Now that I think about it, it's probably just the treats.

The rain also invigorated the weeds which are all over the yard. The chickens love them and since they can't free range I pick a bunch every day and stuff them into three or four suet cages for them to peck at.

Here are our first two dozen eggs, everything we've collected since they started laying on July 29th: