Arizona Chickens

[EmmaDonovan]

I understand your concern over all of it. Take a deep breath and do the outside stuff while it’s cool. Even with highs in the upper 90’s it will be cool enough in the early morning hours to get stuff done. Save the rooms in the house for when it’s too warm to be outside.

It is not a good idea to bring your flock in and out of the a/c. It can it more difficult for them to be outside overnight because that will be hot, and then daytime will be impossible for them. I would suggest you try ice blocks in those tubs and give them a chance. Don’t put water in with the ice, just let it slowly melt. Even if they aren’t standing in them yet, I’d bet they will eventually. And I imagine they’re drinking from them at least.

Get some electrolytes for them now so you have them on hand.

I put water in the pitchers I use to make ice today.

I take care of my friends' horses/mules/donkeys/dogs when they're out of town. During the summer I have to get there by 4:00 A.M. to finish all the ranch chores by 8:00, after that it's just too hot for me to work outdoors. I'm not a morning person but I do enjoy the quiet time on their ranch when it's just me and the animals.

You're right about the A/C. We only bring a chicken inside if they are really struggling in the heat, we did that a few times last year and it was just for a bit until they recovered, it wasn't a regular thing.

I think the chickens weren't crazy about being in the tubs. Those are the same tubs we use as hospital cages for injured or ill chickens. They can move around and get comfy but there's not a ton of room.

I was trying to think of something that would give them a little more room and could possibly be used for two at a time (if two needed to come in at the same time) so they wouldn't feel isolated and alone.

I have some ice blocks in the freezer, you read my mind! We put ice cubes in the waterers a few days ago when it got hot. I love watching the hens dip their beaks, the cool water must feel so good. I have several packets of electrolytes ready to go.

The ice blocks in the freezer are in tubs large enough for them to stand in as the water melts. It gets poopy quickly so I swap them out with new clean blocks several times a day when it's very hot.

We also have fans and a couple of cobra misters (we don't use them in the snake shape). We'll have a line mister in the new enclosure.

Whew.

 

[igorsMistress]

I take care of my friends' horses/mules/donkeys/dogs when they're out of town. During the summer I have to get there by 4:00 A.M. to finish all the ranch chores by 8:00, after that it's just too hot for me to work outdoors. I'm not a morning person but I do enjoy the quiet time on their ranch when it's just me and the animals.

You're right about the A/C. We only bring a chicken inside if they are really struggling in the heat, we did that a few times last year and it was just for a bit until they recovered, it wasn't a regular thing.

I think the chickens weren't crazy about being in the tubs. Those are the same tubs we use as hospital cages for injured or ill chickens. They can move around and get comfy but there's not a ton of room.

I was trying to think of something that would give them a little more room and could possibly be used for two at a time (if two needed to come in at the same time) so they wouldn't feel isolated and alone.

I have some ice blocks in the freezer, you read my mind! We put ice cubes in the waterers a few days ago when it got hot. I love watching the hens dip their beaks, the cool water must feel so good. I have several packets of electrolytes ready to go.

The ice blocks in the freezer are in tubs large enough for them to stand in as the water melts. It gets poopy quickly so I swap them out with new clean blocks several times a day when it's very hot.

We also have fans and a couple of cobra misters (we don't use them in the snake shape). We'll have a line mister in the new enclosure.

Whew.

Wow, you’re dedicated!

Maybe try the ice blocks in kiddie pools? We cut “doors” in two sides between the rim and bottom. I dump an ice block in around 2 and another around 4. Most get in at some point, but sometimes they’ll just sip from the pool through the doors in the side.

 

[Chebird]

Cal-Ranch in Prescott seems to have the best chicks. Bought all mine there. Just bought 6 more and I've never had problem number one with any chicks getting sick or dying. All seem to be really healthy. They get their chicks from Dunlap Hatchery and I investigated them and they have an excellent track record. Chicks are all vaccinated for Mereck's disease. I live in Chino Valley. My best friend lives in Washington State. She lives out in the Port Angeles area in a little town called Joyce.

Hello! I also live in Chino Valley and got my 13 chicks from Cal ranch in Prescott. Have had zero issues. Online. It says they get their chicks from Hoover hatchery. I sure hope that they are vaccinated. Olsen's does not vaccinate. We need to talk chicken with each other! My name is Holly.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Hello! I also live in Chino Valley and got my 13 chicks from Cal ranch in Prescott. Have had zero issues. Online. It says they get their chicks from Hoover hatchery. I sure hope that they are vaccinated. Olsen's does not vaccinate. We need to talk chicken with each other! My name is Holly.

I saw a number of people having issues with chicks purchased in AZ. Many were dying even with experienced chicken keepers. (This was on FB). Some were conjecturing that the high death rate could be from the vaccine.

This year I chose to hatch our own eggs so I wouldn't risk introducing anything foreign (vaxxed or not) into my flock.

Before this, I've also had good outcomes from Cal Ranch chicks.

Welcome to the AZ forum.

 

[Happy Novogens]

I take care of my friends' horses/mules/donkeys/dogs when they're out of town. During the summer I have to get there by 4:00 A.M. to finish all the ranch chores by 8:00, after that it's just too hot for me to work outdoors. I'm not a morning person but I do enjoy the quiet time on their ranch when it's just me and the animals.

You're right about the A/C. We only bring a chicken inside if they are really struggling in the heat, we did that a few times last year and it was just for a bit until they recovered, it wasn't a regular thing.

I think the chickens weren't crazy about being in the tubs. Those are the same tubs we use as hospital cages for injured or ill chickens. They can move around and get comfy but there's not a ton of room.

I was trying to think of something that would give them a little more room and could possibly be used for two at a time (if two needed to come in at the same time) so they wouldn't feel isolated and alone.

I have some ice blocks in the freezer, you read my mind! We put ice cubes in the waterers a few days ago when it got hot. I love watching the hens dip their beaks, the cool water must feel so good. I have several packets of electrolytes ready to go.

The ice blocks in the freezer are in tubs large enough for them to stand in as the water melts. It gets poopy quickly so I swap them out with new clean blocks several times a day when it's very hot.

We also have fans and a couple of cobra misters (we don't use them in the snake shape). We'll have a line mister in the new enclosure.

Whew.

I think another thing with our summer heat is to not overdo keeping them cool. If they get misters and wading pools when it's just 90 F then they won't be able to handle 110.

They always have shade but I think it's when it reaches around 95 or higher that I'll time the misters to go on for 10 minutes per hour during the afternoon. More often as it gets hotter.
They don't get their wading pool until it's really hot... maybe 105+.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

We've been using a Squirrelinator for a few days and caught exactly one squirrel.

We're going set out our Tube Trap tomorrow. We caught one every few days with that when we starting using it last September, until the squirrels began hibernating.

I think we've only ever caught female ground squirrels. Do the males hang out in the burrows and the females go out for food, I wonder? Or are the males just too smart to get caught in our traps? If we could trap the males we could really cut down on the population.

I'm hearing rumors that's it's going to be 100° here on Tuesday.

 

[igorsMistress]

It is NOT too early to whine about the heat, the heat is too early!

We turned on the a/c yesterday.

 

[Happy Novogens]

Haha. Guess we're wimps. We've been running A/C for awhile already.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Caught a second squirrel in the Squirrelinator, another female.

I might have seen a (the?) male the other day. There was a big fat squirrel watching me wash coop dishes, waiting to move in to get some of the water before the ground soaked it all up. I couldn't tell if it was male or female but if I had to guess I'd say one that big doing a stare down was a male.

Haven't caught anything in the tube trap yet.

My snap traps for mice move all over the yard. Either the mice get trapped but are still able to move and they drag the trap with them or predators (read: neighborhood cats) find the trapped mouse and move it to someplace to eat it. Either way I rarely find mice in them. Tripped traps but no mice. The little bait cups are still full.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Caught another female in the Squirrelinator. That's three.

One year ago today :