Arizona Chickens

[CheerfulHeart2]

Agreed - bees needed. It is hard because we don't want anyone to get hurt either. My mother lets them live in her tree, but no kids at her house. Glad to know seeing more around is expected.

Mohonri - How deep is your raised garden bed? I have been doing square foot gardens, that are only 8 inches deep or so and they are raised up on saw horses/tables so I don't have to bend over. I have noticed that plants in deeper planters grow bigger. Would love some more tips on the raised beds. My cauliflower plants are growing flowers! I have never succesfully grown caultiflower and gotten something I could eat, but I have flowers! I don't understand cauliflower, broccoli or cabbage. But I am giving it a try.

Laree-

AzDC - thank you for the report. I know others have seen chicks older than a couple of days reject broodies, so it is interesting to learn that sometimes it can work. I wonder if your chicks are a great exception or if putting them under her at night or if frizzles are more receptive. Interesting also that the mother hens had only been broody for less than 2 weeks. Broodiness is a reality for my BA's so I am always looking for options.

All - My BA's are over a year old now, so I am considering that it may be time to get some babies to build up my layers for next year. What do you think, do I need to start raising new layers or are my hens likely to continue to lay well after 2 years old?

GOLDEN - what are your favorite features of being a golden member?

 

[ArizonaNessa]

BA I assume is black australorp (sp?)

Egg laying can stop for various reasons. If you just brought them home then they might stop til they get adjusted to the new place, broodiness can cause it, molt can cause it, nutrition can cause it, heat can cause it, stress from barking dogs can cause it.

CheerfulHeart~ I sent you a PM. I don't know why because what I said I could have just typed right here. I guess it's just getting late and my noggin isn't workin so well

 

[redrocketrooster]

Quote:
Haha. BA, alright now I have to remember that. I think CheerfulHeart2 was implying is that the Black Australorps will be too old after a year or two?
Which is why I said, "If they are only a year...why would they stop laying?".

 

[ArizonaNessa]

Quote:
Haha. BA, alright now I have to remember that. I think CheerfulHeart2 was implying is that the Black Australorps will be too old after a year or two?
Which is why I said, "If they are only a year...why would they stop laying?".

Yeah I was trying to read the thread backwards again and after I answered you I had to edit part of it and add in the rest because I saw what she had asked. That's what I get for trying to be clever

 

[redrocketrooster]

Quote:
Haha. BA, alright now I have to remember that. I think CheerfulHeart2 was implying is that the Black Australorps will be too old after a year or two?
Which is why I said, "If they are only a year...why would they stop laying?".

Yeah I was trying to read the thread backwards again and after I answered you I had to edit part of it and add in the rest because I saw what she had asked. That's what I get for trying to be clever

It's fine haha. My brain is so flat right now too. Have a goodnight.

 

[Mahonri]

CheerfulHeart~ my 'raised bed' is simply surrounded by cinder block apart from my lawn on one side and pool deck on the other. It's about 15 to 18 inches deep overall but I suppose I could go deeper.

 

[LarryPQ]

My garden is in the ground...I tilled t down about 18 inches (the previous owners had horses and it was REALLY hard packed). Then I surrounded the garden with a course of blocks and brought in a truck/trailer load of mulch/sand from MTI materials (tatum and the 101). I think it as $75 total, but my garden is 16' by 24'. Then more tilling... The DH has brought a new truckload in every other year...but I wont have to do that anymore, now that I have chickens.

So, the garden is between 8" and 18" of loose soil, depending on where in the garden you are. The last few years I had a potato pit, so some parts are REALLY deep. Since you can't put potatoes in the same place 2 years running, when I dig out the pit I leave it open. That is where I tossed most of my garden waste & other compost. But the chickens can eat most of the garden waste now, and they compost it faster. (and reduce feed costs!) Efficency means more places to plant stuff!

The whole point of my ramblings was this: I found I had much better crops when I tilled/dug extra deep, and then poured mulch on top. Wet isn't an issue here in the summer, so plants REALLY take off when you garden in straight mulch.

Here are some photobooks I did a while back...ignore the naked kid. You can see the whole garden in a few of the pictures.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IZuGjdo5ZMWMo
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IZuGjdo5ZMWRJ

Wow...when did I have time to sit down and make photobooks?

Moving on...I had 4 more chicks hatch last night. All seemed pretty heathly when I left for work this morning. So 6 of 6 pipped, 5 of 6 hatched, 4 of 6 surviving (so far). Much better than my 100% egg-killing rate. Allthough I am afraid to even MENTION my hatch, lest I jinx it and kill all the chickies with karma.

 

[LarryPQ]

Ok- I KNOW I am a nerd, but I have been looking at a lot of municipal code lately.... There are some weird laws out there, but this is my favorite so far, regarding fowl:

Day Care Facilities:
Animals or fowl: Animals or fowl must be properly immunized, free of disease, and create no health or safety hazard. Pets and animals shall not be allowed loose in the playground. All pets and animals must be in cages, pens, or on leashes and be protected in such a manner that they cannot be reached by the children; however, domestic pets and animals may be handled by the children under the direct supervision of an adult. Reptiles shall not be handled by children.

It is because kids are poop eaters.

 

[Sock Puppet]

Quote:
Someone sent this to me, for those of you that might be interested.
"Subject: Obamacare
Here's a little more information about fighting the Obamacare bill.
Arizona is the model state for opposiing Obamacare. We passed a bill in 2009 (HCR 2014) that will allow Arizonans to choose their healthcare. HCR2014 can be viewed at this link:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/1r/bills/hcr2014h.htm
HCR2014 is a constitutional amendment, titled the "Healthcare Freedom Act," that will appear on the ballot this November. It is imperative that this amendment pass in November if we are going to preserve our medical freedom here in Arizona. Tell everyone you know to vote for this measure, and make sure your friends and family get out to the polls for that election in November.
Other states are not as far along as Arizona but are beginning to fight back. Today several states filed lawsuits opposing Obamacare and other states are lifting the language of HCR2014 to use in their own states.
I'll keep you informed as I get more information.
Az. State Senator Sylvia Allen "


Also... I havent been getting emails to my subscribed threads.

Was wondering why it was soooo quiet. grrrrr

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Mohonri/Laree - thank you for the garden info. I will digest it in more detail later and may have more questions. I really appreciate it though. Gardening in Phoenix is VERY DIFFERENT than gardening in Salt Lake City. I mean really, when I first moved here in May, I called the garden centers to find vegetable plants to plant. They laughed at me (almost). I was stunned, how could MAY be too late. Then, an even greater shock came in October when I saw garden centers selling tomato plants....in OCTOBER! Yes, this is a different world for sure. I love it though and am very glad to be here. The weirdest AZ thing I ran into was cockroaches coming up the drain INTO the dishwasher. Soooo grosss. Sewer line construction that year must have really got them moving, because this year I haven't had that one.

Sock - now that you are back. How go the sculptures?

RRR - ok, so as a new-ish chicken owner, I read somewhere that hens only lay well for 2 years. On hearing that, at that time, I thought I would start with 5 hens (half the allowed amount in Mesa) and after a about a year and half, get 5 more chicks to raise so that by the time the first 5 were 2 years old I would have more layers. However, I have seen many folks say that hens can lay longer than 2 years. The PM from Nessa confirmed that this has been her experience as well. They slow down later in life, but some lay into their teens. So, my issue now is reconciling my plan to get more chicks this year with the new information that my hens likely have quite a few more years in them. One issue with my BA's is heat. They slow down if the temp is over 105. So I have thought about Cinnamon Queens. Of course, I would also love some blue eggs making me think about EE and Mohonri's type of birds. I also hear OEGB have a good egg to feed ratio. Bottom line, like all the rest of you, I am interested in more hens, and am always trying to decide when is the best time. I have been talking about it awhile. It will be interesting to see when I actually take action!


PS Yes, BA = Black Australorp.