Arizona Chickens

[wsamsky]

We are about 3 months into raising our new chickens and one of them has turned out to be a rooster (so much for all females!!). I would like to get rid of him to a no kill home if someone here would take him I would feel way more comfortable than posting him on craigslist.

Sorry the pictures are kinda bad he is hiding!!! He's the black and white one in the back.

 

[Mahonri]

Welcome to BYC. Good luck with your roo. I had to end up doing Craigs list and a friend with a farm.

Talked a pt into joining BYC and buying some of my hatch on April 24th.

Gorgeous day today... too bad I was inside most of it.

 

[beverlyl]

I was the lucky one who got Mahonri's beatiful eggs. I set 12 of them today and now I have to wait until my other bator gets up to par, hopefully in the morning it will be ready and I will be able to set the others. I am so excited.

What does GC stand for?

Thank you

 

[Mahonri]

GCMs: Golden Cuckoo Marans They are beautiful and as you can see they lay JUMBO sized eggs.

BWA: Blue Wheaten Ameraucana

Wish I'd have had a polish egg or two for you.

Did it smell like a dental office? I was right in the middle of a filling when you came by.

Wow... someone knows the abbreviation for patient! (pt)

I've got my next dozen or so building. Today to start there is a BWA X Polish, a GCM, (She's been with the BWA long enough now we could produce an olive egger here) and two BWAs.

Any takers come Friday/Saturday?

 

[gckiddhouse]

Quote:
This is how we started. We had 2 or three of each kind. They were all raised from chicks together, but the ones that looked alike were buddies. That old saying, "birds of a feather flock together" holds true. They all got along great.

There are more docile breeds and we had a breed that we hated. They were all mean to us and the other birds. It was the amber stars. We had a rooster, a hen and their pullet offspring. All three had terrible personalities. There are chicken breeds that are not so nice. The RIRs were more aggressive and were always at the top of the pecking order.

I liked looking at the henderson's chicken breed chart. If you haven't seen it, google it and you will find it easily. Each breed has a description of its personality and comments by the author if they have ever had the breed in their own flock.

Choosing docile breeds is a good idea. It will make the experience more pleasant. I have said before that people often start with "great layers" (leghorns, RIRs, Sex links, etc.) and eventually move toward those that are a little more fun to have like ameraucanas, orpingtons, barred rocks, delawares and other friendly breeds.

For me, it is all about pretty birds and pretty eggs. I like the rainbow of egg colors!

I think the most important bit of information a new chicken owner needs is this - Be prepared to take care of problems that arise immediately!! What I mean is you should be prepared to cull a bird if it is mean, sick, injured or a rooster. You WILL have these situations and YOU will need to deal with it. Remember that they are chickens, after all. So delicious in a soup! Be prepared to do what needs to be done. It will happen...

 

[smjacob]

Quote:
So the henderson's chicken breed chart ROCKS!! thank you. That is a good resource

Is there some soup recipe that i am missing since everyone seems to like soup soo much ( lol bad joke i know but in my mind it had to be said)

Again stupid question. One bird gets sick and the humane thing is to put it down. How to you get rid of the birds body? I know you don't want to eat something sick so??

With dogs the animal hospital takes them but charges a disposal fee so with a chicken? Trashcan?? Dont want to be mean just curious if there is a protocol or laws concerning this?

Thanks again for that henderson's chicken breed chart i will be studying that all night

Shaun

 

[redrocketrooster]

Quote:
So the henderson's chicken breed chart ROCKS!! thank you. That is a good resource

Is there some soup recipe that i am missing since everyone seems to like soup soo much ( lol bad joke i know but in my mind it had to be said)

Again stupid question. One bird gets sick and the humane thing is to put it down. How to you get rid of the birds body? I know you don't want to eat something sick so??

With dogs the animal hospital takes them but charges a disposal fee so with a chicken? Trashcan?? Dont want to be mean just curious if there is a protocol or laws concerning this?

Thanks again for that henderson's chicken breed chart i will be studying that all night

Shaun

Honestly, cull it via freezer (less mess). Freezing the dead animal eliminates the smell and slows the rotting. If you are worried about getting into trouble I would cut the chicken into pieces, freeze and then throw the bag in before pick up. The laws around my area as far as "dead animals" go is loose, considerable. Basically, anything over or at 10 lb must be disposed of properly. (vets office or city pick up). However a neighbor of mine threw out a dead dog that he found on the road, which could have been 30lbs. I suppose it is a matter of the pick ups noticing it.

EDIT: I am not certain to the extent which is it seen safe to eat the said culled chicken. Personally I will not eat a culled chicken unless it culled from being egg-bound, old or a not so loved one. Oh and homemade chicken soup...only the best. I've tried this recipe and I really liked it:

 

[LarryPQ]

Shaun- Here is the code regarding disposal of animal carcasses in Glendale:

Sec. 6-1. - Definitions
Animal: Any animal of a species that is susceptible to rabies, except man.

Sec. 18-109. - Disposal of dead animals.
No person shall place the body of any dead animal in any street, park or in any refuse container or bin. The bodies of dead animals shall be removed or collected as directed by the city.

There are no specific ordinances regarding the disposal of poultry or fowl. I suggest you double-Fry's bag it, and toss it in the dumpster like you would a dead pidgeon or swallow.

Also- don't eat sick birds. It is just not a good idea.

 

[AZKat]

As far as mixed flocks go, I'll repeat what other people have said-there isn't any problem with having a mixed flock of relatively calm egg laying or dual purpose breeds. I've got, at present, 4 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Buckeyes, 1 Delaware, 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Silver-laced Wyndotte, 1 Andalusian and 1 Ameraucana. Everybody gets along really well, and the only conflicts have to do with size, not breed. Of course, the Ameraucana is a cockrel that I got from Mahroni, so in a few years I'll have a flock of Easter Eggers

I do have to disagree slightly about white egg layers being no more flighty than other breeds. My Andalusian, Inara, is the only one who manages to get out of the run, and the walls are eight feet high. She's gentle, in the sense that she will let you pick her up, and she's not aggressive towards humans, but she has more attitude than the other birds. Also, my late, lamented, Lackenvelder, would have been a white egg layer, if she hadn't committed suicide by flying into the yard of a neighbor who had a pit-bull, she remains the only bird to get out of the yard. Of course, this may have more to do with body size than personality, since white egg layers tend to be smaller and more lightly built.

 

[LarryPQ]

MOMMA WANT!
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/grd/1679198179.html

Yes, I know I have issues.