Arizona Chickens

[CheerfulHeart2]

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How disappointing.

So sorry.

 

[RebeccaRae05]

Hello Arizona!!

We are new chicken owners & this is our first summer with them. We live in North Phoenix and it is getting hot out there!! I'm worried about our chickens & would like to know, if we get them a small kiddie pool & put just a little water & ice in it, would that be safe??

They have shade & cool water to drink but I still feel like they need something else to help them at the hottest time of the day. Any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

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and to the AZ thread. We have been talking about this a lot this week. Misters have been under discussion if you want to read back a few pages. I don't know of anyone using a kiddie pool, but some have dishes of water out for them to stand in. Frozen peas and cold melons are popular for treats and some put out frozen 2L bottles for them to sit by.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

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and to the AZ thread. We have been talking about this a lot this week. Misters have been under discussion if you want to read back a few pages. I don't know of anyone using a kiddie pool, but some have dishes of water out for them to stand in. Frozen peas and cold melons are popular for treats and some put out frozen 2L bottles for them to sit by.

I don't have irrigation so I stagger-water my trees. My chickens are out all day under whichever tree was watered last (or is being watered.) The cool ground seems to help.
They ran from the scary purple mister.

I have a block wall and haven't seen any large birds yet so they seem pretty safe.

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

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Be sure to cook it well. No soft yolk or runny whites.

 

[azmotogirl]

Just got back from 5 different Home Depot stores..... looking for cull wood to use to turn the playhouse coop into a duplex! Anyway.... saw some of the individual misters at most of the stores but they were running about $10 each. If you can find them at Ace it is a much better deal. Hope that helps for anyone who needs them TODAY!

 

[joel david]

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That's what I figured but I thought I would see what the consensus was.

 

[rufus]

I also have a broody barred rock. If it is over a hundred degrees what sense is there in going broody? She was setting on six golf balls, but my grand daughter took them out and put eggs under her. Those eggs have about the same chance of hatching in this heat as those golf balls.

I didn't have the heart to tell her that. And since we have more eggs than our family and neighbors can eat, I let her try it. God willing and through some miracle, we may see chicks on or about St. John's day. More than likely, it will just be a big mess in the coop.

Last year, I found a hidden nest. Some of the eggs had started incubating just with the ambient heat.

I usually let the hens out right after breakfast, and they make a bee line for their favorite citrus tree. They love the shade and moisture.

We have the lawn sprinklers set to go off twice a day. I also have a hose dribbling to make a constant puddle for them to wade in.

The hens have nibbled the lower leaves of my little apricot trees. I never thought that they would do that. Anyway, the trees have produced about a dozen little apricots. This is their second year in my backyard. I had hoped for a better crop, but they are both of the same type. It is recommended that there be a least two different types so that they can cross pollinate. I would like to get a Desert Gold tree, but my wife thinks not. The yard is getting too crowed.

My wife complains about the water bill; we don't have irrigation. The water bill is more than the house payment sometimes.

I never beat her, and I never fooled around on her. I don't have a nice car or a big boat. I don't waste money drinking and smoking. I haven't been fishing or hunting in thirty years. If I am going to have one special vice in this life, let it be green grass and trees.

About using cracked eggs, my mother used to use them in baking. They are safe that way. Otherwise not. Now, we scramble them and feed them to the wife's darn alley cats. They haven't died yet, but I still have hopes.

Rufus

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Rufus - I have wondered if eggs could incubate in the ambient heat. Interesting that you have actually seen it. I laughed at some of your comments. My hens some times eat the lower leaves on the citrus trees.

 

[rufus]

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They also eat the leaves off of the cape honeysuckle, which I am pretty sure are poisonous. So far, none have died. But they have a totally different digestive system.

Rufus