Arizona Chickens

[NoSkiveez]

Quote:
When I got a silkie pullet from a friend she was laying and the second day she was here she laid a tiny egg. About half the size of a quail egg. It was empty. I was surprised I saw it in with her at all. Another silkie also laid a super small egg for her first egg. It looked just like a jelly bean, it had only egg white stuff in it. A few days later we got another funny shape but within 2 weeks they were normal. My blue polish lay white eggs. My other polish have not started to lay yet but I expect them to be the same. I read that when new layers start to lay (particularly marans) that they lay darker than usual eggs from a slow travel thru the vent. They get darker the longer the egg is inside the chicken. My buff Orpingtons are laying eggs pretty dark. The first one got broke and it was almost as dark as a gcm from Mahonri. They are much lighter in color now.

 

[Mahonri]

I spend alot on shavings I guess. For my big coop, it has a linoleum floor and it gets DE and pine shavings after it is mopped every week.

Only got 3 eggs today. I hope all of those Ams that hatched the end of April start laying soon. I really want to set eggs on Dec. 11th to hatch on Jan. 1st.

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

For bedding I run newspaper through the shredder, sometimes I spring for pine shavings, other times I buy bermuda cow hay for them to scatch through, eat what they want, and then rake up what's left and use it for bedding.

Constance

NoSkiveez, congrats onthe hatch, sounds like you did well. Hope the roo is ok. I hate it when they get sick. Hopefully it's just cotton like you said.
Can't wait to see what hatches from the eggs.

a2ms4chickens, I wouldn't worry too much if they were actually buzzards. They just eat carrion. The owl on the other hand I'd worry about. One actually came onto my patio where my babies and juveniles were, and a coyote did the same a couple of days ago and ate one and killed another. Finally got chicken wire over the welded wire enclosure and got everyone in the coop.

Gallo Del Cielo, cool pic. I think it has relatives up here.

The jumping chickens is pretty funny. They jump for the low hanging leaves from my other weeping plum tree, pretty comical. The lazy ones just jump into the tree and eat from there.

 

[Mahonri]

I've had scaley leg mites pop up... I'm guessing about 1/4th of my birds.

On Saturday all of their legs got brushed and sprayed with Pam Cooking spray. I'll be checking them all again on Friday evening.

 

[NoSkiveez]

I think we will be culling 3 chicks in the morning. 2 marans and a Wyandotte. The 1 marans and Wyandotte has a leg issue and the other maran just doesn't look very strong. Its very small. Im quite bummed about it.

Welcome to all the new comers!!! Its nice to have some more Arizonans here.

 

[Draconargentum]

Heya from Flagstaff, fellow desert rats.

Been lurking around BYC for a few years now... Still no chickens of my own, and probably won't be for a couple more years yet (I need to get through with college, first... year and a half to go) but I like hanging out around here, learning, picking up recipes, making plans and all that jazz. Just thought I'd pop in and say hi, plus I had a question.

The local farmer's market up here has closed down for the winter, and one of the things I'm gonna miss most is having fresh eggs... I've been spoiled by 'em so much that I'm leery of supermarket eggs anymore. I know it's getting toward the end of the laying season, but I was wondering if there was anyone in or around Flagstaff (or Kachina Village, which is where I am if you want to get technical,) that sells their surplus eggs. Thanks, everyone. ^. .^

 

[Nuclear Chickens]

NoSkiveez, There are a lot more Arizona Chicken lovers than you think. I've been just sitting back and enjoying the post on this thread. Just haven't posted here yet. Keep talking and we will keep listening. It's nice to get some localized perspective that deals with some of the extreme conditions we work through here in Arizona.

 

[Mahonri]

Welcome... seems like we had a Patti or Sally from Tonopah on here.

I figure if you have nuclear chickens you must live close to Palo Verde!

I'm trying to get ready for the rain.... got some tarps out to put over the spots that leak on my breeding pens.

We've been wasting so much water trying to get our rye grass to grow.
Next year I'm gonna just say NO!

Got 7 eggs today... I am so itching to start up my bators.

I'm waiting until I can get 11 eggs a day then I'll put 6 days worth in my two bators. 42 + 24 = 66?

plus I want to add some new blood to my BCM pen so I'll be ordering some eggs from ruth (Monique) in Mississipi.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hello Draconargentum! Good luck on your egg search.

Nuclear Chickens, hello! Welcome to the thread, and congratulations on your winning waterer!

I don't know why, but I'm always pleasantly surprised when I'm reading around BYC and find a fellow Arizonan that I don't recognize from this thread. I think there are a lot of us out there. If anyone else from AZ is out there reading this and has never posted here, or hasn't in some time, drop a line and say hello. It is great to have so many people with poultry experience in our particularly challenging environment. Thankfully, we have several months of smooth sailing now that the heat is fading.

 

[Nuclear Chickens]

Gallo del Cielo- Thanks, I was really glad to win. Very suprised too, there were a lot of great entries.

Mahonri- Good call. The Palo Verde plant is about 2 miles past my back fence. People find that strange but they are actually good neighbors. The plant pump a lot of money into our local school system. Employees group does some good work for our kids. I retired from the Air Force 5 years ago (Not Luke..... Tinker AFB, Oklahoma) and I spent 20 years living in the flight pattern of an Air Base. Much quiter here. We really like it out here.