Arizona Chickens

[ca]

We built "vegetable alcatraz" 10 years ago. I have yet to see one of our countless fluffy cotton tails or jack rabbits in there. We used railroad ties and masonry blocks to outline the garden. Then added 3 foot chicken wire as fencing around that. On the outside of that we put a 1 foot tall continuing band of aluminum (or other slick metal) sheet at ground level to keep mice, rats and squirels from climbing in. Then we hung some black netting over the whole thing. Sounds like a lot of work but we never lost anything to critters

 

[ca]

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I could come and help just for the sake of learning. But I am a weekend only person (have to work...)

 

[ca]

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So sorry about your hen!

Let's hope the rest of your flock is ok!

 

[AZBootsie]

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I could come and help just for the sake of learning. But I am a weekend only person (have to work...)

I also need to learn how. We should all get together sometime and have a processing day. Company should make the task less upsetting??

 

[5pinkarrows]

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WOW!!! It always amazes me to hear stories like that. My inlaws say the same kind of things. My FIL was one of 4 boys and their dad died when he was pretty young. His mom would buy some chicks each year and they would eat chickens when they could. The rest of the time they survived on the squirrels that the boys could kill. Neither of my inlaws grew up with things like running water or any indoor plumbing. I guess we have come a long way in this country. When I lived in Tennessee, I knew there were a lot of people that lived like that in the eastern part of the state, but that was usually a result of meth addiction.

Becky--I am so sorry about your hen! That really stinks.

And the grass problems here amaze me! People can't even have grass here in Rio Rico. To have any, they have to buy sod, and even that is a challenge to keep alive.

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

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I could come and help just for the sake of learning. But I am a weekend only person (have to work...)

I also need to learn how. We should all get together sometime and have a processing day. Company should make the task less upsetting??

Me too. I want to learn!

 

[pastrymama]

Oh my goodness, it seems to be a bad winter for chickens. My 4 year old son's favorite speckled sussex is down. I don't know what is wrong with little Spice. If anyone has the time, could you pop over to the emergencies thread and read my post about her and see if you have a clue? She is just about the sweetest little thing and smaller than a bread box.

Why is it always the favorite ones????????????????????

So sorry Becky

 

[NoSkiveez]

I know you said you just dusted her. What did you use? When I had my big mite problem, I had dusted several times with DE and all it was doing was making the mites powder covered. They didn't die. My birds were acting just like you described.

 

[pastrymama]

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i used Poultry Dust, it's that permethrin stuff. i swear i have checked them ALL and i don't see a darned thing.

 

[Mahonri]

Lost a chick to a predator today. I've been letting them out onto the grass. Most of them have stayed inside the dog carrier.
They got my only Naked Neck. it was a Splash NN Ameraucana. Head was eaten and it was picked into it's body. I think a cat would have drug it off, so I'm thinking it was a bird of some kind that just stood on top of it and ate it.

I'm going to have a BUNCH of roos. At least 4 Ameraucanas, at least 7 Marans, 1 EE. Sadly I'm thinking that 6 of the 8 Icelandics are roos. That's 18 of 35! more than half are roos. I know of at least 6 Marans pullets, 2 Ams. 1 EE and 2 Icelandics so I guess the other 6 are unknowns still.