Arizona Chickens

[NoSkiveez]

I love the Blue, Black and Splash colors. I think it makes hatching exciting when you see what's been produced and the surprise that goes along with it. I have blue and black polish. I've got a blue roo and hen and 4 black hens. They are freeloaders. I got 3 eggs from them in the last 6 months.

 

[Mahonri]

Well, I gave up trying to break a broody today and just put 8 eggs under her. I'll candle on day 18 and if they are no good, I'll buy some chicks for her to raise.

 

[Kristopher]

Hello and first time posting in this thread! I'm in central Phx and I've got a one year old EE hen and two 7 week old bantams, one a black cochin and one a self-blue old english game hen. I don't have a coop or run yet but I'm planning on building one as soon as I can scrape up the money. I have access to as many shipping pallets as I want (I hear people have used those to build a coop) but it seems like a whole lot of extra work to go that route. Anyway, here's a few pics I took of the young ones tonight:

And just for reference, here's what they looked like when I brought them home in the beginning of December:

I was initially worried about keeping chickens in the city but it turns out plenty of my neighbors have chickens... I've even heard a few roos crowing. Two days ago there were a small flock tearing up a garden across the street from my house. I knocked on the door of the house but no one answered. I checked back later and the chickens seemed to have gone back to where they were supposed to be.

Anyway, good to know there's an AZ group here!

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

Kristopher,

A great group here. There are lots of chickens in the city.

Nice looking chickens.

 

[NoSkiveez]

Welcome Kristopher!

MAHONRI - I don't envy broodiness. I read somewhere (Think here) that you can break a broody by dipping her belly in cool/cold water. If she can't maintain a belly temp warm enough to hatch eggs, she will give up.

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

NoSkiveez, I tried dunking them in cold water to break broodiness, but wasn't successful. Then I read someone used a dog crate to break theirs, so I put my last 7 broodies in a dog crate for a day and a half or 2 and that seemed to work. I've still got a couple that keep trying to go broody, but it's better than it was. Talk about freeloader!

 

[NoSkiveez]

I have never had luck with eggs under a broody. Mine always ended up bickering over the eggs and they all ended up broken. I did play musical coops and swap broody hens to an unfamiliar coop. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

 

[Bob's Henhouse]

Beckyhsinglsc, I'm sorry about your favorite hen.

I know very well the feeling, and it sucks!

ca, I like the Alcatraz garden idea. That's what I was going for with my 2' tall wooden raised beds with 4' chicken wire over it, still not good enough.

AZKat, ca, AZBootsie, Beckyhsinglsc, and anyone else, (preferably someone who knows what they're doing) we should all get together and give it a go, re: processing the excess roos. I've heard skinning is way easier than plucking. I'll volunteer my yard, but it's not centrally located. The upside is don't have to worry much if there is a feathery or smelly mess. It's desert on 3 sides, and can bury the remains. If there is a serious interest we should try and work it out.

Mahonri, I'm sorry about your chick. I have naked necks, but no chicks at the moment, if you want a NN cross, I'd be happy to give you the next one. Or even loan you one of the 3 roos to cross with one of your hens.

Pastrymama, how is your hen doing?? I'm hoping you doctored her back to health. I have no clue what it might have been.

AZKat, hope you are feeling better. Jayne has assimilated well into the flock. No more squabbles. He's a pretty rooster.

5pinkarrows, I think you are on the right track. When my Polish gouged my boys, sneaking up from behind, first I knocked the snot out of it with a stick, it ran, I beaned it with a rock, caught it, put it in a cage for a half hour or so, then we carried it around a lot for the next few days. Never let it mate with anyone, etc, to show it who was boss. It never attacked again.

 

[Mahonri]

They must be doing something to BYC tonight because half the pics don't show and half the time I can't get the post reply button to work!

 

[Mahonri]

I'm wishing all of my little roos were older, I'd be making a trip to Bob's to process them!