Arizona Chickens

[Mama Hen Chris]

Quote:
http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_desert_toad.php
"Sonoran Desert toads have extremely potent, defensive toxins that are released from several glands (primarily the paratoids) in the skin. Animals that harass this species generally are intoxicated through the mouth, nose, or eyes. Dog owners should be cautious: the toxins are strong enough to kill full grown dogs that pick up or mouth the toads. Symptoms of intoxication are excessive salivation, irregular heartbeat and gait, and pawing at the mouth. If a dog displays any of these symptoms, use a garden hose to rinse its mouth from back to front and consult a veterinarian."

If it can kill a dog, I am guessing it would a chicken. My mom's dog ended up being rushed to the ER from biting one. Max survived.

 

[Mahonri]

Just dropped 22 eggs off at Kate's to incubate. She got 16 to hatch out of the last 18. Guess my roos are doing their job. The chicks were beautiful!

I'm sure I'll have a broody to put them under in three weeks.

 

[turkeybreeder]

Quote:
congratulations mahonri

 

[CaroleW]

Quote:
My two tiny flocks of 3 and 4 hens do the same thing- the food is always better in the other pen and the grass is greener! I can't wait until they are one flock soon in one covered run area and coop.

 

[annekaelber]

Quote:
That window sill is in your coop?! And it's painted?!

Wow...am I jealous. I don't have windows that nice in my house. From the picture, I thought you had them in your kitchen or something!

That must be a beautiful setup.

Yup...that's the coop.

Wow. Just... wow. I think the little curtain decor is cute!

Anne.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
Hi Brit! I'm in Mesa too. I have 3 EEs and 2 LBs but mine are only 4 mos. When my other hens were about 5 mos the ones that started first were the BRs then my EEs followed a week or two later. The eggs are small at first but do get bigger. Plus it's really hot and that can slow things down. I use a personal mister that I got from Ace pointed at the run in the afternoon. We just put it on a timer as we're going out of town and I don't expect my teenager to remember to turn it on. Our coop is fairly open so there's pretty good air flow. An AC on the coop would be lovely but hubby would never go for it. He thinks it's bad enough that the shepherd is in the shop with the AC on all day.

Hi, I'm in Mesa too! Welcome!

 

[annekaelber]

Quote:
http://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_desert_toad.php
"Sonoran Desert toads have extremely potent, defensive toxins that are released from several glands (primarily the paratoids) in the skin. Animals that harass this species generally are intoxicated through the mouth, nose, or eyes. Dog owners should be cautious: the toxins are strong enough to kill full grown dogs that pick up or mouth the toads. Symptoms of intoxication are excessive salivation, irregular heartbeat and gait, and pawing at the mouth. If a dog displays any of these symptoms, use a garden hose to rinse its mouth from back to front and consult a veterinarian."

If it can kill a dog, I am guessing it would a chicken. My mom's dog ended up being rushed to the ER from biting one. Max survived.

Our son's dog, a whippet-mix, was found dead in the back yard, after we'd seen our first one of these toads. We didn't know what it was (we're non-native Arizonans, go figure!) nor how poisonous it was. (This was in 2003 or so...) When we see them now, we glove up and relocated them off the property.

Anne.

 

[squeakyballs]

Quote:
That sounds awesome, but I never buy more than 1 or 2 bags at a time.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
You could have a snake.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
RNShelly,

Do chickens eat catapillars?

Mikey

They eat caterpillars and hornworms, grasshoppers, beetles. Not whiteflies or aphids,unfortunately.