Arizona Chickens

[Blessed]

Hi all,

I am a newbie to raising chickens, looking forward to eggs. I live in Gilbert AZ. I have only 2 chicks
so far. They are 4 weeks old. We are just building a coop. I am looking forward to learning how to do everything!

Kris

Welcome !!!

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

Welcome to our new peeps.

Found this as I was perusing my Facebook wall for you peeps with egg-eaters. Wouldn't hurt to try?



http://www.treatsforchickens.com/stop-egg-eating-hens/

 

[Mikey D]

I have 21 soggy saturated chickens in my backyard.

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

I have 21 soggy saturated chickens in my backyard.

It seems chickens won't come in out of the rain. At least they do not smell as bad as soggy dogs.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

No rain here in Tucson (well, there was a spattering on the far NE side late this afternoon). We did, however, have a terrible wind event. It removed the top three polycarbonate panels from the roof of my chicken coop. I knew that the material had been degrading. Last summer one corner of one panel flipped up in a microburst. The material has further degraded since. It seems that the panels with the full western exposure are most brittle. I suspect that bending them in the way that I did hastened the degradation. Interestingly, the wire of the roof and even the insulation are perfectly intact. Tomorrow it will get a new galvanized roof. I'll also have a yard full of branches and debris to pick up.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Love it! Thanks for the picture. It gives me an ideas of what to use on mine. So do you think then that basic chicken wire will not be strong enough to use on the sides? We have the basic structure and we are getting ready to do the sides. We have heavy duty stucco wire panels on the top. I thought I would use something lighter with bigger openings for the sides.Any suggestions?
Kris

Yeah, I agree with Mikey, avoid chicken wire if you can. It has it's place, but not for protecting your chickens from things like dogs and coyotes. 2" X 4" welded wire (14 gauge) is good, but anything of similar gauge with smaller openings is better. If I could do it all over again I'd use 1" X 1" welded wire. It's more expensive, but it would keep out most wild birds. In my friend's coop, we used 2" X 4" wire for the entire roof and a smaller opening wire, 1" X 2", on the sides. Sometimes you have to use what you have though.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Gallo - It's probably too late for forensics but did the chain link fail or did the the dogs tear it loose from the mounting?

It was weird, it didn't fail in the way that you would expect it too (like tearing it loose from the mounting), but the dog worked the links together outward from the center to form a hole about 12" in diameter. If she still has it I'll take a picture of it.

 

[Mikey D]

All of the little peepers are in the coop tonight.

I put a section of balcony rail I built in the coop for them to roost and as a permeable barrier for the little ones to get away from the big ones.

Favor please????

A friend has entered this contest to win an incubator. Her name is Kandi Cook and if you have a face book account, would any of you mind please voting for her coop.

It is the large red one (and has her name by the pict) that says "Hen House" in white on the front.

You do have to like this page and then you can vote once a day.

There are only 2 days left and I appreciate any votes you can put up for her.

Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/Egg.Carton...app_348862798508632&app_data=entry_id=5352506

Thanks folks!

 

[Mikey D]

Quote: Thank you. If you have access to a micrometer or caliper or gauge, I'd be interested in the size of the wire.

Was the fence pulled tight in the frame?

I know - too many questions Mikey - but I'm really interested in how a dog could get through...

 

[parentwarrior]

My two babies were so scared. They huddled in a corner on the ground that wasn't even under cover! I brought them inside and put them inside my fuzzy pink robe to warm up...LOL They are only 4 weeks old so they still fit. I have them back outside under the heat lamp again now that the rain stopped. I added dry bedding.They are in an all open cage at the moment. There is a top cover but the rain came in sideways. I need to get my coop built fast. Thanks for the info, I will do the heavier wire for the sides. I love the contest page, lots of coop ideas! Thanks for sharing.