Arizona Chickens

[nurseshelly]

Wow, thats quite a story and commitment! I guess thats why you are a Nurse!!! I am so glad everyting has worked out and she is doing well, congratulations. Hard work and commitment is what its all about. I just cant believe a scorpion would sting a tortise and I wonder why? What kind of weeds does she like? Just wondering since Mine will not eat weeds. Thanks.

They like lots of different weeds. The ones that grow wild in my yard are cow thistle, dandelion, spiny lettuce, dwarf mallow, one I can't remember but the chickens and tortoises both like it. There was a discussion about it being good in salads last year, It has a green leaf and a red/purple stem. If you google the names, you can see images of the weeds and see if you get them. They also love hibiscus leaves and flowers, petunia leaves and flowers, allyssa (the stuff with the little purple and white flowers that smell like honey if you move them), optunia cactus (prickly pear family), and a tortoise mix I buy from carolina pet supply online. Hibiscus flowers are especially good for them because they are high in vitamin C. Oh, and grape leaves are a favorite with tortoises. Mine won't eat hay though. If I grind it up and put it on damp weeds they will eat it along with the weeds, but that's about it. I try to feed them from my yard most of the year because it is all more nutritious than spring mix. Sometimes I have to use it though. We only let weeds grow in a few parts of the yard, so it's not too messy. We rotate where we pick from. It's actually one of my favorite things, going around the yard picking stuff for the torts ... of course the chickens love all of the above too, and they always wait at the fence for handouts when they see me picking weeds.

 

[AA chickens]

make sure they have a lot of water

 

[parentwarrior]

HI all!!! I am looking for a few Speckled Sussex hens or chicks. Anyone out there know where I can get some? Reasonable price please

. Thanks!!!

Either Adens or Higley Feed in Gilbert has some I think. I called both this morning and went to one. I can't remember which one has them.
Kris Owen

 

[parentwarrior]

Just be careful with Adens and their chicks. Sometimes they look good, and other times they are in terrible shape. One time when I went in, every chick in there had severe pasty butt, and there were dead chicks in the stacked brooders, and empty brooders with decomposed chick parts (feathers / bones etc). Other times they look okay. They also have other chicks in a horse stall arrangement and they always look good.

Thanks for the heads up. I will be careful.
Kris

 

[parentwarrior]

Happy Mother's Day to all you Chickie Mama's!!








Mama wanted out of the brooder/nursery to stretch. No one bothered Mama.

That is so cute! What kind is the beautiful red one with black tips on the feathers?
Kris

 

[Mikey D]

Have I mentioned that Tylan is the stuff? Thank you Mikey for recommending it to me! One of my 2 month old pullets ended up making some funny sounds yesterday. I noticed she was breathing through her beak and not her nostril. She looked to be gasping for breath with each time she tried to suck in air. Her eyes were fine, her nose was dry and clear. I have no idea. So I gave her a shot of Tylan yesterday and hoped for the best. She made it through the night and is no longer gasping for breath! She was actually cheeping like she should! I gave her another shot today. I will give her her final shot tomorrow. I cannot believe how that stuff just knocks out resp. illnesses the way it does. Great stuff!

My pleasure!

Glad it worked!

 

[GoldBarRanch]

The tortoises are finally waking up and coming out. It's our first spring with them, so it's been interesting. I thought they'd all come out at as soon as it warmed, but some are staying hidden. I looked in a couple of the burrows a few days ago and I was surprised at all the re-designing of the holes. There seems to be a lot of subterranean activity even with the ones that haven't yet emerged. I'm also fascinated that they seem to remember the layout of the property after their long sleep (they only had a couple of months here prior to hibernation). It just tickles me when one wandering the yard gets sight of me and changes direction to come interact. I suspect that is left over from their lives of being fed kitchen scraps. Or maybe they're just interested in what I'm doing.

They are very odd creatures and I love them for it. I'm glad yours is healing from the scorpion sting! Dang scorpions!

We have a Sulcata Spurred tort thats 9 now . we adopted him 3 years ago . This is him last year

 

[parentwarrior]

That is so cute! What kind is the beautiful red one with black tips on the feathers?
Kris

Happy Mother's Day to all you Chickie Mama's!!








Mama wanted out of the brooder/nursery to stretch. No one bothered Mama.

OK, I am a little slow...LOL You have babies! Are you selling any? I would love to have a female like your beautiful red and black hen. She is absolutely breath taking!
Kris

 

[Beckyhsinglsc]

So, you remember that my turnips didn't form because I had too much nitrogen from the chicken poop compost? Well, it seems the squash and tomatoes are lovin' it!
Last year my squash and tomatoes were small, sickly and hardly produced anything. Look at this year! I can't even walk in between them.



See what happens when I don't check for a few days?



This will make at least 10 zucchini breads! My daughter is so excited!
And...I got 9 eggs from 9 chickens yesterday!
What good pets!

 

[AZKat]

I ran across a really awesome website for information on home food preservation. Its called 'The National Center for Home Food Preservation' and is run by the University of Georgia. They have really good articles and directions on how to preserve almost anything, and the coolest part is that they have a web based home study course on canning. You even get a certificate you can print out when you successfully complete the course.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/index.html