Arizona Chickens

[LMS]

I used a large dog kennel with a heat lamp and pine shavings for the floor for my chicks and kept them there, in the house for 5 weeks. My house was covered in dust and getting quit smelly. When the coop was done (mid Feb) , I moved them out to the coop with a heat lamp and they did just fine. They are all nearly laying now and are very healthy.

Thanks, Selina. Part of the chick issue is that I don't already have the equipment, and the coop is going to be expensive enough even if we build it ourselves, that I don't want to add any extra cost I don't have to by buying a separate pen and heat lamp if I don't have to (although it seems a kennel will likely be necessary at some point if I have to separate any hens from the rest of the flock for whatever reason). The other part is DH will NOT want them in the house, and the dog won't be safe with them anyway.... Do they still need a heat lamp if they come in September when it's still hot out?

 

[Novaleigh]

Thanks, Selina. Part of the chick issue is that I don't already have the equipment, and the coop is going to be expensive enough even if we build it ourselves, that I don't want to add any extra cost I don't have to by buying a separate pen and heat lamp if I don't have to (although it seems a kennel will likely be necessary at some point if I have to separate any hens from the rest of the flock for whatever reason). The other part is DH will NOT want them in the house, and the dog won't be safe with them anyway.... Do they still need a heat lamp if they come in September when it's still hot out?

If you go to Home Depot, they have a discount lumber section. Great lumber for SUPER cheap! Literally, the cost of the screws to put the coop together will be more expensive then the lumber. That is how we built our coop for super cheap! Hope this helps

 

[JohnSWA]

Meg-moringa-seed shared this on FB:

Hey Mike, how do you copy and paste the image? I'd love to share this on FB!

 

[Puffycheeks]

HI all - Anybody want a few fertile Muscovy eggs?

 

[MagicChicken]

Hi,

I am new to this forum and since I live in Tempe, I feel that chicken owners in AZ have different issues than elsewhere in the country, especially our heat. for the past week my year old Dominique has been acting listless and sleeping a lot. She isn't eating, drinking or very active at all. She seems a bit out of balance and even steps on her own toes. None of is is her normal behavior. the other three hens are fine. She is the sweetest chick and we would hate to lose her. Anyone ever had experience with these symptoms? I do also have a good avian vet if you need one. He saved my Speckled Sussex after she swallowed a live scorpion which stung her on the esophagus on the way down. She had an immediate reaction...paralysis, liquids running out he rear and mouth. I took her right in to the avian vet who knew immediately what was wrong, as by that time she was twitching. He gave her an intervenious anti-venum, and kept her four hours giving her fluids etc. She lived, and was herself after three days. Usually our hens have no problems with scorpions, but this was unique. Just thought i would pass that along.
My husband wanted me to have something to nurture but said a dog would be to costly with food and vet bills...ha, our girls eat a can of corn per day, orzo pasta mixed with 1/2 can of cat food, collard greens, dried mealworms and we have racked up over $600 in vet bills in less than a year on chicks that cost $3-4 a peice. What do others feed their chicks for treats?

Fifth Chick

Hi Fifth Chick,

My chickens are an entertaining food source. I don't consider them pets. The "treats" I give them are veggies from the garden or table scraps (mostly plain veggies and occasionally some lean meat). I try to replicate stuff they would normally forage (plants, seeds, and bugs/protein). I generally do not give them bread, pasta, or other processed people food. Their "normal" feed is layer pellets, which they always have available in the coop/run. They have crushed oyster shell available for calcium at all times but they don't always use it when they need it. I'll occasionally give them plain yogurt when I think they need a protein/calcium boost, or I will scramble some eggs with the shells for them. They do get a small handul of scratch scattered around the run every day. It's how I get them back in the run.

Haven't lost any birds to the heat. It's been up to 109 here, warm but not super-hot. I put up a mist system. They hate it so I don't use it. They actually do better without it. Most of the coop/run is covered in 70% shadecloth, including the metal roof. (Not many trees in my yard.) I do sometimes hose down the dirt in one part of the run so they have some cool stuff to dig around in. They also have a large rubber dog bowl of water to stand in. Haven't lost any birds to heat yet, but I have lost a bird to internal issues (internal laying). My goal is to have a healthy, closed, economical flock of dual-purpose birds bred to deal with Tucson conditions. I'm nowhere near the "closed" part yet. If a chicken can't handle the conditions here it is going to wind up in the stew pot.

Everyone has their own reasons and methods for keeping chickens. There is no one "right" way. My feed for 3 laying hens costs $15-20 for a 50 lb bag of layer pellets every six weeks or so, and a $5 bag of scratch every few months. The birds keep me in eggs. I'm still getting an egg or two a day out of the 3 of them, even in the heat, so they come close to making up the cost of their feed. No vet bills. So far, so good.

 

[fmk602]

Hello and Welcome!!

I am thinking of planting blueberries this fall and doing some research while the chicken poo is composting.  What kind of blueberries do you have??  Other than your Chickens stripping them....any problems??  Full sun or part shade??  Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

AZBootsie,

Well blueberries are an experiment for me. I can only tell you what is currently working (or not) for me.

I bought through Grow Organic low chill berries; SharpBlue (Early harvest), Sunshine Blue (mid-late harvest), and Emerald (late harvest). I planted all in containers because I had read it was the surest way to get them through the summer heat. You can move them in and out of the shade during times of intense heat and sun. Blueberries are suppose to do very well in containers. Here is a link that will give you some information.

That was all in January, fast forword to July. All three did well until about May. Three things happened so I am not too sure what the culprit is. I started seeing some very pale colored new growth and researched it. Came to the conclusion they needed fertilizer ( for acid loving plants). The heat really started coming on at that time and then I saw some brown spots on the leaves. Did more research...... Came to no real conclusion..... Could be a fungus, could be heat/sun, or burn from the fertilizer. I have since moved them to an area that has shade cloth that filters the sun for the entire day.

Unfortunately I still lost one. My SharpBlue looks completely dead.

So there is where I'm at! I have the remaining 2 under shade cloth all day and they get watered daily too.

 

[Fuzzybird]

So many newbies again. Welcome all! Here is a cute picture that was sent to me.

 

[Fuzzybird]

Puffycheeks, Is it true that muscovy ducks catch flies? If I raised one and put one in a pen with the worse fly problem would the duck take care if it? Are Muscovy's as messy as some of the other duck breeds?

 

[Mikey D]

Quote: I'm not sure where you are located but I'm remodeling our kitchen / living room and have a bunch of 2 x 4's (with nails) that are slated for the burn pile. They're yours if you want em.

 

[Mikey D]

Quote: Right click on it and "save image as" - name it & put it in your chicken stuff folder - then post it to FB as usual.