Arizona Chickens

[AZBootsie]

Well Hoppy is back. She was AWOL for 2 days & I found her by her solitary confinement cage this morning when I came back from an emergency chicken feed run.

Tonight she was sleeping in the coop (all beat up again!) when I went to shut them in.

I put her in the sink and was going to let her sleep there tonight but the Control Tower disallowed that flight path.

She is in a small tote on the floor with a mug of water an an oatmeal muffin.

Poor Hoppy.

That poor hen has an adventurous life. She has to be part cat (9 lives).

 

[Demosthine]

I took Gallo's advice and planted Grape vines. It's working out great. They grow fast, nice shade in the summer, die back to let the sunshine in all winter and I eat the grapes. They are super easy to grow.

Hmm, I haven't run across that advice on this thread. Grape vines, huh? Were they planted along the side of the coop or along the wall? That would be kind of cool having it climbing the hardware cloth on one side of a long run. Draping over the top some, even. I was thinking of planting something on vines along my pool fence recently, so this might work. I was debating on tomatoes, grapes or looking at something else.

 

[notinoz2007]

Quote: where should it be planted? east? west? a friend planted hers on the west wall in her yard and they dont do well there. does it matter? i would love to plant grapes, i already planted a fig tree and am so excited for it to grow and shade the coop.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote: Gallo has his in his runs, to grow up and then along the run roof....I think. Find his last post and you can check out his "my coop" page. I planted mine to grow up the run fencing. One is just starting to grow across the top. I used starts from another vine last year. But, if you bought actual vines, I am sure they would be growing across the tops in one season.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote: where should it be planted? east? west? a friend planted hers on the west wall in her yard and they dont do well there. does it matter? i would love to plant grapes, i already planted a fig tree and am so excited for it to grow and shade the coop.
I don't think it matters as long as they get plenty of sun.

 

[AZBootsie]

I have been thinking about planting a mulberry tree....one with fruit. Then the chickens can eat the fruit when it falls.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Grapevines!

Can't say enough good things about them. They grow well here in AZ and the chickens love the leaves and any grapes they can reach. Mine are planted on the west side of a wall that is oriented north-south. I think that if you had them on a drip system, they'd do fine with just about any orientation. You can plant them inside or outside the run. Keep in mind that if they need to get out of a wired enclosure, the holes will need to be >1" in diameter. If you're using hardware cloth, outside would be best.


Early spring before they escape the confines of the run:




Old picture of vines in mid summer:

 

[AZBootsie]

Grapevines!

Can't say enough good things about them. They grow well here in AZ and the chickens love the leaves and any grapes they can reach. Mine are planted on the west side of a wall that is oriented north-south. I think that if you had them on a drip system, they'd do fine with just about any orientation. You can plant them inside or outside the run. Keep in mind that if they need to get out of a wired enclosure, the holes will need to be >1" in diameter. If you're using hardware cloth, outside would be best.


Early spring before they escape the confines of the run:




Old picture of vines in mid summer:

BEAUTIFUL!!!!

I can't wait for mine to get this big!!

 

[AZTiff]

I took Gallo's advice and planted Grape vines. It's working out great. They grow fast, nice shade in the summer, die back to let the sunshine in all winter and I eat the grapes. They are super easy to grow.

I love the idea of having grapes and giving the girls a little extra protection. I may need to do this!

 

[AZTiff]

Most of the Phoenix area will understand this question...pigeons, have you had them adversely affect your coop and chickens? Here in my Ahwatukee neighborhood there are a TON of the nasty flying rats (my apologies to pigeon lovers). They poop everywhere, just nasty. Do I need to take any extra precautions in my coop placement and/or planning?

Thanks!