Arizona Chickens

[mclevinson]

Goodness no, easy peezy. Mine is in a rubbermaid tub. They're flightless and never escape. We throw them clean scraps (apple cores, that sort of thing) and wheat bran and they just hang out. Gallo has a terrific page on raising them.

 

[mclevinson]

Hi Mikey!

 

[mclevinson]

Hi Mikey!

And Hi Gallo!!! And Hi SS!!!! Just ducking in, then lost the Internet for a day, got back...

 

[cardsyourway]

I'm in Mesa, AZ and looking for others nearby who wand some chicks soon. mypetchicken.com has a deal for 25 Golden Buff females for $50 (includes shipping) We only want to have space for about 6-8 chicks, but we LOVE LOVE LOVE this breed of chicken!

Would anyone here in the valley be interested in splitting the shipment with us? The last 2 available shipment dates are Sept 4th & Sept 11th.

Please let me know asap if you are interested!

 

[AZBootsie]

So, I finally got my wife to soften up a bit. We were talking about our four-month old's reaction to the chicks out at Bootsie's last week and she pipes up "I want to see baby chickies!" Ok, say no more. We were only two miles from the Stock Shop, so a quick left turn and off we went. She thought they were absolutely adorable and wanted to go home with two right then. I wouldn't let her, because we don't have anything ready for them. She saw a beautiful rooster. I think it was a Golden Sex Link. They didn't have any laying hens, of course. But she found a few roosters that she admitted were pretty. After her telling me which ones she liked, I pulled up some more pictures and her choices are the Golden Sex Link, New Hampshire Reds, and liked my idea of the Silver Laced Wyandotte.

Turns out, one of the problems appears to be the feet. She thinks they are kind of freaky and does not like the feathered feet. Now we're headed in the right direction! She even admitted she's "leaning towards getting the chickens." Woohoo!!! Patience is paying off...

 

[Fuzzybird]

I have gotten chicks at the Stock Shop a lot and never had trouble but one time on the chicks thriving. The one time I did The Stock Shop replaced it. Good people.

 

[GREG BOAM]

I'm sorry to hear about your neighbor's dog getting your birds. I would be extremely ****** and hurt. I can't help but feel your post is spurred by mine. The chicken that died from my dog had gotten loose. I think its naive to think you shouldn't have to protect your chickens from other animals. By all of us domesticating chickens we have made that choice to interrupt the free nature of their environment by putting them in our yard, or an enclosure, or a coop. We are doing this to protect the animals even though it infringes on their freedom because we think their safety is more important. Yes, I could cage my dog, but my dog has very few if any predators besides other humans, so i keep them away from other humans. Yes, my chicken that was killed by my dog did nothing wrong (besides escape his enclosure) but neither do the crickets that wonder into my chickens coop that get eaten. you cant blame nature for being nature, because we ourselves are taking them out of nature.

 

[GREG BOAM]

I have a 4 misters that goes off daily hooked to our sprinkler system that runs along the ceiling of their cage and a fan blowing through it. If it is 110 or over I add a separate mister hooked to a hose with 6 nossels on it for them so it really covers the area heavy with mist. My guys were comfortable in the 116 heat with it all.

that sounds mister-tastic. I have gone so overboard with keeping my birds cool since that one died. i put ice in their water every few hours, i put ice packs in there. I'll hose the grass and trampoline every few hours, i changed my sprinklers to go one twice in the day. this summer was just so crazy hot.

 

[beehappy4ever]

I am very lucky, I have a mastiff and a shitzu and neither of them ever mess with my chickens. My mastiff Annie that was an old grumpy lady wouldn't mess with the big birds but would take out a small pullet if able, she passed last year and I rescued a shitzu who is also an old grumpy lady. She loves the birds the babies follow her around. My mastiff boy is scared of his shadow and the birds chase him so he stays inside the fenced area even if the gate is open he wont go near them.

 

[GREG BOAM]

Hey Greg!!

Hmmmm..........wipe your shoes looks like you stepped in something.

I hope you stick around, this is usually a very supportive group. Great pictures, keep them coming!!
I am sorry you lost a chicken. You have a very creative set-up, I love it!! I would just keep an eye on the naked neck. Some Chickens stop laying for a bit with change.

Wow, I guess so. I think their right. I should kill my dog. then I'll kill my chicken for killing the cricket.