Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Hello everyone, family & friends,

SUNDAY OCTOBER 21ST....... 5PM.. Till?
We would like to invite you to our humble home..
We will grill up yes "chicken" & have marshmallow's
ready for roasting.. Along with a salad.. fresh organic lemonade
from our harvest last year.. Beer & wine..
If you are able to come PM us. We will give you our
address & directions...

 

[City farm]

If you artificially heat or cool the coop the chickens will never acclimate to the climate where you are.  Rapid temperature changes (as in walking into/out of a heated/cooled coop) are stressful for them.  If you want a weak flock that will always require heating and cooling, go for it.  If you want to develop a healthy flock acclimated to YOUR climate, then do your birds a favor and let them acclimate.  When it's cold they grow more insulating feathers.  Those same feathers help protect them from the summer heat.  You want healthy birds in good condition, not weak birds that can't handle the local climate. 

They do need lots of shade, good ventilation, a place to get out of the wind and rain, and lots of water in the summer.  Healthy birds don't need furnaces or air conditioning.

GREAT ADVICE!!

 

[Phottoman]

If you artificially heat or cool the coop the chickens will never acclimate to the climate where you are. Rapid temperature changes (as in walking into/out of a heated/cooled coop) are stressful for them. If you want a weak flock that will always require heating and cooling, go for it. If you want to develop a healthy flock acclimated to YOUR climate, then do your birds a favor and let them acclimate. When it's cold they grow more insulating feathers. Those same feathers help protect them from the summer heat. You want healthy birds in good condition, not weak birds that can't handle the local climate.

They do need lots of shade, good ventilation, a place to get out of the wind and rain, and lots of water in the summer. Healthy birds don't need furnaces or air conditioning.

Thank you MC, that was almost exactly what I wanted to hear. I got my chickens in March and and May of this year, they are all doing GREAT. Eight in the first batch and ten in the second. I have NOT gone overboard, just made sure that there was plenty of water and shade, and I have never seen them gasping for breath or looking like they needed any cooling. They are all doing well, free range all around our 2.5 acres, and today I noticed that they are actually mingling, though I have the rooster in a separate cage and am trying to decide if he needs to be re-homed or go to freezer camp. He terrorizes all of the girls, both his flock and the older birds to the point where a couple of times I have found all the birds in neighbors yards.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention where I am, North West Arizona, where the summer highs are in the high 110's and above, and it occasionally snows (at least ONCE a year) in the winter.

Anyway, thank you for the advice on lack of heater and AC in the coop.

Skip

 

[SherrieT]

My coop and enclosure will be done with just, maybe, two hours of work. I wasn't paying attention to me and now have a horrid face and eye burn. So, no more outside work until the weekend when I can do it early morning. Planning a BBQ on Sunday so we can just sit and watch the chickens and ducks. Can't wait to get my babies (okay, not so baby now) from their "foster" home and with me !!!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

My coop and enclosure will be done with just, maybe, two hours of work. I wasn't paying attention to me and now have a horrid face and eye burn. So, no more outside work until the weekend when I can do it early morning. Planning a BBQ on Sunday so we can just sit and watch the chickens and ducks. Can't wait to get my babies (okay, not so baby now) from their "foster" home and with me !!!

Congratulations SherrieT, it's been a long road for you.

It's going to be so good having your flock with you. Will we get to see pics of the new set-up?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hello Arizona Chickens,

We are from maine where we had a big coop and raised meat and laying birds. We loved the whole experience and would like to do that here. We live in Mesa and have a small tract home whose lot is 65 x 150. Are there any zoning restrictions or laws pertaining to chickens?

Thanks for putting this website together.

Paul

Welcome to BYC and welcome to our AZ thread Paul. There are some folks here from Mesa, so hopefully they can give you some info on your local laws.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

gallo, please tell me you pulled the ducklings out of the seed box that i snuck in there for you. otherwise,

it's been 2 months!

Oh no! I wondered what that smell was emanating from the closet.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Fantastic pics of the peach faced love birds Mama Hen Chris! What gorgeous birds.

 

[parentwarrior]

Thank you MC, that was almost exactly what I wanted to hear. I got my chickens in March and and May of this year, they are all doing GREAT. Eight in the first batch and ten in the second. I have NOT gone overboard, just made sure that there was plenty of water and shade, and I have never seen them gasping for breath or looking like they needed any cooling. They are all doing well, free range all around our 2.5 acres, and today I noticed that they are actually mingling, though I have the rooster in a separate cage and am trying to decide if he needs to be re-homed or go to freezer camp. He terrorizes all of the girls, both his flock and the older birds to the point where a couple of times I have found all the birds in neighbors yards.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention where I am, North West Arizona, where the summer highs are in the high 110's and above, and it occasionally snows (at least ONCE a year) in the winter.

Anyway, thank you for the advice on lack of heater and AC in the coop.

Skip

I do believe in using fans that blow through my misters in the summer to keep my babies cool.That kept my guys comfortable. I added an extra portable hose mister to the normal built in misters for added effect when the temps hit above 110 degrees. That worked like a charm even at 116 degrees.I have not decided about what to do this winter yet. We just started with chickens last April.

 

[rufus]

Yes, those love birds are escapees that seem to like living in the valley. Arizona does/or did have a native thick billed parrot which in all of my years, I have only seen once. That was in the Chiricahuas. I watched it for about five or six minutes, and that was it.