First time chicken mama in AZ

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anwhite

anwhite

In the Brooder
Feb 9, 2015
25
1
24
The Valley, AZ
Hi Everyone!
I'm a brand new chicken mama, and so grateful for the BYC forums! You guys have helped me so much already, and didn't even know it! We just got our 8 pullets (what I'm hoping are pullets, anyways! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/952115/is-minnie-baby-and-her-sisters-a-minnie-or-a-mickey ) in January. They are about 3.5 or 4 months old. Any advice you guys have on getting through the Phoenix summers would be greatly appreciated! Any other tips, hints, suggestions, or things you have learned along the way would be awesome, too!

Thanks!!!
 
Hi :welcome
Glad you could join the flock! Congratulations on your new flock, how exciting for you :celebrate
If you have not already drop by the learning centre for some great articles on getting started with chickens, here is the link https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center

My top tip for you would be ENJOY them! Keeping them clean,dry,well fed and watered, safe from predators and you should be fine. Be sure to ask any questions you may have, everyone here to help you along the way and very friendly.

Wishing you the very best of luck with them :frow
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to our flock. Be sure your pullets have good coop ventilation, plenty of shade, and lots of fresh, cool water. Giving them cooling treats like chunks of frozen watermelon will also help. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. What kind of pullets do you have?
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
frow.gif


Sand, sand and more sand!! I use it in my coops, runs and even the nest boxes!!! I dig mine out of arroyo's and dry washes. Test it first to make sure it is sand. Wet it and squeeze it. If it falls apart easily, it is sand...clumps together, it is dirt. 4 to 6 inches deep is what you want.

The thing about sand is not only does it repel flies, stays dry when wet, absorbs poop smells, but you can hose it down in the summer time. The sand will get really cool in 30 mins or so and wow, the birds stay really cool! Birds loose heat through the feet. So this sand cools the feet off, and the birds stay cool. My birds never pant in the summer.

Oh and get a giant fan to run in the coop and run. The evaporation of all this wet sand and the breeze from the fan can bring the temp down 10+ degrees!!! Just let that fan rip on high!!

Feed them cool treats too like watermelon, cantalope, grapes, other wet cold things. And you can put ice cubes in the water fonts. Chickens love ice. LOL

Good luck and stay cool out there!!! :)
 
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Glad you joined us.

X2 on TwoCrows advice.

Outdoor fan and shade really help. Ice in water founts doesn't last as long as I would like. I keep watermelon, cantalope in fridge and treat mine at the heat of the day. Have made frozen scrambled egg treats and they loved those. They do love a large pan filled with ice water and something of interest to entice them to partake, just shredded lettuce did the trick last summer.

Good luck with your flock. Always happy to welcome another chicken mama.
 
Welcome to BYC!
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I'm glad you joined us.

You've received some good advice already from TwoCrows and Sunflour! I haven't had much experience with keeping chickens in extreme heat (100 degrees is about as high as it gets around here), so I'm not much help. Good luck with your birds!
 
you have received some very good tips and advice, some people also use water misters - or low pans with water so the birds can cool their feet off. Cooler feets tends to cool the birds.
 

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