Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[hellbender]

It has been raining the whole day today, and that is not the problem. My chickens spent whole day outside and free ranging. There are lots of eartworms so they catch them. Problem is that they are soaking wet. I am afraid that they could catch a cold. Should I close them?!?

I would trust the chickens. They know what they can stand. If they have a good dry place they can get to if they want, I'd leave them to their own desires.

 

[chickengr]

I would trust the chickens. They know what they can stand. If they have a good dry place they can get to if they want, I'd leave them to their own desires.

that is what I thought last spring. but my chickens were stupid! ended up with IB.

 

[DesertChic]

It has been raining the whole day today, and that is not the problem. My chickens spent whole day outside and free ranging. There are lots of eartworms so they catch them. Problem is that they are soaking wet. I am afraid that they could catch a cold. Should I close them?!?

My birds LOVE standing out in the rain, and I've never had any health issues as a result, even on cold days. (We occasionally have cold days in winter, but not often.) As long as they have a dry place to return to when they want to I wouldn't worry about them.

 

[DesertChic]

so we are not learning about chickens only! great information, I didn't have any idea about living in desert. but I do love hot climate.

gardening is my other interest. I am fighting the heat but hope to have some vegetables this year.

I love gardening, but getting anything to grow here is challenging. Winter is fantastic, as our temps are often 60-80ºF in the daytime and cool weather crops thrive in compost beds, but in the summer....well, our intense heat turns everything to dust. Shade cloth is an absolute must for the majority of plants and only the hardiest, most heat loving crops typically survive. So far I've only had luck keeping Armenian cucumbers and Egyptian spinach alive in the worst part of summer without shading the plants. We've spent the past several months making significant changes to our property in an effort to create more "cool" zones where I hope to maintain an outdoor, raised-bed garden, and my aquaponics setup in inside a block building with lots of artificial and natural light. So far, so good, but gardening out here is very labor intensive.

If I ever get my other computer data back (I was promised they could retrieve it for me), I'll post some photos of my aquaponics garden so far.

 

[chickengr]

My birds LOVE standing out in the rain, and I've never had any health issues as a result, even on cold days. (We occasionally have cold days in winter, but not often.) As long as they have a dry place to return to when they want to I wouldn't worry about them.

this is my silly red sex link roo (my avatar). it took a month to get well. almost died, baytril injections saved him at the last moment. that's why I don't want hybrid chickens any more.

 

[hellbender]

Well...here's the way I see it. If chickens are well fed and they take the time to oil and clean their feathers, a bit of rain will not hurt them. knows nothing of chickens living on Greek Islands but I know that where I live it gets very cold, early in the Fall season and if they were locked in just because it was windy and cold, they would never be out to range.

 

[chickengr]

I love gardening, but getting anything to grow here is challenging. Winter is fantastic, as our temps are often 60-80ºF in the daytime and cool weather crops thrive in compost beds, but in the summer....well, our intense heat turns everything to dust. Shade cloth is an absolute must for the majority of plants and only the hardiest, most heat loving crops typically survive. So far I've only had luck keeping Armenian cucumbers and Egyptian spinach alive in the worst part of summer without shading the plants. We've spent the past several months making significant changes to our property in an effort to create more "cool" zones where I hope to maintain an outdoor, raised-bed garden, and my aquaponics setup in inside a block building with lots of artificial and natural light. So far, so good, but gardening out here is very labor intensive.

If I ever get my other computer data back (I was promised they could retrieve it for me), I'll post some photos of my aquaponics garden so far.

it seems we have similar climate. I tried armenian cucumber but they died in heat. I cannot find seeds any more. I have been told to plant earlier so I might get something before summer. someone told me that peppers might grow where I live. as I had sick chickens last spring I was too late to plant, so it was a waste of time and money. I hope I learned my lesson.

I planted some seeds and today I have seen a few tomato sprouts

I would love to see your aquaponic garden. is is difficult to make it?

 

[chickengr]

Well...here's the way I see it. If chickens are well fed and they take the time to oil and clean their feathers, a bit of rain will not hurt them. knows nothing of chickens living on Greek Islands but I know that where I live it gets very cold, early in the Fall season and if they were locked in just because it was windy and cold, they would never be out to range.

some people here don't have coops at all. their chickens sleep in the trees. but those are heritage chickens or better local mutts. my first chickens were hybrids. they came from the battery farms or similar. they are good layers but need central heating, lol. although they had a coop they didn't go in. it is not rain that they had a problem with but they were soaking wet and it was windy (north wind). that is real pain here, I hate it.

but I learned the lesson and made another coop with covered porch and protected the sides with palm tree branches. it will be good in summer too. they are wiser this year, they gather in there when it is raining or too windy. I never close the door on that porch so my coop is always open. no predators here (just mice and rats but they can always find the way to get in if they want to).

 

[flower]

The desert definitely has a beauty all its own. And pretty much everything out here is trying to kill you. Nearly every plant in the desert has spikes or thorns or is poisonous. The very earth out here has killed people and pets because of a spore that leads to a disease called "Valley Fever". It's a very hostile environment, but I absolutely love it.

Never thought about the desert like that. Guess I think of the harsh environment of the dryness, heat of the day followed by the cold nights during the winter. At higher elevations anyway. I think of the plants having defense plans such as the horrible spine needles to save them from being devoured by the few animals. I know in some areas where there are jackrabbits nothing survives. They eat aloe and prickly pear and everything else that I tried to grow. One verified fact is that Arizona is home to the four most poisonous snakes in the country. Now that IS deadly. And since I do not like at a lower elevation, Valley Fever is not something I think about much.

Our chicken poop is helpful to enrich the soil. hurrah for chickens

 

[DesertChic]

Never thought about the desert like that. Guess I think of the harsh environment of the dryness, heat of the day followed by the cold nights during the winter. At higher elevations anyway. I think of the plants having defense plans such as the horrible spine needles to save them from being devoured by the few animals. I know in some areas where there are jackrabbits nothing survives. They eat aloe and prickly pear and everything else that I tried to grow. One verified fact is that Arizona is home to the four most poisonous snakes in the country. Now that IS deadly. And since I do not like at a lower elevation, Valley Fever is not something I think about much.

Our chicken poop is helpful to enrich the soil. hurrah for chickens

You're lucky to be able to avoid that Valley Fever. I know of several people who contracted it and spent thousands of dollars to survive it....and one woman who spent over three grand to treat her dog only to have it still die. They were all snowbirds who weren't familiar with desert living and it caught all of them by surprise.

Chicken poop is awesome for our soil! I used deep pine bedding in all of my pens and use the composted material both for my garden beds and to improve the soil in my back yard. I love to give the chickens straw or hay bales to tear apart, poop on, etc. Wherever I placed a bale last year I now have better soil. If I could I would collect all the "turning" produce from the local grocery store and spread across my backyard....but laws now prevent the stores from allowing anyone to take their discarded produce. So much unnecessary waste.