New Mexico

[Garden Peas]

I once had a retired neighbor who would feed the roadrunners little balls of hamburger every evening while he sat on his patio and drank cocktails. His wife was packing freezer bags full of little hamburger balls so they would be on hand.

That was before the little velociraptors (good name for them!) started showing up in droves and pecking on his sliding glass door constantly, looking for their hamburger balls. They became so habituated to their hamburger balls that they were downright aggressive and the next thing I heard, he had taken to running the roadrunners off with a spray bottle and ammonia. (No doubt the birds were justifiably confused.... I kinda felt bad for them...)

I don't live where the roadrunners come in anymore, but I have no doubt they would nab and eat a chick in half an instant

 

[abqferreira]

That's too funny! My neighbors have been feeding a road runner pair for over 20 years now. One day I saw one of them run by with a tail hanging out of his mouth, and was concerned about the possibility of mice in the area, when I realized the rodent was white and must have come from a pet store!

 

[DaraKing]

Hello from Rio Rancho, New Mexico! I've finally jumped on the chicken train, since the city council finally passed the ordinance to allow chickens within city limits (they passed it in April.)
I've been wanting to keep chickens for a while now so I'm over the moon with joy that I finally can. But with that comes a few questions that only other New Mexicans can answer.

I now have five babies in brooders. These are: four weeks old; a buff orpington, a dominique, two ameraucanas, and my five day old rhode island red. I got the first four when they were a week old, and I thought I had a couple months to figure out their coop and run. I had NO idea that they grew so dang fast! The problem now is that I cannot put the RIR in with the older birds. When I got the RIR home, I put her in with them and the Dom immediately started chasing and pecking the brand new baby. So now the RIR is in her own brooder box next to the other birds. The brooders I'm using are both plastic storage bins and somewhat clear. They can hear each other but not quite see each other. But here's my problem; the older birds are close to being fully feathered and they've outgrown their brooder. I bought a 10' x 6' x 6' (length/width/height) chain link dog run, and I ordered the coop online which will be delivered on Tuesday.

Having said all that, here's my question for New Mexicans (especially others in Rio Rancho or ABQ); at four weeks old, are my birds hardy enough to be put outside with our weather temperatures?
I will be creating a heavily shaded area in the run for them to stay out of the blazing sun, but my concern is more the overnight temps that can drop down into the 50s. Do they need the heat lamp in the coop at night? If not, what can you suggest for me to put them into and still keep them indoors to grow some more? I've had them in a bathroom we don't use in the brooder box that they've waaaay outgrown so I need to do something pretty quickly for them.
Also, given the nature of Rio Rancho soil (ermmm...SAND!), do I need to do any amendments to the ground of the run or will they be okay with just the sand? I will be using pine shavings in the coop, but does that need to be done to the run too?

I look forward to local input, and I thank you in advance for your guidance.

--Dara

 

[FridayYet]

Hi Dara, Congratulations on your new chickens!

I like the deep litter method in the run, which means a bunch of organic material. I put in chopped leaves, grass clippings, brooder bedding, weeds, garden trimmings etc in and the chickens dig through it and mix it around. It breaks down the waste and I never have to clean the run.

If you have chain link, you'll want to put a barrier to keep the stuff in the run.

About twice a week in the summer, I water it down and the chickens lay in the damp earth to cool off.

A pic of the youngsters taking their afternoon siesta:

 

[DaraKing]

Hi Dara, Congratulations on your new chickens!

I like the deep litter method in the run, which means a bunch of organic material. I put in chopped leaves, grass clippings, brooder bedding, weeds, garden trimmings etc in and the chickens dig through it and mix it around. It breaks down the waste and I never have to clean the run.

If you have chain link, you'll want to put a barrier to keep the stuff in the run.

 

[FridayYet]

I don't have any odor at all in my run. Poop sitting on bare earth is so much worse, and so unhealthy for the chickens. Of course, I have a big run which helps, too.

Some people like sand in the run, and scoop it like a giant litter box. If not cleaned often enough, you just have poopy sand that stinks to high heaven when it rains. You could use straw, and rake it out and replace it as it gets soiled. Over time you'll find what works for you.

I only put in green leafy weeds like dandelion, mustard, etc. Never tumble weeds or goat heads.

 

[DaraKing]

Yikes! Looks like I've got some more learning to do before Tuesday when the coop arrives! I had given minimal consideration to the flooring material of the coop since I thought the existing sand in the back yard would be fine. I'm in north Rio Rancho a good distance from the river, so green growth around here is almost non-existent. Can I use composted material from a garden center for the floor of the run?

 

[FridayYet]

LOL, don't panic, they'll be fine on your dirt/sand for a while. But if it were me, I'd llook at the wood mulch from the Sandoval county dump for $7 a truckload (if you have a truck). At my old house I used shavings to start, but they will blow all over the place if you don't have a solid border. The bigger bedding flakes from TSC would be good.

Another thing to think about is the edge of the run. Chickens can excavate huge holes in the ground and if they choose to dig near the edge, they can dig a hole out of the coop, I have a row of bricks along the back of the area where they like to dig the most.

A nice idea is surrounding the outside of your run with square concrete pavers. It also helps deter digging predators.

Have you let the big ones play in the run yet?

 

[DaraKing]

Oh wow! I had no idea we could buy mulch from the county! Heck, I'm more than willing to go rent a truck from Home Depot to get that done! Although it will likely not be this week, but very soon. My focus tomorrow will be to finish the run by wrapping the chicken wire to the walls and top, and building the coop table/stand and lining the run with bricks.

I am thinking I'll wrap the bottom part of the chicken wire under the tubing of the run to extend out by a foot or so. I have two dogs that I'll need to keep away from the chicks. My husband and I were also thinking of burying the bottom of the run about 6 inches or so, but he'd need to duck down standing in the run if we did that.

I have not yet let the babies out into the run, since I don't yet have it secured or covered from the sun. Its been HOT around here lately! I have tomorrow off from work, so my day will be quite busy, probably starting around 6:30ish in the morning to get the majority of the work done before it gets too hot. The goal is to have them spend some time out there tomorrow evening. But that leads to my original question; are they too young still to be outside 24/7, given the temperature drops at night?

 

[FridayYet]

The older ones will be fine. The little one, no.

It has been hot! You may need shade cloth on the Western side of your run.

Since you have dogs, seriously consider covering your 1foot wire apron with 12 X 12 concrete stepping stones. I think they are less than 1.50 a piece at HD. Of course the bigger ones would be better, but more expensive. Or if you have rocks in your yard, use them and forget about the bricks inside. Many dogs (including one of mine) think young chickens are squeaky toys that need to be pounced on.