Viva Las Vegas!

[pmona]

Sounds very cool! What kind of fish will you be using?

I am thinking of Tilapia because of how warm it is here.

 

[LV Chicks]

Wow! Take a few days away only to find so much great stuff happening here when I get back!! I'd love to quote everyone but I can't even keep track of which I wanted to comment on, there's so much!

Firstly, 'WELCOME!' to the new folks! We're getting a great little group here!

Then, AQUAPONICS!!! We've been doing this for about a year now and love love love it!!! We have gotten tomatoes, potatoes, peas, and, now, pumpkin from ours! We even now have an avocado tree as we simply threw a pit in to see what would happen and.... shablam: ten inches of avocado dreams! I found this funny as I've tried and tried with the tooth picks and the water in the cup and have gotten nothing. I'm afraid we approached this with a good bit of pessimism. We're big fish people and were not sure the system would allow for enough air. Mike bought 100 tiny 'feeder' goldfish, presuming that we would need to tweak this and that and only 5 would live through it.... We now have 100 huge goldfish and no idea what to do with them as we too want to move on to tilapia but don't have the heart to terminate all of our brave little trailblazers. Anyone have a pond that needs fish?

Oh! and the sunscreen on combs thing; Hah! I might have to get Mike to believe that our little ladies need it today just for the entertainment of watching as they all freak out and the formidable Cass actually begins talking - using many four letter words, I'm sure. Maybe that's a show thing? Maybe combs are preferably a certain colour for judging and the sun's effects are not desirable?

Cary 1973, I love that your daughter and her chicken have the same style! What sort of chicken do you have with a floppy comb? Sounds very cool!

Peep Show, thank you for the note about peppers. A friend just gave us a few plants that she simply has not put in the ground in. Nice to know they still have some time to fruit.

Vegas Chick, 'Camp Kenmore' is hilarious!!! Love it!!!

That said, a friend may need to send one of her Silkies to a similar camp if she does not find a home for him/her soon. She picked up two young ones a while back and keeps them as 'house chickens' .... Yes, diapers and all..... Both seemed to be pullets but one has started trying, desperately, to crow and he/she is causing havoc in the house. Heshe does not have a waddle or a prominent comb but makes a god-awful attempt at sounding like an injured alien of some sort. My friend was going to wait and see if the creature would lay but the sound is apparently just too off-putting. If anyone could offer a nice home for such a well placed Vegas Silkie, please let me know.... He/she is the white chicken in the picture and is 5 or 6 months old.




This request comes only a day or two after I was asked if we could take a Showgirl due to a leg deformation and the other (larger) chickens picking on her. Our little Seramas would be better but we simply won't be able to do it.

So..... If anyone would be interested in a mildly transgendered Silkie or a slightly disfigured Showgirl, please let me know. ..... Wow.... Only in Vegas....

 

[cary 1973]

"Cary 1973, I love that your daughter and her chicken have the same style! What sort of chicken do you have with a floppy comb? Sounds very cool!"



I have 2 exchequer leghorn one is my daughters phionix ( I call her phenny sebrina dont like it she is named after the bird that never dies)




you cant see in the pic but she has eye liner marks




my daughter see same hair stly covering left eye and eye liner her hair used to be black and blonde but the black washed out in this pic

 

[cary 1973]

Ok I have a few ?

So funny ? I know we are still in triple digits but around the corner it will be cooling off and getting darker sooner, my girls are almost to age of egg laying and I have read that during shorter days they don’t lay well so im thinking of putting light in coop on timer to run from when it gets dark till about 8pm dose anyone else do this in Vegas? If yes dose it help with the egg laying?

2nd ? winter time we do hit a few freezing days once and while and it gets chilly at night nov – jan I was thinking of adding a heat light to go on at night till like 7 or 8 am any one else do this? Dose it help?

3rd ? so I am hoping next summer my chickens will no longer need to come in my house during the heat of the day (now they stay in almost all day long) I am trying to grow grape veins in there run to add cooling in the area and over the coop what other vine plants can you grow around a coop / run that will offer shade and maybe even a treat?

4th my neice 7 years old want next spring to let her buff orphington to hatch eggs/chicks how ever she has strick rule that no boys are to be eaten i told her that would be hard to promis but i will ask for unwanted rooster you dont want eaten but to live a long health happy life (I cant have rooster illegal in Henderson) any suggestions or what have you done with your un wanted roosters. (i know most answears is craigs list or freezer camp)

thank you im a first time chicken care taker so I will be picking your brains alot with living in my same town

 

[vegaschick]

AQUAPONICS!!! We've been doing this for about a year now and love love love it!!! We have gotten tomatoes, potatoes, peas, and, now, pumpkin from ours! We even now have an avocado tree as we simply threw a pit in to see what would happen and.... shablam: ten inches of avocado dreams! I found this funny as I've tried and tried with the tooth picks and the water in the cup and have gotten nothing. I'm afraid we approached this with a good bit of pessimism. We're big fish people and were not sure the system would allow for enough air. Mike bought 100 tiny 'feeder' goldfish, presuming that we would need to tweak this and that and only 5 would live through it.... We now have 100 huge goldfish and no idea what to do with them as we too want to move on to tilapia but don't have the heart to terminate all of our brave little trailblazers. Anyone have a pond that needs fish?

I am so amazed I hadn't heard of this before! I would really love to see some photos of your setup! Does it take a lot of room/space and how much time is involved in up keep/setup?


That said, a friend may need to send one of her Silkies to a similar camp if she does not find a home for him/her soon. She picked up two young ones a while back and keeps them as 'house chickens' .... Yes, diapers and all..... Both seemed to be pullets but one has started trying, desperately, to crow and he/she is causing havoc in the house. Heshe does not have a waddle or a prominent comb but makes a god-awful attempt at sounding like an injured alien of some sort. My friend was going to wait and see if the creature would lay but the sound is apparently just too off-putting. If anyone could offer a nice home for such a well placed Vegas Silkie, please let me know.... He/she is the white chicken in the picture and is 5 or 6 months old.




This request comes only a day or two after I was asked if we could take a Showgirl due to a leg deformation and the other (larger) chickens picking on her. Our little Seramas would be better but we simply won't be able to do it.

So..... If anyone would be interested in a mildly transgendered Silkie or a slightly disfigured Showgirl, please let me know. ..... Wow.... Only in Vegas....

So true!!! Sorry but I'm having a hard time figuring out who stays and who goes of my own flock. Of course, those that don't stay will either go to my friends flock or Camp Kenmore. Actually, applications for Camp Kenmore have already been processed and the list is solid. They'll be processed next month. Those that are headed to my friends flock are a few year old hens that would enhance their egg basket colors, aren't favorites, or are necessary for my future breeding plans and a bunch of extra chicks that I hatched or bought for broodies. It's a lot easier to chose who stays vs. who goes after they start to lay. I'm a sucker for a pretty egg!

I have 2 exchequer leghorn one is my daughters phionix ( I call her phenny sebrina dont like it she is named after the bird that never dies)




you cant see in the pic but she has eye liner marks




my daughter see same hair stly covering left eye and eye liner her hair used to be black and blonde but the black washed out in this pic

Nice photos! I can see what you mean about matching. I had the sweetest White Leghorn named Tina. She would stand at my feet and wait for me to pet her. Sadly she died this past year. How are your pretty Leghorns? Are they friendly or flighty?

Ok I have a few ?

So funny ? I know we are still in triple digits but around the corner it will be cooling off and getting darker sooner, my girls are almost to age of egg laying and I have read that during shorter days they don’t lay well so im thinking of putting light in coop on timer to run from when it gets dark till about 8pm dose anyone else do this in Vegas? If yes dose it help with the egg laying?

2nd ? winter time we do hit a few freezing days once and while and it gets chilly at night nov – jan I was thinking of adding a heat light to go on at night till like 7 or 8 am any one else do this? Dose it help?

3rd ? so I am hoping next summer my chickens will no longer need to come in my house during the heat of the day (now they stay in almost all day long) I am trying to grow grape veins in there run to add cooling in the area and over the coop what other vine plants can you grow around a coop / run that will offer shade and maybe even a treat?

4th my neice 7 years old want next spring to let her buff orphington to hatch eggs/chicks how ever she has strick rule that no boys are to be eaten i told her that would be hard to promis but i will ask for unwanted rooster you dont want eaten but to live a long health happy life (I cant have rooster illegal in Henderson) any suggestions or what have you done with your un wanted roosters. (i know most answears is craigs list or freezer camp)

thank you im a first time chicken care taker so I will be picking your brains alot with living in my same town

Okay, re: questions 1 and 2. We put a light in the coop the first winter we kept chickens. I did seem to help a little, but I use scratch and red chili flakes to warm up the body temp and it seems to help some lay better. We have reconfigured our roost layout a bit since and would need to relocate the light to use it again. We didn't use it last year, but seemed to get a fair amount of eggs regardless, which means about 1 egg for every 3 layers. Not too bad.

My coop has removable pieces for the summer so they have lots of airflow. In the winter we put the pieces back and they are cozy in there but still have plenty of ventilation. We get so few freezes, I don't even worry. They cuddle together and their body heat keeps it quite warm. I have had a hen or two that molted late...those I would maybe worry about. Generally, I'd say that I don't think it's necessary, but do make sure that your roosts are wide enough for them to cover their feet with their feathers. I'll try to find some photos of my NV recycle coop...or maybe take some new ones next week.

Grape vines are a great idea for creating cool spaces and offering treats. Depending on the space you're trying to cover...just plant a bunch of them. Other vines that do well in Vegas are catclaw, hall's honeysuckle (I have some out front that the wild birds love for the berries, not edible for humans though) and trumpet creeper or wisteria. Google them and see what would work best for you. You could also go to the nursery (Star, Plant World, Davis etc.) and look at the varieties they have to get an idea of what you'd like. I'd say the most hardy would be the catclaw/trumpet creeper. You might just decide to get several varieties of grapes....!

re: hatching eggs and roosters....there is no good way to do this. Sometimes you can get lucky and find someone that wants a roo to keep and not eat but don't bet on it. I lucked out when I got 18 chicks from Peep_Show and only 7 were girls. I found a guy with a lot of land in UT that wanted protectors for his free ranging hens. I bet he ate some of them though, but at least I didn't have to dispatch them and what I don't know can't hurt me!!! This is the best time for "don't ask, don't tell!" Unfortunately, there is no way to sex an egg. If you hatch, you will get some boys, that is almost a sure bet! Sometimes you even get boys in the pullet bins at the feedstores or hatcheries. They only promise 99% girls. Happened to me this year. I personally think that growing up knowing that chickens are food was good for me. People need to be more connected to where their food comes from. My brother makes sure that his kids...10, 8 and 5 are present when the old hens and boys are processed. They get a better understanding of how to respect an animal that will become your food. This is just my opinion. I hope that you can find a way to work it out for you and your niece. Some life lessons are hard to teach. Good luck!!!

 

[cary 1973]

Nice photos! I can see what you mean about matching. I had the sweetest White Leghorn named Tina. She would stand at my feet and wait for me to pet her. Sadly she died this past year. How are your pretty Leghorns? Are they friendly or flighty?

My Lilly leghorns is as sweet as can be she loves to be petted and one day I though my cat curled up on the bed next to me to take nap when i woke up come to find out it was Lilly chicken ;} but once I found out it was her she had to jump off the bed and no longer snuggle. silly bird

now Phinox everything is done on her terms! she is not one for being held or petted but will eat out of my hand and come if called (and you have food of course) she is more stand offish and flighty so 2 birds same breed same bring up 2 total diffrent presonaltys.


Grape vines are a great idea for creating cool spaces and offering treats. Depending on the space you're trying to cover...

when I am done there run is 15 foot long and by widest part is 9 foot smallest part in 4 foot (property line goes at angle there is 7 foot brick wall around 3 sides and my house / bedroom wall is the other side right now there run is 6 foot enclosure and then there 8 foot coopere

here is the coop


temp run (they are much much bigger now they were over a month old in pic)

 

[vegaschick]

My Lilly leghorns is as sweet as can be she loves to be petted and one day I though my cat curled up on the bed next to me to take nap when i woke up come to find out it was Lilly chicken ;} but once I found out it was her she had to jump off the bed and no longer snuggle. silly bird

now Phinox everything is done on her terms! she is not one for being held or petted but will eat out of my hand and come if called (and you have food of course) she is more stand offish and flighty so 2 birds same breed same bring up 2 total diffrent presonaltys.

when I am done there run is 15 foot long and by widest part is 9 foot smallest part in 4 foot (property line goes at angle there is 7 foot brick wall around 3 sides and my house / bedroom wall is the other side right now there run is 6 foot enclosure and then there 8 foot coopere

here is the coop


temp run (they are much much bigger now they were over a month old in pic)

I love how different all my chickens personalities are. So true that they can be the same breed, have the same upbringing and yet be totally different! What a sweet story about Lilly!

I think you've got a nice coop/run going on there! I had to laugh at the last one. They look sooooo itty-bitty there! LOL! I do think that if you want treats for the chickens, use a variety of grapes for shade. It would be fun to add some color though and that would be where the other vines come in handy. The reason I mentioned space is that you'd probably want to prune your grapes to keep them producing and so they may not cover the top part of your run...because you'd be trimming them. Another reason to combine grapes with a flowering vine that grows quickly and needs less pruning (trumpet creeper/catclaw vine). OR just let one grape vine go unpruned for coverage on top and prune the others (good types: red flame, thompson seedless, black monukka, etc.) for grape production. Plant on the outside if possible, if not, be prepared to dig a hole for a 5 gallon plant or plan on how to protect it from the chickens until it's out of reach. My chickens, when let in the garden, killed a new grape vine by eating all the leaves off. They are great jumpers and flyers...and foragers!

Check out these links for a really great ideas for grapes in/on coops.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0800131525486.html?24

This person is in AZ so they really know how to deal with heat for sure! I love this plan and since my run is not open on any side I plan to do something of this sort for my run to provide shade in there. I love that they show exactly how they did it. Really great plan!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/gallo-del-cielos-chicken-coop

This next link has a photo of gallo del cielos completed plan + other good ideas!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/588166/trees-bushes-for-chicken-run

 

[vegaschick]

I am thinking of Tilapia because of how warm it is here.

Yum!!!! Tilapia!

 

[cary 1973]

if you notice in one pic there are 3 rose bushes ya there no longer alive the chickens delcared war on them and ate all leave and as soon as a new one tried to pop out it was gone now i know i have to protect the plants.

 

[vegaschick]

YEP!!! We learn very quickly to protect the green stuff you want to keep.