Arizona Chickens

[City farm]

Anyone know where I can get a Polish or Frizzle here in Arizona?

Your avatar look's like a white Chewbacca, so pretty & cute all at the same time..

 

[houdiniduck]

I finished the stand, but forgot to take a picture. I'll post sometime this week. It was super easy to make the posts and only took a few minutes. I even made a side table to attach for the scalding water pot.

Ugh, the feed bags. Well, I took one of those big tomato cages and anchored it into the ground. Then I'd cut the bag lengthwise and along the bottom, and tape it together in a sort of diagonal spiral--to make a cone? Then I'd cut the bottom of the cone out, and cut the top of the bag in order to fold over the top of the tomato cage. I'd duck tape the bag to the cage. It was a pretty awkward situation. I used that setup for about 6 chickens. Never again, and rather labor intensive to set the dang thing up. It may have been easier had I a post or tree or something that i could just anchor the bags too, but I don't.

My new stand will be glorious compared to the feed bags and before that, the milk jugs precariously attached to a garden arch. I'll probably need to adjust the bottom cut in the traffic cone, but I won't know that till I put my first chicken in.

The whole thing, once I get the set up down, is really easy. Grab the chicken, place it in the cone, gently pull the head and neck out of the bottom of the cone, and then lop the head off with my sharpened garden loppers (used only for chicken processing). I'm too much of a delicate flower to slit the neck, and my hands are too weak to wring anything. The loppers make it instant.

ok garden loppers. do you have a picture? I am preparing to process and really don't want the ax and a stump option that the DF wants to use. So I am going to get a cone and something to cut their heads off.

 

[City farm]

Hay, does anyone know where the seed box is??

No hurry on the box, just wondered.. Someone mentioned wanting it.. & we don't mind hosting..
@cyborg picked up the seed box from my place a few weeks ago. Not sure if it has moved on from there.

I confess I've never processed a chicken for eating ... if I have to cull more I might have to learn just so it doesn't feel like such a waste   they seem so skinny when they're juveniles, though ... is there really enough meat to make it worth the effort??

Advise me, o wise ones of the message board!! 

Ever since I learned how to spatchcock a bird I look forward to those extra young cockerels. Spatchcocking is removing the backbone and flattening out the bird which makes it cook faster and more evenly. It also makes it much easier to gut a small bird. Removing the backbone is easy to do with a good set of poultry shears. I actually learned how to do it from the quail processing links someone posted a while back. I processed some 8-10 week old birds a while back and got 1-3 meals per bird. They had dressed out at 1.5 - 2.7 lbs apiece. Large fowl dual purpose breed. Tasty. And definitely worth the effort.

Honestly, it is much faster to do with someone.. @Sill & I got pretty good at it after the first 2..

 

[City farm]

@alohachickens I am fairly new to the whole "chicken thing". So bear with me whilst I figure all this by posting stuff out. I have had my girls about 5 months. I have a white leghorn pullet, black star pullet, Easter egger pullet and a fleur d' uccle hen. Tragically had 2 pullet die in an accident in my yard when they pulled an industrial wire shelf down on top of them. I was crushed. Anyway, I then acquired the ee and the d uccle to replace them. Hoping the other 3 will start laying soon. They are about 6 mos old. I have the chicken bug BAD. Next would like to try hatching and / or adding some of the following to my flock::
Silver/blue/gold laced Wyandotte
Cream legbar
Barred rock
Cuckoo or red marans
Hamburg
Ancona
Speckled Sussex
Golden lakenvelder
Lavender Orpington
We live in the city of maricopa and cannot have Roos but would love any hens that you have extra of.

Those are some pretty bird's you have picked out..

 

[chicksurreal]

Those are some pretty bird's you have picked out..

X2

 

[City farm]

This is why moringa trees are so drought tolerant. They have roots that store water and probably starch. I had planted these in small pots the end of last summer, then forgot about them in a shed where I "overwintered" them. I can't remember when I last watered them, but you can see one of them valiantly trying to grow a new stem where the old one is dried up. These two should survive fine once planted and watered. @CityFarm do you want me to drop these by your house? I don't know if your potted tree survived. And here is my biggest moringa tree, It had a big chop in November (so it could be easily covered during frosts) and this was the new growth in February. This is it today already starting to get a few flower buds among plentiful foliage. These trees love heat and grow super fast once it warms up. I'm hoping this year it will give some seeds for the seed box.

Ohhh, yes!! The one you gave me is still alive.. I think I am ready to try lotus pond plant again.. Now that it is getting warmer.

 

[City farm]

Hi does anyone know if backyard chickens are allowed in Pecan creek south community, pinal county?

No but your city should have a website with that information.. What breeds do you have?

 

[Diannastarr]

hahahaha thats a hoot

, & yeah if only it was that easy......right .

....lol.....

....lol..........lol....

thats a good one ,loved it ,thanks for the chuckle , take care Dianna

 

[Sill]

Hi does anyone know if backyard chickens are allowed in Pecan creek south community, pinal county?

Welcome!

Is there an HOA where you live? If so you will have to abide by their rules regardless of city or county ordinances.

 

[Sill]

Ohhh, yes!! The one you gave me is still alive.. I think I am ready to try lotus pond plant again.. Now that it is getting warmer.

Oh good I'm glad it made it.

I'm not sure how many lotus made it through winter but at least one is trying to leaf out. I think they may be salt sensitive? It keeps getting leaves that don't break the surface then they die and another comes up. It's frustrating not to know how to help it thrive.