Category: Managing the Flock

Chicken Keeping in Triple Digits

Surviving Phoenix, Arizona

Shade is hard to come by in Phoenix,  but not impossible if you’re creative. If your chickens are in a small coop they are unlikely to survive triple-digit temperatures, I know that sounds a bit harsh, but it’s true.  June will most likely exceed 110, which means 120+ in the coop, and that’s a death sentence.
Your birds will fair well in temperatures up to 105 if they are not confined, have shade, and a place to dig a hole in the dirt. Make sure they have cool water available, if the water is too hot they won’t drink enough to stay hydrated. Make it easy on yourself, use buckets instead of those chicken drinkers that are impossible to clean and a big hassle to fill.
When temperatures reach over 105 in the shade it’s time to introduce a fan to the chicken yard.  I don’t use anything fancy, a $20.00 box fan will do the trick. Hang it from a fence (wreath hangers work nicely) or anyplace where it won’t tip over. Your birds will stand in front of that fan like they were watching a movie!

Gavin Flock, Summer 2011

June and July are the worst months for excessive heat, 110 -115+, and when you really have to stay on top of your chicken-keeping responsibilities. Mist systems help cool the air, especially with a fan to keep the air moving. I like the standing misters ($10.)  that attach to a hose. Place it right in the chicken yard, and dig up a small area near it so the moisture forms a little mud pool for the birds.
If you free-feed your chickens, don’t in summer.  Feed produces heat, so feed early morning, a little during the day, and just before they return to the coop at night.  Never offer scratch feed in summer, it’s a hot feed and unsuitable for your feathered desert dwellers. Offer your flock a watermelon, or a head of lettuce instead, this will help keep them hydrated.

Danger Signs of Heat Exhaustion

The first sign of trouble is dark red, then pale comb and wattles. As their condition worsens they will become unstable on their feet, lethargic, wobble, and even fall over and lie lifeless. They will die quickly if you don’t act fast.
Note: Heavy or meat Birds such as Orpingtons are the first to show signs of heat intolerance, watch them closely.
Chickens will hold their wings out from their body,  pant, and lay in holes on their side  – all normal behavior when they’re very hot.
What to Do
Submerge the chicken in a 5 gal. bucket of warm water and place the bird under a shade tree.  Don’t bring the bird indoors to air conditioning, this will only make matters worse when you return the chicken to the outdoors. A fan on low will help cool the bird quickly, they usually recover within 15-20 minutes.
Ideas for Providing  Shade
Shade Cloth
Mesh Tarps
Lattice
Palm Frond
Shade Sails

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How to Clip the Flight Feathers on Chickens

Two Helpful Videos

There are many videos on clipping the flight feathers of a chicken, but I chose this first one because it shows how to do it alone. There isn’t always another pair of hands available when you need them. Help is always nice, but the ability to depend on yourself is even better.
Note: I feel it’s important to clip both wings. A chicken with only one wing clipped will be unsteady or off balance. The fragile breastbone will take the brunt of a harsh landing, so let’s help keep them on their feet!

#1 Wing Clipping Unassisted

#2 Wing Clipping with Assistance

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Chicken Terms

A Glossary of Basic Chicken Terms

Bantam:  Diminutive breed of domestic fowl.
Boiler:  Chicken 6 to 9 months old.
Broiler:  Cockerel of 2 to 3 pounds at 8 to 12 weeks old.
Cock:  Male chicken, or rooster.
Cockerel:  Young rooster under 1-year-old.
Fryer:  Chicken 3 to 4 pounds at 12 to 14 weeks old.
Hen:  Female chicken.
Point of Lay Pullet:  Young female chicken just about to lay, about 5 months old.
Pullet:  Young female chicken under 1-year-old.
Roaster:  Chicken 4 to 6 pounds and over 12 to 14 weeks old.
Rooster:  Male chicken, also called a cock.
Sexed Chicks:  Separated by sex, pullets, and cockerels.
Straight Run:  Mix of pullets and cockerels.
Broody:  When the hen has the urge to sit on her eggs to try and hatch them.
Clutch:  Batch of eggs in a nest.
Comb: Red muscle on the head of chickens.
Coop:  The place where your poultry lives is referred to as a poultry coop.
Crest:  Bunch of feathers on the head of certain breeds.
Crop:  Pre-digestive system of the chicken. Food collects at the base of the neck and is softened before going through the digestion process.
Cushion:  Area of the back in front of the tail on the female chicken.
Down:  Soft fine feathers on chicks.
Droppings:  Chicken manure.
Dust bath: To bathe in dry dust or sand, and it helps remove any mites from their feathers.
Flight feathers:  Biggest primary feathers on the final half of the wing.
Free range: To allow chickens to roam the pasture freely.
Frizzle:  Feathers that curl rather than laying flat also a breed of chicken.
Gizzard:  Internal organ of the chicken that collects grit and grinds food down.
Grit: A grinding agent used in digestion, added to a chicken’s diet if not allowed to free range.
Growers:  Growing chickens between 9 and 20 weeks.
Hackles:  Cape feathers of a rooster.
Hybrid:  Genetically bred from two different breeds of chicken for good characteristics from both.
Impaction:  Blockage of a body passage or cavity, such as the crop.
Keel:  Breast bone – which resembles the keel of a boat.
Layers:  Mature female chickens kept for egg production.
Mash:  Mixture of wet or dry coarse ground feed.
Moult:  Yearly shedding and replacement of poultry feathers.
Muff:  Feathers sticking out from both sides of the face under the beak of certain breeds such as Ameraucana.
Nest Box:  Secluded safe place where a hen feels she can leave her eggs.
Nest Egg:  Wooden or plastic egg put in the nest box to encourage hens to lay there.
Pecking order:  Social ranking of a flock.
Pellets:  Poultry pellets are formed from a fine mash bonded together.
Poultry:  Domestic fowls, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, or geese, raised for meat or eggs.
Pure breed:  Not been crossed with another chicken breed is known as a purebred.
Saddle:  Area of the back in front of the tail on the male.
Spurs:  Protrusions on the legs of roosters.
Utility:  Bred for meat or chickens bred for eggs rather than poultry shows.
Vent:  Orifice at the rear end of the chicken through which both eggs and feces are passed.
Wattles:  Fleshy appendages hanging on the sides of the lower beak of poultry.

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