King County, Washington!

@NWchickenherder Thanks for starting this thread, went through it entirely (luckily only 6 pages LOL)
Very informative already. Hubby and I moved July 2016 from Redmond WA to rural Duvall WA and are loving it.
Last January I bought my first 8 chicks from the Co-Op in Monroe. people warned me that at least 1-2 could die, luckily they are all thriving, however there is one who had a slow start. She is my 'weakling' but going strong now.

I have read a lot about breeders and wonder if anyone knows of local mills/farms who are willing to sell their wheat, corn, peas, oats etc ... I want to do some feed mixing myself and experimenting with it, but so far wasn't able to trace a mill/farm/supplier other than the tractor supply and Monroe Co-Op, E-Feeds Duvall.

Thanks in advance,
~Jo

I always drive around and see tons of chicken owners, I have yet to really connect with anyone local who owns chickens though!

Hi guys! I'm new to BYC but have had my pair of silkie hens for about three years now. I love being a chicken mama! I tell curious people it's a lot like having fluffy bunnies that poop eggs every morning

I find its a lot like having little puppies begging for treats, but I have also never owned bunnies

bokbokchkntalk said:

Hi guys! I'm new to BYC but have had my pair of silkie hens for about three years now. I love being a chicken mama! I tell curious people it's a lot like having fluffy bunnies that poop eggs every morning

Click to expand...

Welcome to BYC! You should definitely pop over and join the Washington thread.

Hi NYC, I'm the owner of Baxter Barn. I wanted to reach out to you so you can hear it from me. You're welcome to stop by and visit the feed store during our hours. We have poultry and tours by appointment. As a small business to serve customer throughout the day you don't have to pay for a tour for getting poultry but you do need an appointment.

The birds we sell are vaccinated with a 3in1: two part Mereks and one Part Immune. Most places only do a one part and that has a window for exposure. We did not vaccinate in the beginning just the breeding stock. I did feel that as long as the breeding stock was safe and we didn't bring any birds onto the property. I found out we had a few isolated events where customers had Mereks on their property we needed to vaccinate the chicks. As a precaution now the chicks are vaccinated. We do hatch some of the rare breeds and we do get some from hatcheries. We do supply all of Portage Bay Grange poultry.

In the beginning we were using medicated feed and I was wondering why chick food was Medicated. We don't medicate kittens or puppies but they can get coccidiosis like chicks can. A lead in USDA poultry division analyzed my operation and said its more effective for the medication to be in the water not the feed and they only need it once a week not all the time. But it is more simple to have it in the feed. I didn't care what was the easiest I want was best for the animal.

I also found out that the retail feed is more focused to making money. In a sense, they go with trends and selling points and not the best for the animal. Some companies don't do a fixed formulation so it changes all the time. All of them use rocks as minerals which don't get absorbed as much. They use the minimal or recommended amounts. So I went to nutritionist, vitamin mills, feed Mills and learned and found the best for the chicken. They kept suggesting taking things out to make it more profitable and I didn't want to. I wanted the full deal, also same thing with the water treatment. And no fillers in the water treatment like sugars which can feed coccidiosis.

It is difficult selling live birds and after they leave our place we have no control. Even the ride home or stopping somewhere. Having the ac on and too cold or not having ac and it gets too hot. Looking back at posts and comments the customer and I could have learned and improved by the customer reaching out to me and trying to find a resolution within 24 of bringing them home or noticing something and checking back and rechecking back. I have tried my best to make sure the birds are healthy and taken care of. We have had a few customers have isolated events but nothing more. I am here to help anyone so we can grow and learn from them.

Being the only farm that sells all year around with different breeds and ages. And having sold so Many birds I learned after 10 days old to 2 months old the birds are at the highest chance of coccidiosis. Our treatment helps prevent them from getting sick, but first signs of sickness it is so important to switch from preventative treatment and do full treatment. Depending on age and symptoms the treatment is different case by case. Doing the Amprolium ASAP is better than nothing.

I have had a major stroke this past year and I haven't had as much evolvement do to health conditions, I didn't have everyone trained or expected as much out of people in the business but it also has given me a new prospective toward life and the business. I as business owner was always scared to put this out there but we are all in it together.

Hi everyone,
I just joined and am glad to see a local chicken group! I joined for the dreaded reason of likely needing to rehome any of my flock that turn out to be roosters since we cannot keep them in Bothell. We recently acquired 7 silkie chicks and I am hoping to keep as many of them as possible.
This is my first time as an adult keeping chickens but I grew up on a small farm in Eastern Washington where we always had chickens. I would love to live on a farm again but can't right now so I figured I would bring a little rural into the city and my landlord agreed (thankfully!).
I hope you all are enjoying this cooler weather and your weekend!

Hi all. I posted this on the main Washington group but wanted to put it here on the more local thread in case there's any interest.

I received a few "overflow" pullets from a co-worker who went on an ordering spree when she was getting chicks. I accepted because she spent a fair amount on unique breeds (Swedish flower hen, Bielefelder, etc.) Anyhow, long story short of course the Ameraucana has turned out to be a cockerel and he has to go.

So two questions: what variety would you speculate he is and is anyone interested in a free cockerel?! Thanks for your feedback!

We are passionate about our birds and because of that our philosophy
is to make sure our birds have the proper care from our farm to your home.

Proper care leads to less stress and healthier birds reducing the chance of loss. From supplies to feeders, water, bedding, brooder, heat, pro-biotic, grit and feed; to birds of the same age, same location, how they are transported including how long, temperature in the car and in the box are all important to maintain the health of the bird.

We simply want you to have a good experience which in turn gives us joy and satisfied clients.