Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Travis, did your work hours change? I noticed you're here more at night than you used to be.

hahaha. No, I am on vacation in Hawaii and have been sneaking on here in down time. Funny that you noticed me around.

Oh I envy you! Hope you're having fun!

We are, thanks. My wife won a trip here to the Pro Bowl this Sunday. Airfare, car, condo, and game tickets for four. We brought her mom and stepdad(who is my uncle, i know strange that makes my wife my cousin) and we all went in to cover our 16 year old to come too. First time to Oahu, we took a 2 week trip to Maui a year and a half ago and loved it there. A little too crowded and touristy here, but a nearly free trip, not complaining.

 

[Nikki99]

Had one of my 8 month brahma pullets acting sluggish yesterday afternoon. I managed to get her to eat some and drink before bed. This morning she wasn't interested in anything and not wanting to move. I brought her in and I couldn't feel anything odd but gave her a warm bath to sit in that she relaxed in. She spent all day on some towels in the bathtub. By this evening she couldn't stand and was having a hard time keeping her head up. When I went to check on her last, and moved her to a move comfortable position and petted her, her comb turned purple and she spasmed and passed. On inspection she was laying internally. It was a mess. 

So DH helped me dig a hole out in the garden in the dark. Dang it! She was a very friendly, nosy bird. 

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Travis, did your work hours change? I noticed you're here more at night than you used to be.

hahaha. No, I am on vacation in Hawaii and have been sneaking on here in down time. Funny that you noticed me around.

Oh!!! We are going to Hawaii in 19 days!!.... I'm not counting down the days or anything though. Lol. What part of Hawaii are you in?

 

[CarolynF]

Had one of my 8 month brahma pullets acting sluggish yesterday afternoon. I managed to get her to eat some and drink before bed. This morning she wasn't interested in anything and not wanting to move. I brought her in and I couldn't feel anything odd but gave her a warm bath to sit in that she relaxed in. She spent all day on some towels in the bathtub. By this evening she couldn't stand and was having a hard time keeping her head up. When I went to check on her last, and moved her to a move comfortable position and petted her, her comb turned purple and she spasmed and passed. On inspection she was laying internally. It was a mess.

So DH helped me dig a hole out in the garden in the dark. Dang it! She was a very friendly, nosy bird.

That's a tough way to spend the day. I'm really sorry.

 

[Hinotori]

Thanks all.

She died warm and comfortable at least. And she lived a spoiled life of many seeds and free ranging.

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm sure that was 'heaven on earth, for her

 

[beausonge]

came home yesterday afternoon, and the little one that the others had been ostracizing on was dead. Man, it really got to me. I was in a major funk all last night. I wish I knew if there was something wrong with her besides being a runt and being picked on.... There was nothing obviously wrong though...

So very sorry for your loss...

 

[hallerlake]

Thanks all.

She died warm and comfortable at least. And she lived a spoiled life of many seeds and free ranging.

X 2

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Had one of my 8 month brahma pullets acting sluggish yesterday afternoon. I managed to get her to eat some and drink before bed. This morning she wasn't interested in anything and not wanting to move. I brought her in and I couldn't feel anything odd but gave her a warm bath to sit in that she relaxed in. She spent all day on some towels in the bathtub. By this evening she couldn't stand and was having a hard time keeping her head up. When I went to check on her last, and moved her to a move comfortable position and petted her, her comb turned purple and she spasmed and passed. On inspection she was laying internally. It was a mess. 

So DH helped me dig a hole out in the garden in the dark. Dang it! She was a very friendly, nosy bird. 

Aww, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Travis, did your work hours change? I noticed you're here more at night than you used to be.

hahaha. No, I am on vacation in Hawaii and have been sneaking on here in down time. Funny that you noticed me around.

Oh!!! We are going to Hawaii in 19 days!!.... I'm not counting down the days or anything though. Lol. What part of Hawaii are you in?

We are in Honolulu for the Pro Bowl. My DW won the trip through a raffle at her nieces cheer group.

 

[beausonge]

Am I really the only one with a very smelly chicken problem?? You guys are always full of ideas for every issue and question... please help a fellow BYCer out!!

You are gonna hate me but my husband built our 8 x 10 coop. When he builds something it is built to last at least 200 years. The coop: cement floors, insulated walls, slider window, vent holes near ceiling, roosts, extra large nest boxes, 12 x 12 yard with fencing buried about 2 feet down and attached to treated lumbar with a tin roof.

For the poop board - we use crappy (pun intended ) scrap plywood or whatever is laying around. I spread out a layer of diatomaceous earth on the poop board with the back of a rake. Then I put down a thick 2 - 3 inch layer of pine chips. I change it out every week. I got a tool at Wilco called a "sidewalk scraper". Imagine a hoe completely flattened. Best thing I ever bought. It scrapes that poop right off the poop board, floor, whatever. Putting DE and chips on the board makes it easy to scrape as it there is very little moisture on the board. Once it is completely scraped and clean, I add DE to any damp spots then cover back up with pine chips.

I have two chickens who cannot roost - my Cochin rooster and a Cuckoo Marans hen with a bad foot. The rooster sleeps in a hutch under the poop board. Here is a picture of him sleeping with the ducks:

For the hutch I pick out the poop and wet spots a couple times a week and change out the pine chips as needed. Like the poop board, I coat it with a thin layer of DE and mix some DE into the pine chips. I do the hutch every week or two.could be a week or two between changes. The nest boxes are usually very clean. I just remove any bits of poop or feathers each time I check for eggs. I add pine chips as needed. About once a month I "freshen" up the nest boxes with DE. There is about a 3ft overhang in the front of the coop. I keep a deep layer of chips with DE mixed in the doorway of the coop for the chickens dust baths.

This all sounds like a lot of work but it is actually quite easy. It takes 5 - 10 minutes every other day to clean because it is so dry. All the chickens wander in and out while I am cleaning, some offering advice.

We also have that slick gooey mud here. We have found that gravel works the best for our horses and the coop yard area. Our property is quite steep so my husband puts in lots of drainage pipes to funnel water away from the building foundation.

So my advice is to do the cleaning several times a week and keep things as dry as possible. Then you will have happy chickens who talk your ear off while yu clean.

Vickie et al
Kelso, WA

 

[beausonge]

Had one of my 8 month brahma pullets acting sluggish yesterday afternoon. I managed to get her to eat some and drink before bed. This morning she wasn't interested in anything and not wanting to move. I brought her in and I couldn't feel anything odd but gave her a warm bath to sit in that she relaxed in. She spent all day on some towels in the bathtub. By this evening she couldn't stand and was having a hard time keeping her head up. When I went to check on her last, and moved her to a move comfortable position and petted her, her comb turned purple and she spasmed and passed. On inspection she was laying internally. It was a mess. 

So DH helped me dig a hole out in the garden in the dark. Dang it! She was a very friendly, nosy bird. 

So sorry for your loss. I lost a Delaware out of my first chickens. She was like yours - used to call her nosey rosey.