Recent content by Birdinhand

  1. Birdinhand

    Should I free range?

    100%, That is putting it in the most straight forward terms. Everyone I know who has gone free range eventually has losses, might take years but often adds up quick when the predators finally get the hankering. I’ve decided not to and instead use deep litter, maybe 8” deep, giving them plenty...
  2. Birdinhand

    Best way to ensure good hatch rate on shipped quail eggs?

    I have ordered jumbo quail hatching eggs and they just arrive yesterday. They originated in Ohio and were shipped to Seattle wa, a fairly long journey, so I’m concerned about hatch rate, since I’ve had bad luck with shipped chicken eggs. I’m letting them rest but I’ve read they need to be...
  3. Birdinhand

    Anyone else worried about microplastics in their chickens?

    Trying to quantify the effect of micro plastics is very very difficult, there are so many uncertainties. I feed only organic feed to avoid bio-accumulation of toxins. I eat mostly grass fed, free range and or organic meat because most of our exposure comes from meat and dairy. Seems to me...
  4. Birdinhand

    Jumbo Coturnix quail for Meat?

    Nabiki, how do I contact you for ordering hatching eggs?
  5. Birdinhand

    Trials And Tribulations Of Suburban Meat Bird Production

    Ridgrunner, I’ve cooked CX without resting and the meat was not as tender as a 3-5 day rest close to freezing. With quail, maybe it’s that it’s smaller and more of a game bird, maybe I expect it to be more chewy, not sure but with the ease of prep, how much cleaner they are, dispatching as a...
  6. Birdinhand

    Trials And Tribulations Of Suburban Meat Bird Production

    Well, this year, much to my chagrin, Jenks hatchery no longer carries Cornish cross. I did give a decent look for a new source that was still close enough to allow a quick overnight shipment with low mortality and just have not been successful. This, combined with how my wife and daughter no...
  7. Birdinhand

    Jumbo Coturnix quail for Meat?

    Thanks for the response. I’m interested in purchasing some of the jumbo hatching eggs. I’ll shoot you a message and we can take it from there.
  8. Birdinhand

    Jumbo Coturnix quail for Meat?

    Hello folks. A friend keeps “crowing” about his coturnix quail for eggs and meat. I’ve had such a hard time finding Cornish cross close to me in Seattle WA that it’s made me rethink how I’m going about meat. The recession, economic turmoil and fanatical run on chicks at local co-op has made...
  9. Birdinhand

    Shingles vs Metal Roof

    The biggest defense against mites is going with the deep litter method with some sand in the mix. For roofing, I really like the sun top brand corrugated roofing panels over plywood.
  10. Birdinhand

    Hey, Will Raccoons Eat My Chickens?

    This is an excellent post!
  11. Birdinhand

    Hey, Will Raccoons Eat My Chickens?

    Yes, they eat chickens and as people have said, are clever with their hands. I went with the two locks advice, two different styles of locks, one up toward the top corner and the other toward the lower corner. If they are the same, they will be more likely to develop a technique for opening...
  12. Birdinhand

    Mites, lice or something else?

    ^^ 100% this^^^. I’ve even had hens grow long tail feathers, waterfall saddle feathers and hackle feathers just like a rooster and even crow as a stage of maturation, just to one day lay an egg and have the rooster feathers fall out and go back to “normal”. Sometimes it’s driven by hormonal...
  13. Birdinhand

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    Greetings all. I’m in shoreline wa, north of Seattle. Since Jenks hatchery in OR stopped selling broilers/cornish cross, does anyone have a local-ish source that they like for meat birds… trying to avoid shipping from the mid west.
  14. Birdinhand

    Information Overload + Analysis Paralysis

    100%. You don’t have a predator problem until you provide the meals. How many times I’ve heard people say “I haven’t heard of that being a problem around me… referring to their neighbors who don’t have chickens and don’t free range. The smell of the chickens carries on the breeze for miles...
  15. Birdinhand

    Information Overload + Analysis Paralysis

    There’s a million ways to approach chickening. You can go for the boutique experience where you pick up every dropping and keep them like a pet, that’s definitely a thing, and some people absolutely love it and, that is not for me. I grew up on a farm and now live on an urban homestead that is...
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