Recent content by orchardflock

  1. orchardflock

    April 2017 chicks, who will lay first contest...

    Went and saw the eclipse yesterday, and came home to discover another bantam (probably the second barred rock) is laying. One of our big ones (born 4/1) laid a yolk splattered below the roost. Oops. I'm hoping for at least three pullet eggs tomorrow.
  2. orchardflock

    First Egg mishap

    I went out to feed the chickens this morning, and immediately noticed my Aquila (black astralorp with some RIR) had a mess of white dried under her vent. We weren't home for the last two days, so a family member fed the birds. I opened the chicken coop, and what looked like either one or two...
  3. orchardflock

    April 2017 chicks, who will lay first contest...

    I had an interesting conversation about this with the poultry judge at the fair. He said sebrights have become popular, and so to keep up with increased demand they've selected (probably through some cross breeding) for bigger better egg laying birds. Which makes them better pets, but worse for...
  4. orchardflock

    April 2017 chicks, who will lay first contest...

    Got my first for sure new egg layer egg yesterday - from a bantam! It is the most adorable tiny egg ever. Today we caught the layer in action - Pepper, our little barred rock who won best in class at the county fair. :) I think one of my 4.5 month old regular sized hens might also be laying...
  5. orchardflock

    Are 2 Roosters too many for 8 hens?

    We are really struggling with this right now. We keep watching our bantams closely (7 hens, 2 roosters) and so far, no damage. I can't believe it, and keep expecting to walk out and see damaged backsides and/or bloody combatants. They are 4.5 months old. My husband is strongly of the opinion...
  6. orchardflock

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    We have two 40' x 40' chicken yards with sturdy buried 8' fencing enclosed inside of a ~2 acre wooded area with 4' fencing. Each coop within the yard is also pretty well fortified (at least for normal predators - all bets are off for a bear). Our nine bantams barely make a dent in a 40' x 40'...
  7. orchardflock

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    Excellent question. I know we recently decided to clip some of our birds wings (the bantams) because they were flying out of their pen with 8 foot fencing and feasting on peaches. The thought was they (and our crop) would be safer if they stayed in their secure area. Also, we are planning on...
  8. orchardflock

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    Thank you! I don't know why I can't see the "insert quote" button on my phone or internet explorer, but it was there when I switched to chrome. I've posted a few times, but I don't think I ever really introduced myself. I'm in rural Thurston county near Olympia. My husband grew up on a farm...
  9. orchardflock

    Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

    There is a small high quality feed store in Olympia called Eastside Urban Farm and Garden that has black runner ducks right now. I did not check and see if they were sexed, and I don't know if that would work for you anyway, or if you would want to even drive that far. But we've had really good...
  10. orchardflock

    Chicken didn't come home :(

    This just happened to us last week. One adult hen (out of 5) and 4 two month old pullets (out of a group of 6) went missing. We searched high and low for at least an hour throughout our ~2 acre fenced property. We thought for sure they were eaten. Especially the adult one, because it seemed...
  11. orchardflock

    Deciding today whether to get chickens. Have I considered everything?

    Our bantams are way less destructive than our bigger chickens. And their run is so much more pleasant to be in. They are also quieter. Grass and clover is growing great inside their run. If you can find them, and you don't mind small eggs, I would recommend getting some good egg-laying varieties...
  12. orchardflock

    Mealworm farming

    Excellent points, on all accounts. I think I'll try switching to plastic trays and ordering them a hand vacuum. I wish I had thought more about the potential for escaping before buying the drawers. It's very convenient for easily accessing the different layers, but too scary. Live and learn.
  13. orchardflock

    Mealworm farming

    Is there any reason for not feeding excess beetles too chickens or lizards? Six months is a long time to keep beetles and I would think a ton of eggs produced. I have a small three drawer system I set up for mealworms about a week ago. I'm struggling with the constant flecks of wheat germ that...
  14. orchardflock

    FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

    Dissolved CO2 would make the pH lower, not higher. It's possible though that you have minerals in your water that are making the pH higher, and then if you left it out with a lot of surface area CO2 is dissolving and making it lower. Or you just meant it was too low originally. Sorry, I'm a...
  15. orchardflock

    April 2017 chicks, who will lay first contest...

    0 for 12 here with hatch dates between 3/26 - 4/2. No early laying breeds, and 7 of them are bantams, but still! Several of them are squatting so I'm hoping it won't be too long.
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