Eastern Washington

[chickengarden]

Carrie... congrats on the coop floor! I'm thinking I need to put a floor on top of my wire floor so their little toes don't get stuck in the wire... this is on the ground where I have the wire coming up and around underneath the coop in hopes of racoon-proofing their coop.

Vicki... Yes... the weather is gorgeous... wow... we had 70 here and sunny! planted a few seeds outside -- some sunflowers, and some "money tree" and transplanted some black-eyes Susan's a friend gave me last fall.

Chae your pics are just lovely... and glad you're feeling well. Praying for that little sweetheart soon to make his/her appearance!

Now the peeps... yay yay yay they are finally home!!! The three little darlings... oh my gosh they are glorified little dandelion fluff balls! Soooo tiny... but what personalities! They are three little yellow buff orpingtons... Boo, the explorer and perhaps leader of the pack... Tilly, the talker and she trills when I rub her tummy... and Fran the teensy bit bigger one and already the mama of the bunch. All are eating, drinking, pooping machines, and running around flapping their half-inch wings, then suddenly stop and nap. They even are perching already on their little stick in the brooder! So dang cute... I just stand there and watch them. They know my voice and come running... they peck at my ring and bracelets... then climb into my hand and fall asleep... amazing... ok I'll stop now... proudly wearing my badge of crazy chicken lady...

Maggie, your descriptions are perfect! I love my Buff Orps. What sweet babies you have. I love to share the chicken-lovin-madness with others! So glad they are all in good health and eating and drinking well. Enjoy!

 

[chickengarden]

maggierose,
Your babies are so sweet! Buff Orp's grow up to be such docile hens. I 'm so excited for chicks! Have spent the last few (gorgeous)days framing up the run. Have a long way to go, but it's coming.So are feed store chicks hatched locally? I can't wait.

Carriespeeps, Sounds like you've been busy in the garden! I got some rose starts and got them planted into the garden where I can just hook up a soaker hose and let them grow for a couple years. We have those pesky gophers here, so I make chicken wire baskets to plant them in. Everything has to be such a big deal here.

chickengarden, If I had read your pm. correctly the first time, I could have told you I didn't grow up here, but in the Bothell, so I couldn't have known your neighbor. Sorry, sometimes I get pre-occupied. A really good neighbor is a wonderful gift, huh. We've had quite a few.

Chae, Glad everything is going well for you! So are we looking at mid-July?

Everyone, Man, the weather has been something else! Looks like it may take a change for Sunday/Monday, but rebound by mid-week. Yeah!!!

Hope all of you have a great weekend!

Yes, my neighbor had moved away when he was in his 20's or late teens I'm guessing.
Hope the both of you, Vicki and Carrie, have a wonderful time building in this weather. (If that's your plan.)
Chae, do share your due date with us. We'll eagerly await it with you
Well, looks like hubby and I have some building to do now. We thought we were going to patch our leaky garage roof but instead we will be framing in a new roofline so it has a pitch to it. This will be a proper fix but soo much more work. Isn't how that usually goes?

 

[ChaeBird]

Chae, Glad everything is going well for you! So are we looking at mid-July?

Yep, July 13. Only 2 1/2 months left! I'm freaking out!

 

[NinetreesMom]

I am so happy to find this thread! I grew up in Montana, my hubby grew up in Dayton, and after many years the military brought us back to WA at Ft. Lewis. We jumped on a chance to buy some land outside of Dixie (just E of Walla Walla) a couple years ago, and now we are building on it this year with plans to move there this fall. After a couple years of growing moss/mold I CAN'T WAIT to move back to a climate and community more like what I grew up with. Sigh.

I currently have 4 1 year-old Hens, ( RIR, silver-laced Wyandotte, coronation Sussex, welsummer), and 4 5- week chicks (a partridge/barred Cochin ...pretty sure he is a roo, a gold-laced Wyandotte, a blue-lace red Wyandotte, and a cuckoo marans). I also just got a mini incubator and have 3 light Sussex and 3 lavender Orpington eggs coming next week. I am seriously enjoying my girls, and am considering focusing on a variety after we move and doing a little breeding, but I have no idea how to get started selling chicks or hatching eggs, so we will see!

At any rate, hope you don't mind my lurking until I am officially an E Washingtonian!

 

[CarriesPeeps]

Welcome Ninetreesmom! We aren't a really fast moving thread, but we are fun!

Got the coop flooring layed today. Also ripped out my livingroom carpet and primed the subfloor. I am putting in tongue and groove hardwood floors in the livingroom and hallway next week. And I turned the compost today.

I got a new purebreed Americauna roo today for free because the owner was terrified of him. I will try to post a pic tomorrow.

 

[Vickis Girls]

NinetreesMom, Hi! We're all glad you found us, and you don't have to lurk around anymore. You're welcome here even before you move to this side of the mountains. We've got a few here from out of state as well. I grew up on the "other side" so I know exactly what you're saying about the moss, and the feeling of community. I'm just east of Snoqualmie Pass, don't even have my chickies yet, and am still working on the coop/run, so maybe I should be lurking too, but this thread is so friendly and fun!
Vicki
p.s. I love Montana!

edit:
Carrie'sPeeps, Wow, you're ambitious! Just curious about your new rooster, are you terrified too? You must not be, because you sound excited to have him. They're a smaller breed, right?

 

[maggierose]

Welcome, Ninetreesmom! Hey you are very welcome here... my (grown) kiddo is up in Issaquah, works downtown at Starbucks... just as a little rabbit hole!

oh Chae getting so excited... almost time to start counting weeks until your precious one is here! I forget -- do you know the gender or are you waiting until the birth-day?

my little girls started doing the official chicken scratch this morning... so dang cute... they are flying a bit, and are practicing perching! When they sleep, they tuck their little heads under each others wings... oh I could melt from the sweetness of these darling chickens!

sorry Chickengarden... not sure the source of my feed store chicks... all I know is the feed store picked them up from USPS.

Wow Carriespeeps... your home is going to be so lovely with all that new flooring!

looks like I got my planting done just in time... we have April showers blowing in today... yay! don't have to water this morning!

ok everybody enjoy your Sunday!

 

[ChaeBird]

oh Chae getting so excited... almost time to start counting weeks until your precious one is here!  I forget -- do you know the gender or are you waiting until the birth-day?

We know the sex, but we're keeping it to ourselves until the baby is here.

 

[NinetreesMom]

Carrie, Vicki, and Maggie, thank you so much for the warm welcome! We are hopefully starting our new chicken coop sometime in the next few weeks. I have had a plan sketched forever now, and it is so exciting that it might become reality in the near future. We also just got the building permit for our new house, so we are another step closer to the dream becoming reality!

In the meantime, does anybody want a barred (red and black) Cochin cockerel? He is 5 weeks now, and surely a boy. He will be going to freezer camp once he is big enough, but if someone wants him they can have him

 

[maggierose]

hahaha Nintreesmom... freezer camp... hmmm... do they have crafts there?

well it's now almost 7:00am and the chicks have fresh bedding, food, water, and everything is nice and clean -- for 2 and 1/2 minutes! and now they are napping as that was very hard work waiting for mom to clean everything, you know! and the 9 chicks I'm chicken-sitting for my girlfriend also have fresh bedding, food and water, and a new piece of wood for perch practice -- and they are all napping for all their hard work waiting in the box while their "Auntie" does her work! So dang cute to see all of them all sprawled out and sound asleep dreaming chicken dreams... and the great thing about all the used bedding is now my roses and grapes have fresh mulch with all the yummy fertilizer! woohoo! urban farming is great!

have a swell day everyone!