Eastern Washington

[KrystalRose]

I appreciate the reply, I am not really interested in silkies, although very cute and pretty. But if you ever want any of my fertilized eggs let me know. One of my hens just hatched out her last chick, 7 of 7. They are soooo cute, I was told with a cuckoo maran rooster all offspring would look like dad no matter what mom was, so far, all the chicks look different in fact some are almost completely white, others are grey, some are grey bodied with yellow head, and some are black. It will be interesting to see what they turn out as. I will post more pictures of the babies once I get good ones of them all in case anyone in the area wants some fertile eggs. Like I said I have a Cuckoo Maran Rooster covering Buff Orps, Black Australorps, Easter Eggers, Delawares, and Barred Rock hens.







Thanks again!

 

[jennabug]

I appreciate the reply, I am not really interested in silkies, although very cute and pretty. But if you ever want any of my fertilized eggs let me know. One of my hens just hatched out her last chick, 7 of 7. They are soooo cute, I was told with a cuckoo maran rooster all offspring would look like dad no matter what mom was, so far, all the chicks look different in fact some are almost completely white, others are grey, some are grey bodied with yellow head, and some are black. It will be interesting to see what they turn out as. I will post more pictures of the babies once I get good ones of them all in case anyone in the area wants some fertile eggs. Like I said I have a Cuckoo Maran Rooster covering Buff Orps, Black Australorps, Easter Eggers, Delawares, and Barred Rock hens.




Thanks again!

Cute! I totally understand. I'm not sure what I'll add to my flock next, probably looking for some started pullets next. I had bad luck with feed store chicks last year and got all roosters, so I've got a gap in my egg producers! Only two old hens.

 

[jennabug]

I am looking for some fertilized eggs for my hens to sit on. I would prefer Orpington, Easter Egger (Araucanas/Ameraucanas), Welsummer, or Black Copper Maran. I don't mind if the eggs are crosses between the above breeds. And I would be willing to consider other breeds if you have something different. I would be willing to pay for these or trade for my fertile eggs if you also want some more genetic diversity.

I would be willing to go in on an egg order with you though. Let me know if you want to discuss over coffee.

 

[KrystalRose]

Here is my mama and her motley crew.



Some feed stores in town get straight runs of chicks (boys/girls mixed) while other stores get only girls, well they are 90% guaranteed to be girls anyways. Could it be that where you got all those boys from was a place that ordered a straight run? I know that the Finley Shopper and Farmers Exchange get girls. While I heard that Basin Feed gets boys and girls. I would double check before you buy since orders can change. But I just called Farmers today and they already have chicks in that they said were all girls. I was tempted to stop by after work, but forced myself to drive home since I know I would have had to take a couple home and this mama has her hands full already.

 

[jennabug]

So cute! I love the mamas and chicks. I didn't realize Farmers Exchange did chicks.... hmmmm... Chicken Math is imminent.


The story of my flock is full of drama. My first two hens (EE) were given to me as pullets by our neighbors who ended up with extras. About 6 months later a red tailed hawk killed two of their 4 hens, so I gave the hens back to them. Mine had been living in a chicken tractor, and I was quickly realizing that wouldn't work well for the winters here. I wanted to build a coop.
A short while later I saw that EFC had chicks, and chicken math happened. (Chicks grow at a rate of x, and I can build a coop at a rate of y, spring is coming at z...) Long story short I got 4 barred rock chicks and the girls were about ready to lay eggs by the time I got them moved outside to the new coop! Meanwhile, the people at 3 Rivers feed gave me some fertile eggs to "eat or hatch". Of course I bought an incubator the next day.

To be continued... gotta get ready for work!

 

[jennabug]

Okay, so... continuing my un-requested story...

I was incubating 18 jersey giant eggs (my first time) and had 4 barred rock pullets from EFC in the spare bedroom in a dog crate. As they grew they went to the garage and were housed in the chicken tractor. 5 of the 18 eggs hatched and I kept the single yellow chick. Eventually I got the coop finished and all 5 birds outside into their new home. Then, less than a week later I came home to find that my dogs had broken in to the run and killed the 4 barred rocks! I was furious and sad, but mostly furious. Then I was very surprised to discover that despite first appearances, my little yellow (now red) chick was indeed still alive, probably in shock. So, the red (Dani) ended up back in the garage with electrolytes and TLC, recovered pretty quickly. So I was down to 1 chicken which was less than 2 months old and had lost my 4 month old pullets! >:-(

3 Rivers in WR was having their "3 free chicks" promotion, so I went down there the same day and picked up a Welsummer, Barred Rock and a Maran for my neighbor. About 2 weeks after that, they posted on their Facebook page that they had silkies, so... [Chicken Math] I went and got my white Silkie. In the meantime I did major reinforcements on the entry to the chicken run, having learned my lesson. When I integrated the chicks outside the Red and Barred Rock were the first to go outside, the Maran went to the neighbor, then a couple weeks later the Welsummer and the Silkie went outside. I made a huge mistake and set the kennel with the Silkie and the Welsummer in the run where it was not shaded. Without realizing there was any possibility of problems, they got heat stroke. I lost the Welsummer, but the Silkie survived. I was back down to 3 chickens. All three (as well as the neighbor's Maran) ended up being roosters. After the Red started crowing I found him a new home, followed by the Barred Rock.

I found a gal on craigslist that was selling some of her older hens, and I got the Maran and Australorp that I own today. And with them came a bad case of poultry lice! I was about to give up on chickens at this point. My neighbors claim to like having the Silkie's crowing, but I fear the day that we get a notice from the city. This winter my gals stopped laying for a while, and I had stopped checking the nest box. Before I realized it, my Maran had 5 eggs under her and was in full-on brooding! I decided to let her keep them, they all hatched, and that's where we're at today. I'm getting about 3 eggs a week again from the Australorp with our return of Spring-like weather, and she's been trying to keep her eggs. My theory is that she's a little jealous.

I have a list of breeds that I would like to add to my flock, and I want to re-do my coop. My current coop was made from all free wood, but it's not very attractive. It looks a bit like a shanty town back there. Hehe.

 

[WashingtonWino]

Five chicks in my spare room are almost 4 weeks old now, it is in the low 50s here in Walla Walla during the day. I've been letting the chicks out on field trips during the day to play in the garden. The mild weather is so tempting just to put them and their heat lamp OUTSIDE, maybe not at night but during the day. Any thoughts, Eastern Washingtonians? Too cold? I've read the "start at 95 degrees and decrease by 5 degrees each week" rules but I'm amazed at how long the chicks can stay out on a chilly day without seeming even slightly uncomfortable. It makes me think they are tougher than we give them credit for. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

 

[jennabug]

Five chicks in my spare room are almost 4 weeks old now, it is in the low 50s here in Walla Walla during the day. I've been letting the chicks out on field trips during the day to play in the garden. The mild weather is so tempting just to put them and their heat lamp OUTSIDE, maybe not at night but during the day. Any thoughts, Eastern Washingtonians? Too cold? I've read the "start at 95 degrees and decrease by 5 degrees each week" rules but I'm amazed at how long the chicks can stay out on a chilly day without seeming even slightly uncomfortable. It makes me think they are tougher than we give them credit for. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

From my limited experience and observations, my chicks that are being brooded by their mom are very active and don't really hide from the weather. I would think that if they have shelter and a heat lamp to come back to during the day and the weather is mild, they should be okay for them to be outside during the day. However, there is a lot of communication from mama hen, so maybe she's telling them to "come over here and get warm"?

 

[WashingtonWino]

Good point Jennabug,I sure wish I had a broody hen to take care of all this for me!

 

[antyler]

Hello from Cheney. I have three Broodies right now. One with 8 chicks, the other two still sitting, and an incubator full of eggs. Spring has spring. I have many different varieties including Marans, Welsummer, Wyandotte, Silliest, and mixed.