Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[KMHunter]

Quote:
The run has some cement, but more than half of it is dirt. I was planning on scattering straw around the run. Hmm, I could get a couple of extra large cat litter pans, put sand in them and slide them under the coop. They should stay fairly dry. Thanks!

Jennifer
The only reason I mention Alfalfa instead of straw is that 1. straw is heavy to clean out and takes longer to break down alfalfa breaks down faster. 2. the vet/poultry expert some of us have met says Alfalfa is great for them and makes the yolks really orange. And 3. I figure if they eat half of it, there is less for me to rake out! Lol.
A couple of years ago I had to rake out the run from the really cold time when I put the straw down to keep them up off the snow and ice. It was wet and extremely heavy! Just my experience with it.

That's a good point. I remember some people posting about issues with long stems getting caught in the crops - what was causing that? Was it a kind of alfalfa? I can't remember the guidelines that were posted. I'd love to put something in that they can eat.

Well, so long as they will eat it. I've offered the chicks a strawberry and a grape so far, and they act like it will kill them. Eventually a brave bird will peck at it, but they never figure out that it's food. If it doesn't look like chick starter or mealworms, it's not edible.

Thanks!

Jennifer
Keep offering them stuff, it takes awhile. I would wait until they are a little older to put anything out in the run like straw or alfalfa. Like 12-14 weeks. Alfalfa is fine, most wont try to eat the stems. Mine eat all the leafy stuff and then scratch around in the straw like stems that are left. I throw scratch in there for them to find. Keeps them busy!

 

[Chickielady]

I would have to agree. Their birds are beautiful, but CRAZY! That is one of the reasons I got rid of mine.
She was kind of flighty. But she was pretty, so I was ok with that.

ETA: I didn't know that Pips&Peeps has them. That would be better.

I am not sure she has that particular color either, but given that she can at any time have 200-300 birds, she just might have them.
If not, she is the Ameraucana Breeders Club President and would know who has good BBS Ams.
Cloverleaf would also know.

 

[Chickielady]

Well....chicks are all up & fluffy silvery and doing great.
More Blue Copper Marans eggs in the bator 2 days are doing great.
I am gonna make a Gingerbread Cake for dessert (and subsitute GF flour in the recipe) and have left over Pork Loin Roast for dinner.........
I am thinking pork (instead of beef) Fahitas ??????

What do you think ?

 

[JennS]

Quote: The Hamburg nest box is a 3 gallon bucket braced between two bricks. Malvina has a cheap catbox (actually two of them, for cleaning purposes) which held her and six chicks until they were four weeks old. The EEs have a plastic barrel under a roof which exactly one of them uses, and the BLRWs refuse all models of nest boxes, on the ground or off, and are offended out of laying at all when such boxes are introduced.

Your Hamburgs are gorgeous!

I've seen pics of cat boxes and buckets used as nest boxes. I figure I will build in these 3 nest boxes, and if I have a stubborn bird that won't use them I'll try something else, until I find what works (or give up, lol).

Jennifer

 

[Chickielady]

Oh....and first time this morning.............opened the Jersey Giant Coop...and they all came out...and the Walker Black-Winged Bronze Turkey came out & said it's usual hello chirps (chop chop chop) and then it's voice cracked...so it sounded like "chop chop chogglegobble gobble) and it looked at me like
"What was that ?!?!"

Then he turned around and puffed up, SPIT & VIBRATED !!!!!!!!!!!

Yup Jules, it's a TOM !!!

*********** For those of you who have no turkles, when a Tom "spits" it is blowing air out under their snood (the long wiggly thing on their nose) They "spit" air & display while vibrating all their feathers....beautiful strut.

 

[Chickielady]

I cannot believe Utah is whooping us this morning.....UTAH !!!!

 

[Farmin Momma]

LOL, am I the only one who gets this or did the "other" replies get deleted? Check out the username and the "grass" in parentheses. Plus the original post was edited. LOL, looks like he's in the "club" already.
Quote: That is to funny, that not only I didn't notice that but just the thought of if it did affect them! Good catch though Cowgirlgrace.

Quote: Well I found them at a hatchery and they are almost $10. each, I would love to order like 3 pullets and a cockrele. So from what I am getting is that I can breed a splash to a splash and will get blue, black and splashes? Gosh I hope I got that right, if so I will be hopping back on that site and ordering some chicks!

Well....chicks are all up & fluffy silvery and doing great.
More Blue Copper Marans eggs in the bator 2 days are doing great.
I am gonna make a Gingerbread Cake for dessert (and subsitute GF flour in the recipe) and have left over Pork Loin Roast for dinner.........
I am thinking pork (instead of beef) Fahitas ??????

What do you think ?

I think that I am excited to come over for dinner and dessert LOL

. And I will bring a few boxes to bring home beautiful chicks to.

 

[JennS]

Quote: Keep offering them stuff, it takes awhile. I would wait until they are a little older to put anything out in the run like straw or alfalfa. Like 12-14 weeks. Alfalfa is fine, most wont try to eat the stems. Mine eat all the leafy stuff and then scratch around in the straw like stems that are left. I throw scratch in there for them to find. Keeps them busy!
Cool, thanks! Busy birds aren't pecking each other to death, which is good.

Does scratch spoil if soil in the run is damp and it gets wet?

I work with the chicks almost every evening. I finally have the SF taking mealworms out of my hands! They wouldn't even eat worms at first. The speckled Sussex, which are the same age, would be gobbling them up like crazy and the Faverolles would just stand there and look confused. Now the pullet will let me pick her up so I can set her on the futon next to me and feed her worms. I have to chase the Wyandottes around the brooder to pick them up and hand feed them.

What would the chicks consider a tasty treat? Little pieces of grass? Some lettuce leaves? Berries? I'll offer them a tiny bit, one at a time.

Jennifer

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:

Ha! You guys are great greeters!

Has anyone fed "grass" clippings to their chickens? j/w....

I have heard that it is not great to feed smaller clippings of any kind - be it grass or cannabis leaves or other clippings it can get stuck in their crop because they aren't able to make it as small as they usually do when the pull it off a bush or out of the ground.

For this reason - we have not mowed our back yard and instead let the chickens do it.

Also, when I feed them dandilions and carrot tops and other greens, I am sure to bundle and hang them so they mimic nature and the chickens have to pull the greenery off in small pieces.

 

[JennS]

Well....chicks are all up & fluffy silvery and doing great.
More Blue Copper Marans eggs in the bator 2 days are doing great.
I am gonna make a Gingerbread Cake for dessert (and subsitute GF flour in the recipe) and have left over Pork Loin Roast for dinner.........
I am thinking pork (instead of beef) Fahitas ??????

What do you think ?

We had pork loin roast last night, too. Yum! I'm planning cutting up the leftover meat and adding it to ramen noodle soup. Fajitas sounds good, too!

Jennifer