Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[CarolynF]

Sounds like you got a lot done,I love those kind of days.
Glad to here your Peep made it ok.
So here's my suggestion on it being to quiet when the chicks go outside.
BUY MORE PEEPS! What do mean you neighbor has more then you? Oh my you need to go back and get more babies and FILL up the laundry room with tiny,chirpy little PEEPS!! Sorry I went all Chicken math there for a minute. I'm good now! Lol
It will be hard but if it gets to quiet we're here for ya!

robj.... you ARE funny! More Peeps? I'm afraid it would have to be the yellow marshmallow kind! Sad!
I wish it were my neighbor with more chickens than me, but it's my friend that lives clear over near Lynnwood, about a 2 hour drive from me! It would be such an improvement over a couple of the neighbors I have!
Thanks for being here, I really appreciate it!

Oh... I was going to shout this from the Roof Tops.... my EE has ended her strike, today she laid a nice, though small, egg!!! Yippee!!! This is the second time she's molted since October. I have no idea what that girl is thinking! But she's looking very pretty and I think she's grown some too. Which is surprising since she's no spring chicken (yuk yuk yuk).

 

[CarolynF]

Never feed anything Tums- (or other antacids) it's high in aluminum, can cause heavy metal toxicity.
(I wish I would have never, ever, ever taken any antacids)

I'm always looking to learn, so I tried to research this. No aluminum on the label, an M.D. from Washington.edu says there is no aluminum in Tums, and I found one place that quotes the mfg.: "GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare does not add aluminum during the manufacturing process of the TUMS

Tablets but one of the raw materials used in TUMS

does contain negligible amounts of aluminum, measured as parts per million (ppm), ranging approximately from 100 to 500 ppm."

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting giving a bird Tums on a regular basis, just a 1 time boost.
Isn't it a build up in the system that causes metal toxicity?

In case anyone is following along on this bit of information, I thought I'd add some more.

RainMom was nice enough to send me a bunch more information on aluminum. I haven't gotten thru it all yet, but it included some links to Antacids that contain aluminum. It included the brand name and mfg. of over the counter antacids that contain aluminum. I was happy to see that neither TUMS nor their maker, Glaxo, was on the list. But there sure were a lot of other names I recognized.

I think it's great that we can share the wealth of knowledge we have among our friends here. And I really appreciate RainMom speaking up when it looked like bad advice was being given!

 

[WhiskiRanch]

Quote: I have to literally, but carefully, dump her out of her nest bucket every day to gather eggs. Then she just sits where she is and I have to crefully move her to make sure she doesnt have any eggs under her. She has definitely gone broody so I think the time has come for her to hatch her first babies. Im wondering if she has some bantom in her from Whiski because her eggs havent gotten any larger from when she first started laying 2 monhths ago and she is smaller than her other two sisters and her momma. Whiski is our "mutt" rooster that looks like a Splash Laced Red Wyandotte but might have some bantom in there somewhere. If her eggs havent gotten any bigger in the last 2 months when she started laying, should I let her hatch her own eggs? Ive heard that "pullet" eggs have a lower hatching rate. is this true? and if her eggs havent gotten any bigger in two months, are they bantom eggs and can she hatch them successfully? If not, I have all my momma hens that lay big eggs.
They aren't bantam eggs unless she is a bantam. But if she has been laying for a couple months, you could hatch hers. I think it would be safe. Some hens just lay smaller eggs. She may never lay large eggs but you could definitely have some cute babies from her!

Her eggs are about half the size of all my other hens but then again, she is also about half the size of her sisters and mom. Would it be possible for Whiski to have some bantom background and pass the genes on? He is full size but if he has like a bantom grandma or something, could the size be carried on?

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

Her eggs are about half the size of all my other hens but then again, she is also about half the size of her sisters and mom. Would it be possible for Whiski to have some bantom background and pass the genes on? He is full size but if he has like a bantom grandma or something, could the size be carried on?

i use to cross bantom and full sized chickens. Have a bantom rooster and full size hens and hatch from them. Some come out full size some come out half size. and the genetics do pass on. A full size hen that came from a bantom/full size mix can produce bantom chicks. You can also end up with a chicken that is smaller and lays large eggs, and a chicken that is bigger and lays small eggs. usually it's a big hen and small eggs.

 

[RainMom]

I'm going to be making some GF muffins for the show, but I've only ever baked a GF thing once years ago. Any recommendations in terms of flour? Is Bob's Red Mill good?

yes, Bob's Red Mill is a good brand.

I used to make a Carol Fenster blend for our own use and need to get back into doing that. Carol Fenster is/was the editor of the magazine "Living without". I have never, ever, ever made a recipe from Carol Fenster cookbooks that failed, tasted bad, etc. in fact most everything of hers I made tasted so outstanding, the non-GF people never realized it was GF. She has this gingerbread recipe with lemon "curd" that is to die for !

if you do an internet search for this phrase "Carol Fenster flour blend", you will find her "recipes" for her flour blends easily, if you want to save some money on GF flour mixes. Her flour blends can be used cup-for-cup for any recipe that calls for wheat flour. (except you still have to add guar or xanthum gum). I like them because they are more nutritious than plain rice flour blends, but also the bean/sorghum flours tend to make baked goods more like gluten- and not "gritty". She uses some sorghum or bean flours in her blends.

 

[mikeyb]

ChickenRustler you sly dog you!
My deviled eggs are in the fridge!!!!!
Did your thing. Bring enough water to cover the eggs to a full boil. Put eggs in boiling water and boil for 12 min. Remove, rinse in cold water several times until cool enough to handle. Leave eggs in cold water 10 min.
Crack, peel under running cold water.
EASY-PEASY, they came out perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 eggs, all different days of laying.
mmmmmmmmmmm,Good.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: I have to literally, but carefully, dump her out of her nest bucket every day to gather eggs. Then she just sits where she is and I have to crefully move her to make sure she doesnt have any eggs under her. She has definitely gone broody so I think the time has come for her to hatch her first babies. Im wondering if she has some bantom in her from Whiski because her eggs havent gotten any larger from when she first started laying 2 monhths ago and she is smaller than her other two sisters and her momma. Whiski is our "mutt" rooster that looks like a Splash Laced Red Wyandotte but might have some bantom in there somewhere. If her eggs havent gotten any bigger in the last 2 months when she started laying, should I let her hatch her own eggs? Ive heard that "pullet" eggs have a lower hatching rate. is this true? and if her eggs havent gotten any bigger in two months, are they bantom eggs and can she hatch them successfully? If not, I have all my momma hens that lay big eggs.
They aren't bantam eggs unless she is a bantam. But if she has been laying for a couple months, you could hatch hers. I think it would be safe. Some hens just lay smaller eggs. She may never lay large eggs but you could definitely have some cute babies from her!

Her eggs are about half the size of all my other hens but then again, she is also about half the size of her sisters and mom. Would it be possible for Whiski to have some bantom background and pass the genes on? He is full size but if he has like a bantom grandma or something, could the size be carried on?
The size of eggs a hen lays has nothing to do with the size or breed of the rooster that hen mates with.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

ChickenRustler you sly dog you!
My deviled eggs are in the fridge!!!!!
Did your thing. Bring enough water to cover the eggs to a full boil. Put eggs in boiling water and boil for 12 min. Remove, rinse in cold water several times until cool enough to handle. Leave eggs in cold water 10 min.
Crack, peel under running cold water.
EASY-PEASY, they came out perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 eggs, all different days of laying.
mmmmmmmmmmm,Good.

 

[LaughingFeather]

You guys sure didn't keep quiet.

It sure is hot here to me. Sun out. Cherry and plum in bloom. Spring is almost to you guys. I hit spring just below Portland. The first Daffs and a pink tree. I took some pics. Will try to get them off my phone sometime in the next few days. When you leave your home for 6 months is sure gets dusty.

My neighbors dog barked most of the night, someone was having a party in Spanish, our ears are ringing and there are people everywhere. Clicking red ruby slippers together, no place like my other home. Did I say it is hot. It must be in the 70's. The further south we came the hotter it got. I came dressed in many layers and started taking them off as we went south till we hit Redding and by then hubby is giggling and daring me to take off more. I didn't.

So much to do. Will try to catch up maybe. Kathy in CA.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

The size of eggs a hen lays has nothing to do with the size or breed of the rooster that hen mates with.

Actually playing around with mixing breeds when i was younger i found that the rooster can result in a hen having smaller eggs, by this i mean a hen that was hatched from an egg that is a cross from that rooster and another hen. Different breeds lay different sizes. Some breeds are regular sized hens that lay small eggs, some breeds are smaller and lay large eggs, and bantoms always lay small eggs.
If a chicken or rooster has bantom in it's history a smaller hen or rooster can result. Obviously a chicken that is half the size of a normal one would be considered a bantom and will lay smaller eggs.