Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[mikeyb]

Quote: needs voice lessons, or maybe it's the new chicken country sound???

 

[RustyHen]

As to the ?? about the kind of Spruce tree. My best guess would be a Red Spruce.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Red+Spruce+Tree&FORM=RESTAB

This should take you to the page I looked at and it shows the different varieties of Spruce. I didn't even know there was a Red Spruce.

Or maybe a Weeping Norway?

mikeyb Thank you for the info great site .
I had not heard of a red spruce either. I'm now thinking the weeping norway (white?) I go back in a couple of weeks and look at it's new growth and for candles.

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

My man and I attended our first poultry show yesterday!

We were going to ride with Slinglings but work got in the way for him and we wound up driving ourselves later in the afternoon. In the end I think it worked out well because after we enjoyed checking out all the birds we were ready to leave after about an hour, whereas she was planning to stay more like four hours. The only person we saw that we recognized was HallerLake, so it was nice to chat with her for a few minutes.

There were so many gorgeous birds! Unfortunately none of the breeds I'm interested in getting were represented. I believe the only breed I want that is recognized for show purposes is the Hamburg, so it would have been cool to see some there since I have only seen pictures. Ultimately when it comes to poultry I am far more interested in utility than aesthetics so I don't think I'll be attending many shows in the future but I'm glad we attended this one. I did not know there was such a thing as a bantam duck! So freakin' adorable!! I really wish we could get ducks but they are just too much hassle. We probably won't be able to get a rooster when we move (too noisy), but after yesterday I might want a Serama roo someday. It would be cool to see how he handles a flock of LF hens.

Many thanks to all of you who brought your gorgeous birds for us to see!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

GAAAA they lost my first post!!! I have two fingers on each hand buddy-taped for tendinitis, makes for slow typing. Stumpfarmer this one is for you I think. Pics of a tree they use locally in landscaping, I would like to get a couple for my yard. Do you or anyone have any ideas as to what tree this is? click to make pics larger. Any ideas where to begin ???

The bottom photo looks like Blue Spruce, which you really should not plant in the Puget Sound country or out at the coast: it needs lower winter temperatures to live very long, and is prone to a couple of diseases which lead most of them to die ugly starting a decade or so post-planting. If you can find the blue Atlas Cedar (for large spaces) or blue cultivars of Cypress or Thuja, you'll have a better landscape experience with the same color. I'm biased, here: Lacey is full of dead and dying Blue Spruce that were planted as original landscaping; I can see one from my front porch which has been sick since I moved here in 1984 and had finally died quite dead. They can be treated like chronic illness patients and kept going for a few decades, but as soon as the treatment stops, they start looking sickly. They're not a tree that can be kept healthy organically in this climate zone (they need cold dry winters, especially) and the world is full of other choices; there's even a gorgeous semi-dwarf blue douglas fir cultivar with bright red bark that I wish more people would grow (although it is not cheap, needing propagated as a tissue culture). The reason you see so many Blue Spruce is that they're quick from seed and are easy to keep healthy as a field crop where other things need winter protection and irrigation. ETA Oh, you're in NE Oregon, NEVER MIND: perfect for you, great tree for the Blue Mountains, where I think it may be at the Northern end of its native range.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote: If they were the cookies on 2 paper plates along the wall, those were mine and yes they are GF and the ones without choc chips were DF. They are nummers.

Quote: I think you need to bribe the secret S&S Roadkill recipe

 

[TerrorBird]

I was telling folks about Heidi and her yelling. I adore her and don't think this is common for Spitz's - just my Heidi.

Here is an audio sample of Heidi yelling last night, she was inside the coop and I was outside the coop recording.

That's great! I've noticed that my bantams like to do that sometimes. One or two of my big girls too. Chickens are such drama queens.

 

[TerrorBird]

Quote: Keep in mind that the Favs (or any other breed) that you get from a hatchery may or may not produce the same as the stock you would get from a breeder. And very slim chance they will breed true to the breed! Just for what it's worth.

If one just wants eggs from birds that resemble a certain breed hatchery birds are fine. YES I have hatchery mutts. They are my LF layer flock.
I would be OK with hatchery (or otherwise) mutts, as I wouldn't be showing them. They would be a "working flock" so to speak, but I've heard good things about them being decent all-purpose birds, and they sure are beautiful! My girls are too young to be showing such large birds.

If my girls were to show, they would need to have some sort of "papers" from a breeder showing they've had their shots, etc, I guess? We've kept it simple so far with hatchery birds by mail order, or getting them from the Farm Store, and we only need a receipt from them. I'd need to look into the requirements for the fair to show birds purchased from a breeder. My oldest starts in Junior 4-H next year, so she might start getting more serious about what birds she shows. For now it is just calm, clean, neatly feathered bantams-- being true to type is less important.

I might also be interested if a breeder had "rejects" that they didn't want breeding. Again, since I won't be showing them, I would just need clean, healthy birds.

We are good for this year, but next year we might be looking for something different.

Cloverleaf has a BLRW bantam that she's pretty sure is a cockerel. He has a crooked face and she's going to cull him at the end of the week if no one wants him as a pet. Of course, cockerels are not for most people.

If anyone is interested, he's about three weeks old (hatched around Feb. 22).

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
Cloverleaf has a BLRW bantam that she's pretty sure is a cockerel. He has a crooked face and she's going to cull him at the end of the week if no one wants him as a pet. Of course, cockerels are not for most people.

If anyone is interested, he's about three weeks old (hatched around Feb. 22).
And I can transport him as far as Fife this week. Remember I drive overnight, so you would be picking up at a location between midnight and 3am if I transport. And it would have to be at an exit on I-5 or one of 2 drop locations that I go to. PM me if transport is needed.

 

[LindaSchaal]

So need to know what ya'll use in your pens to stop the digging!!! I have digger chickens, and im tired of filling in holes. Sand? Gravel? I'd love to hear pros and cons of both.

 

[Totalcolour]

I borrowed this from the MI thread - wish people in high places could see this.