Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[RustyHen]

good news and bad news.

the good news is that all four of the eggs from our hens have hatched and seem to be doing great.

the bad news is I had the circuits to two of the broods buildings go dead. when I went to check the breaker box I found an unrelated breaker was burned out and arching. I shut off power, removed the bad breaker and turned power back own. still only one brood building working, but with just one batch of chicks going that isn't a problem. until later last night I went to check on things and power to the rest of the shop was dead. the only circuit working off of that panel is the one powering the brooder. I saw another arch, so I shut the power off again. I now am runnng two freezers and a brooder with extensions cords. I have 100 chicks due in tomorrow and am hoping that the electrician can get this going quickly

Ouch! nail biting, knuckle cracking STRESS! I hope that It turns out alright for you. let us know.

 

[TerrorBird]

Alright, this has been bothering me for a good long time and I need to do something about it. My chickens are and have always been way too skinny. I don't expect them to be like Cornish X or anything, but I'd like for them to be at a healthy weight for their breed (and yes, I know that feed store birds don't quite live up to the standards of the breed). I give them feed store crumble. They're not fond of pellets. I recently tried to get them to switch to Paul's wonderful food, but they decided to go on a hunger strike until I brought home a bag of their favorite crumble. They get to come out most days while I'm outside to free-range in an environment rich with bugs, vegetation and BOSS (we feed the wild birds). Their egg shells are good and thick.

They've been wormed with Eprinex. Next time I'm going to use a different wormer so that the parasites don't develop a resistance. What can I do to try to help them gain some weight? Their breast bones are way too sharp and it makes me feel terrible, like I'm a very bad chicken parent. If I have to, I will make them supplemental foods. HELP!

 

[Greg Richardson]

When switching feed if you have picky chickens slip some of the new feed in with the old so they eventually get the taste.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Alright, this has been bothering me for a good long time and I need to do something about it.  My chickens are and have always been way too skinny.  I don't expect them to be like Cornish X or anything, but I'd like for them to be at a healthy weight for their breed (and yes, I know that feed store birds don't quite live up to the standards of the breed).  I give them feed store crumble.  They're not fond of pellets.  I recently tried to get them to switch to Paul's wonderful food, but they decided to go on a hunger strike until I brought home a bag of their favorite crumble.  They get to come out most days while I'm outside to free-range in an environment rich with bugs, vegetation and BOSS (we feed the wild birds).  Their egg shells are good and thick.

They've been wormed with Eprinex.  Next time I'm going to use a different wormer so that the parasites don't develop a resistance.  What can I do to try to help them gain some weight?  Their breast bones are way too sharp and it makes me feel terrible, like I'm a very bad chicken parent.  If I have to, I will make them supplemental foods.  HELP!

May I ask what feed you use? This sounds so weird to always be giving them their favorite layer crumbles free choice full time, and still have skinny chickens. Especially if they have been regularly wormed. Let us know, I want to help you troubleshoot! Also, what breeds do you have? Some have much more prominent breast bones.

 

[bikerchicky]

I have an egg in the incubator that seems to be struggling. it has had a good size whole in the shell since about 10 last night and is still moving, but not making progress. at what point if ever do you help.

paul

I found a great page of information on hatching on this site. I think it's under Learning/Hatching.

 

[T Hi]

WOW CL!!! The house sounds like it is just moving right along! Maybe I can hitch a ride your way soon!

BLUEDUCKLINGS!!!! Your new babies are as adorable as ever!! How is that "special" very large egg doing?

CR Thanks for keeping tabs on me buddy! My sister from Kirkland came down today and is staying with me until Friday so if I have any more complications she will be here to help.

Glad to hear that everyone had a wonderful day on Sunday! Whether you spent the day celebrating religiously or celebrating the God of all warm things in the sky!

 

[fikeyismybaby]

So we have feral cats,racoons,possoms, and hawks to choose from. It took all the feathers off her head and neck. She was all bloody. It ripped out her breast. ( It looks like they ate it.)
What do you think killed her? She is my silkie.

 

[SadieSue]

Hi everyone! I am also from WA. Kinda late in finding this aren't I? Anyhow, I just found out one of my chickens is broody! So that means chicks! Anyone know where I can find fertilized eggs for my girl to set? I live in the monroe/redmond area. I am a complete newbie when it comes to chickens, so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

What kind of hatching eggs are you looking for? There are a few of us WA BYC'ers in your area. WA4HPoultryMom is in Monroe and has some lovely breeds, I'm not sure if she's selling any fertile eggs at this time or not. She's on Facebook under Storybook Poultry if you want to see photos of her pretty birds.

Oh, and

 

[bikerchicky]

Hi everyone! I am also from WA. Kinda late in finding this aren't I? Anyhow, I just found out one of my chickens is broody! So that means chicks! Anyone know where I can find fertilized eggs for my girl to set? I live in the monroe/redmond area. I am a complete newbie when it comes to chickens, so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

and our thread has some GREAT people with LOTS of experience and advice. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the posts.

 

[VelvettFog]

I have an egg in the incubator that seems to be struggling. it has had a good size whole in the shell since about 10 last night and is still moving, but not making progress. at what point if ever do you help.

paul

I never help. My thoughts are that if the chick cannot hatch on it's own, then it is not strong enough for me.

Alright, this has been bothering me for a good long time and I need to do something about it. My chickens are and have always been way too skinny. I don't expect them to be like Cornish X or anything, but I'd like for them to be at a healthy weight for their breed (and yes, I know that feed store birds don't quite live up to the standards of the breed). I give them feed store crumble. They're not fond of pellets. I recently tried to get them to switch to Paul's wonderful food, but they decided to go on a hunger strike until I brought home a bag of their favorite crumble. They get to come out most days while I'm outside to free-range in an environment rich with bugs, vegetation and BOSS (we feed the wild birds). Their egg shells are good and thick.

They've been wormed with Eprinex. Next time I'm going to use a different wormer so that the parasites don't develop a resistance. What can I do to try to help them gain some weight? Their breast bones are way too sharp and it makes me feel terrible, like I'm a very bad chicken parent. If I have to, I will make them supplemental foods. HELP!

TB -

Laying hens, at least mine, have a very promenent keel bone. I believe this is due to selective breeding to produce birds that are better layers. The best laying breeds (in my opinion) are "longer and skinnier" than dual purpose birds - and of course neither of those groups compare in size to a real meet bird. Even a dark cornish is a lot "meatier" than the dual-purpose birds that I have seen. Also, fat hens are hens in poor health. So you do want to be careful as to how/what you feed them.

Eprinex is not the best wormer. Chickens can get more than one type of worm. Eprinex does not kill them all. I would not jump to the conclusion that your birds have worms. It really sounds to me that your birds are normal

Is there a more experenced flockster who is close enough to you that they'd be willing to drop by and look at your birds?

So we have feral cats,racoons,possoms, and hawks to choose from. It took all the feathers off her head and neck. She was all bloody. It ripped out her breast. ( It looks like they ate it.)
What do you think killed her? She is my silkie.

Answer can be graphic:

Fikey,

Like most of us I've lost birds to predators, and have wondered what got 'em. So I've done a lot of research on kill patterns. Here is what *I* think.

Raccoons - they will prefer to eat the head and neck and then work their way into the breast.

Hawks - I'd find it unlikely that your bird fell victim to a hawk as they are usually not large enough to take an adult large fowl, and they are not fond of eating their catch on the ground. They do seem to prefer the breast, however.

Opossum - will start eating your bird from the vent, and prefers the innards.

Weasel - will make a wound in the head/neck area and feed on the blood.

Domestic Canine - kills for fun, does not usually eat the bird. Often times leaves clumps of feathers in differnt locations.

Coyotes/Foxes - puff of feathers, and no body - or a trail of feathers and no body. Canines usually carry off their kill.

Ferral Cats - I've no experence, practical or antidoctial here, I suppose that a good sized cat would be able to dispatch a silkie - but I'd think they'd carry off the kill to a safer place for feeding.