Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[lovinchickypoos]

Here is a story I wanted to share with you!

DH has always lived in the city. I have been trying to convince him for years that we need to just high-tail it to BFE and live without the craziness (i.e. drunk truck drivers) not to mention Hilltop Tacoma has never been my dream spot.

Half of me came from a family that lived for open air and potato farmin' - it's in my blood! Little did I know that all it took to convince DH, was my DAD! They had one beer and by the time I interrupted that conversation - DH finally lit up like a light bulb! It was the best look I have ever seen! He realized we were working for nothing. How all of our money goes to pay for gas just to make enough to pay a few bills. A few bills we wouldn't have to have!!!

I'm excited that our property search can expand now to the far reaches and I don't have to be tied to a city!! YAY!

Marital bliss right here! Can you imagine how many chickens I could have!!

I live in a rural area but not secluded enough in my opinion. Hubby is barely getting on board just now about trying to be more self-sufficient but the debt needs to be taken care of first. I think our house would be hard to sell right now as many of the "big fixes" are coming due!

Bored and surfing Petfinders...here is a gorgeous Great Pyranees/Anatolian Shepard girl..........

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24495796

and a purebred...OMG I love Newfies and Pyranees !!

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24084716

Oh I'm in love!

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/24495228

YOU'RE KILLING ME!!! Love those dogs but I either need a bigger house or TRY to have him/her primarily outside. The property is big enough but the living space is a bit cramped.

The saga of the cockerels is finally at an end!

I told the girls months and months ago that they were going to grow up to be trouble. Oh no, not these sweeties! They would have no giving away, no separate pens, no chicken tractors for their beloved boys. They were so sweet, you see.

Eventually, of course, they made it impossible for the girls to be in the coop with their beloved pullets. Pullets oR cockerels I said. Nooooo! they cried.

Recently in the last month or two, they stopped going in the coop and even I was getting tired of fending off annoying attacks by little bantam brats. Finally, the girls were looking forward to when our neighbors would butcher their birds. I was skeptical they would be on board..

Today--whoa! He's in the middle of butchering and I went to check it out. Brought home a crate in the trunk. "Yes!" the girls both cried. "Now!" All the cockerels, just not Bandit (we agreed on Bandit). Brownie? No....... we agreed *all* the cockerels except Bandit. OK. Family affair catching the cockerels-- pretty easy since they were hiding from the rain in the coop. Left the girls behind to enjoy their nearly cockerel-free coop.

Say bye bye to the boys! Poor boys. Waited in the trunk until it was "their turn". I couldn't watch. I don't think I could ever do the killing, even though the cleaning doesn't phase me (or so I thought). And it never did. Once the deed was done, I had no trouble scalding and plucking and cleaning them out. Tough little dudes, being so old and tiny. Poor "Coop-coop-a-doop" Cooper. He was so tiny and I was so done that his body went into the bucket for the coyotes. Sorry, little dude, but you were a Butt.

Helped my neighbor clean a couple of his birds, younger and bigger (and therefore easier in every way to clean.) I went away with the same impression as I went in with-- the cleaning didn't bug me, the killing did. I didn't even mind cleaning "Flyer" and "George", calling them all by name.

Looking forward to the calm tomorrow. The girls finally learned The Lesson. I'm glad I had the patience to let them learn it through experience. I'm also glad these were little banty's--more irritating than dangerous.

Now they *know* the Trouble With Cockerels, and I don't think I will ever have quite the same struggle as I had this year. But next year? Sexed pullets all the way, baby. I need a couple years to recuperate.

FIN

Oh man, I hear ya on being overrun w/ boys!!! BOTH of the BCM ended up cockerals, as is my hatchery Welsummer, and 1 of my hatchery Cochins!!!!! UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH! I did NOT do so well this last round at picking birds!!!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: He said it was a "Flip-O-rama" - a cheesy animation.

LOL!
I remember as a child looking at books from my dads childhood. They were fat little books and when you flipped the pages it made the pics look like they were moving!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

I am still doing my research, just finished Raising Chickens For Dummies

and I want to make sure I am ready before I get them. I would love to get some this winter, if I am ready. I have read that they should stay inside (garage) until they are about 5 months. Is this correct?

Thanks so much!

You can get many / most of your questions answered right here. Just ask the questions.
Also I don't think they need to be "inside" until 5 months. I just put 8 out that are 7 weeks.
They do have a little coop and dry area out of draft. That is most important.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

And for those wondering about badges!!!! Here is the latest and greatest from the man himself. They were going to try to get it fixed 10/30/2012. Looks like they must still be working on it! At least they are aware and working on it.

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
I have heard certain rumors of folks on this message board packing up their tools, driving to your location and building you a coop with the supply list the builder provided you. The builder only asked to be reimbursed for the fuel necessary to get to/from your location. I believe there are at least five people on this message board who can collaborate my story.

I plead not guilty of chicken-enabling by reason of insanity.


VF

 

[SweetSilver]

Sometimes the best revenge is having a mean roo for dinner.

I'm waiting for the butchering to recede from my head a bit before plopping them in the stew pot. I think all 4 will fit in one pot!

 

[SweetSilver]

Oh man, I hear ya on being overrun w/ boys!!! BOTH of the BCM ended up cockerals, as is my hatchery Welsummer, and 1 of my hatchery Cochins!!!!! UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH! I did NOT do so well this last round at picking birds!!!

Ours were straight-run bantam breeds, pretty much the only way you can find them.

Actually, things wound up pretty peaceful. I heard stories of hen harassment, etc., but once they got past 5 months or so, things mellowed a lot and 2 of the Beta Boys would chase of any randy cockerel in a second, but they rarely tried mating themselves. And we had one-one-on protection nearly when they would see or hear a hawk go by. So, all in all not bad but noisy and, of course, irritating when we went into the coop.

Still, I'm waiting for a few years before buying any more straight run or allowing a hen to hatch a brood of chicks.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I have heard certain rumors of folks on this message board packing up their tools, driving to your location and building you a coop with the supply list the builder provided you. The builder only asked to be reimbursed for the fuel necessary to get to/from your location. I believe there are at least five people on this message board who can collaborate my story.

I plead not guilty of chicken-enabling by reason of insanity.


VF

I'll vouch for that!!! We love our VF chicken run so much! Keeps the girls completely sheltered during hot or cold spells and it's super sturdy!


I'd like to offer my chicken library to the peeps here for borrowing. I'll write my name and address in all the books
and if you want to come borrow any of them, let me know! Here's what I have:
The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerow
The Joy of Keeping Chickens by Jennifer Megyesi
Free-Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom
A Chicken in Every Yard by Robert & Hannah Litt
The Chicken Encyclopedia by Gail Damerow
Keeping Chickens by Ashley English
Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds by Carol Ekarius
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow

and Backyard Homesteading by David Toht (which isn't entirely about chickens but it does touch on them)

I also have a couple children's book that help small children get through those chick days and know what to expect. They're adorable and full photography, not illustrated.
Chick Days; An Absolute Beginner's Guide, Raising Chickens from Hatchlings to Laying Hens by Jenna Woginrich
Discovery Kids:Change and Grow, Chick to Hen

 

[Flaming Chicken]

I have heard certain rumors of folks on this message board packing up their tools, driving to your location and building you a coop with the supply list the builder provided you. The builder only asked to be reimbursed for the fuel necessary to get to/from your location. I believe there are at least five people on this message board who can collaborate my story.

I plead not guilty of chicken-enabling by reason of insanity.


VF

I can definately confirm. Several angels arrived on my property last summer and I now have 2 mud free covered runs. My chickens are in heaven. But alas I find my self wanting another coop too. I could be easily convinced to share the fuel charge if said angels were willing to build another of those small coops that Sadie and Robin have?

 

[TerrorBird]

Quote:
We took our chances with straight-run bantams around six or seven years ago. All four were pullets! One turned into a weird pseudo-rooster, but that was just recently. It acts just like it used to and looks completely strange now. We realized how lucky we were and decided to just get sexed birds from now on.