Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[KendyF]

I have bbs uk style orps. Will upload some pictures when i get home.

 

[Hinotori]

So.... I ordered eggs. Then brought the subject up with DH. He says "No. Birds cost money." Any tips for changing his mind since I have duck hatching eggs are gonna show up soon? Haha. He works full time so they won't be a nuisance for him... it's just an issue of feed costs to him.

They are much cheaper than having a dog unless you get a lot of them. They do make nice pets if you handle them regularly. I don't have any ducks, but the ducks at my Grandma's were always very friendly to me. They were only bought as pets.

 

[ochochicas]

So.... I ordered eggs. Then brought the subject up with DH. He says "No. Birds cost money." Any tips for changing his mind since I have duck hatching eggs are gonna show up soon? Haha. He works full time so they won't be a nuisance for him... it's just an issue of feed costs to him.

I didn't even tell mine I got eggs. After they hatched I said "Surprise!". He was a little upset at first since it is the first time I've ever purchased more animals without telling/asking him first. In the end he knows feeding chickens is SO MUCH CHEAPER than getting a new horse, so he's good with it. He even gave me the green light to buy an incubator and hatch more chicks this winter. The chicks are the cheap part...now I have to build a larger coop.

I also presented the chickens to him as a business plan type of proposal. I am selling eggs which more than pays for feed. The chickens are weeding the flower beds, so that is one less thing I have to take care of. Ducks will eat slugs! That alone should persuade him in the right direction.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
My hubby drove me two hours to go pick up silkies this last spring. They are a fairly cheap hobby to take care of. I'm going to be selling some of the chicks shortly and between them all it will cover what I paid for the parents. The next batch (which is in the bator) might just get sold as chicks. Hopefully the hatch is good enough to cover the food for the year. Then January I can do some hatching again. I've had hens go broody 22 times so far this year. If next year is like this I may go crazy.

I wish the large fowl were fully covering their cost, but the eggs do cover a good portion.

 

[elizmartin]

If you are able to save enough funds for the first quarter of care, housing and feed he may warm up to that especially if you can show where the money will come from. (without speculative money).

PS. Chickens do.help with bugs.in the flower beds but they also like to make dust baths and nest in them too. My hubby wasn't pleased.

 

[Hinotori]

Oh, another plus for chickens (not sure about ducks). If you free range them around the outside of the house, they greatly reduce the amount of spiders that get inside the house.

 

[Espresso]

Thanks for all the input.

Oh, another plus for chickens (not sure about ducks). If you free range them around the outside of the house, they greatly reduce the amount of spiders that get inside the house. 

Win right there IMO. How about ant control? Haha

 

[Hinotori]

Thanks for all the input.

Oh, another plus for chickens (not sure about ducks). If you free range them around the outside of the house, they greatly reduce the amount of spiders that get inside the house. 

Win right there IMO. How about ant control? Haha

About a third of mine will eat ants. Now I'm not sure if that's because the others don't like them or if Emma chicken bullies them off since ants are one of her very favorite snacks.

 

[Ashley Stroud]

Hello Fellow Washingtonians! I live in the Toledo area and have a small flock of Orpingtons and Wyandottes. I'm looking for sources in-state for English-bred Orpington pullets (Lavenders, Lavender/Splits, Black and possibly Lavender Cuckoo). I have had eggs and birds shipped in the past but would prefer to do business in person and more locally. If any of you have resources you could recommend I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Welcome!
I love the Lavender Orpingtons and just ordered some from Papas Poultry in Redding, CA. along with Jubilee, both from Fancy Chick lines. Have you found certain Lavender lines have yellow leakage/Birchen pattern coming through?

 

[tridentk9]

Mine have been lining up along the house picking off ants. It looks silly as if they've all been put in a time-out Between them and "Stranger", the frog in the kitchen, I hope the ant population won't bug me anymore.

Yes, I have a frog in the kitchen. Two tree frogs showed up at my front door looking for Junior, the frog that used to live in the shower. One left, one stayed and Junior left. And then squared is the frog currently in the shower, tiny, still a baby.