Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[elizmartin]

I am not sure about being on one side or another but i try to open the mouth just enough to put one or 2 drops at the end by their tongue and let them swallow….i give more as i become confident with their interest or need. Getting fluid in the lungs is really hard to come back from….

 

[Hinotori]

Or you get really good at tubing birds and just put the water in the crop. I found on tubing that pulling their neck straight and up closes their airway mostly so that you can get it down to the crop very easily.

Baby parrot food is great for tube feeding since it's designed for it. I use that if they go to long without eating.

 

[catface]

Yep. Lots of farms. Not much else. There's really no large towns up here other than Bellingham which is about 45 minutes away.

 

[jbkirk]

our address is Sumas but we don't live in city limits. Sorry about sounding harsh....

 

[them chickens]

Make sure she is in a warm place with the weather becoming cooler. I have a hen wrapped in a blanket near the bathroom heater right now. see if she is willing to eat & drink, if not dip her beak in your diluted vit/elec mix... i will use a dropper to drool some at the edge of their beak, but got to be careful to let them swallow so they don't get into their lungs. Hopefully they will start to eat more on their own. Best of luck….
   I am not familiar with cocoons?

um ya auto correct, that was cocci. We lost her last night, so sad. But thank you

 

[Amberjem]

I'd seen sumas when I was looking at craiglist come up ...glad to know where it's at ..just about hour south west of bellingham

 

[them chickens]

I'd seen sumas when I was looking at craiglist come up ...glad to know where it's at ..just about hour south west of bellingham

I think you're looking at the map upside down its northeast of Bellingham.

 

[Amberjem]

LOL sorry I ment I am south west of bellingham

 

[Theegoliath]

Just in general, in W. Washington, chickens don't need extra heat if they are kept dry and relatively draft free. Think about all the wild birds in the region. Mother nature provides a wonderful feather and down coat for them to stay warm. "Draft free" does not mean airtight! They need plenty of ventilation to prevent a build up of ammonia and condensation that can lead to respiratory problems. If you ever see moisture inside the coop give them more ventilation, preferably above their heads, right away, don't wait.

If you want your chickens to have light to continue laying, plan to provide a light that is bright enough to read a newspaper. They need about 14 hours of light per day for laying.

Carolyn, remember when I posted my coop and you told me the ventilation was fine. Well saturday morning when I went to let them out, there was condensation on the outside of there window. The temperature said low 40's. So they keep it warm inside just fine : )

After reading Alaskan's coop thread, I will no longer worry about heating our coop. His gets to 14 degrees, and he still doesn't use a heat source, with no issues for seven years. I think our girls will be just fine in our measly winters here. But like you said, draft free, ventilation, and wide roosts (so the toes stay in the feathers) is the most important thing in the winter. The chickens do the rest with there feathers, and snuggling. : )

Our light works great now as well. We still get 2 eggs a day. Which is what we have been getting for months. It is set to give them 13.5 hours of light. comes on at 4am, goes off at 8am. comes on again at 4pm, and goes off at 5:30 (I think) lol. The girls go in the coop around 4:30pm now on there own, get ready for bed, and then the light will turn off for them.

How do you guys and gals set up your lights, and do you heat, and why not?

 

[Hinotori]

Carolyn, remember when I posted my coop and you told me the ventilation was fine. Well saturday morning when I went to let them out, there was condensation on the outside of there window. The temperature said low 40's. So they keep it warm enough : ) After reading Alaskan's coop thread, I will no longer worry about heating our coop. His gets to 14 degrees, and he still dosnt need a heat source. Just need to be draft free, and the chickens do the rest with there feathers, and snuggling. And wide roosts so the chickens toes stay in there feathers : )

Our light works great now too. Set to give them 13.5 hours of light. comes on at 4am, goes off at 8am. comes on again at 4pm, and goes off at 5:30 (i think) lol. Do you set it once a day, or twice like I have it set up? The girls go in the coop around 4:30pm now on there own, get ready for bed, and then the light will turn off for them.

That question goes for anyone else who wants to answer too. How do you set up your lights, and do you heat, and why not?

I don't heat. I did put all the silkies back into the same pen today. They have to all snuggle into the one house to sleep and will keep it warm and the chicks comfortable.

Only the main pen with the layers gets light. I sell eggs so I need it. It's just an 8 watt LED bulb so it doesn't draw much power. It comes on about 4am and off about 7pm. I leave it on all day because it's so dark in there. The birds get on the roost when it gets dark outside. They just ignore the light when they are on the roost.

I did have to put the ameraucanas into my old coop and lock them in. They won't sleep in the house in their pen. They kept insisting on sleeping outside.