Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[LaurelC]

I love your set up, what a nice looking place. I feel your pain when it comes to ducks and mud, they just love it, we let ours roam around and it took care of any mud problem, they seems to be more happy with nice bucket of water and a lot of green grass to roam around, mind you, we have small yard, just a little pizza cut city lot with huge house on it, so there is not a lot of room to be free, but never the less, they do enjoy it much better then enclosure, and it is much cleaner, and the grass is greener, we have not used any kind of fertilizer for years. Summer time we have them in the enclosure but fall and winter they are allowed to be free. Also we took care of duckling problem, I love little ones to run around the yard, but then they grow up to be a messy little creatures that eat and poop, so we send our drakes to the freezing camp.

Yeah, we have 2 malamutes who desperately want to consume the ducks. Being "free" in our back yard is not much of an option for them. The main priority for my build is that I don't have to go out there every day to fuss with them. Leaving for 2-3 days is no biggie as long as they have food and water and are safe, and currently they are.

 

[LaurelC]

Your run is gorgeous!
As for giving away that dog house? I'd keep it. And I'd put a wire door on it. Because eventually you'll need a spot to house someone who's ill. Or broody.
Personally, I LOVE having a broody hen.

Good call. I had thought of making a door for it anyhow.

 

[LaurelC]

Laurel, Afternoon....... I'm sorry..... very sorry, but I have tears streaming down my cheeks.... You are a fabulous writer and can somehow make lite of a crappy situation...
Enjoy your chickens.... That's a nice set up....

Dave

Thanks! Yeah, my husband did a great job building the enclosure. I look forward to getting some great eggs out of it!

 

[LaurelC]

I put clear roof panels on my coop. They let a lot of light in, but they were a pain in the butt to install and you have to predrill the screw holes. Many leaks around the screws that I had to later seal with silicon. I won't buy them again unless it is for a very small structure. They did stand up to the major wind storm we had last week.

We have some of the SunTuf tinted plastic panels over our deck and they were actually really easy to install.... I mean, a pain in regards to trying not to go through them while they go up, but we didn't have to predrill, and the screws with neoprene washers we used are awesome. The whole corner is protected by an enormous tree, so it doesn't get much wind or sideways rain. Since the structure is 12x12, I may do JUST 12ft panels, and then see about maybe making an awning on the front if we get too much moisture coming in the front.

 

[ImpsMama]

Thanks everyone for the advice!! It's very helpful! I'm definitely not looking "just" for production, I actually got chickens in the first place to be "tiller chickens" in my garden... Eggs were just a bonus. but now that I've had a couple of years to figure out the direction I want our chicken keeping to go, I want to try processing for meat this year, so size/growth rate became a bigger priority... But I don't want to let egg production drop too much either. And my birds need to be able to free range as needed. I do coop them at night. Its nice to know that hatchery birds and birds from breeders have different personalities; I don't have enough experience with any breed to say for sure that I like their personalities, I simply have my favorites from the hens that I have. I'll definitely check out JFA, thanks for the link! And I'm not sure whether to have a mixed flock or a purebred flock, that's been something I'm struggling with. I'd like to contribute to some breed conservation, but I'd also like to be able to mix it up and breed for traits that I really like. So I'm leaning more towards a mixed flock. Again, thanks!

 

[11mini]

Thanks everyone for the advice!! It's very helpful! I'm definitely not looking "just" for production, I actually got chickens in the first place to be "tiller chickens" in my garden... Eggs were just a bonus.

but now that I've had a couple of years to figure out the direction I want our chicken keeping to go, I want to try processing for meat this year, so size/growth rate became a bigger priority... But I don't want to let egg production drop too much either. And my birds need to be able to free range as needed. I do coop them at night. Its nice to know that hatchery birds and birds from breeders have different personalities; I don't have enough experience with any breed to say for sure that I like their personalities, I simply have my favorites from the hens that I have. I'll definitely check out JFA, thanks for the link! And I'm not sure whether to have a mixed flock or a purebred flock, that's been something I'm struggling with. I'd like to contribute to some breed conservation, but I'd also like to be able to mix it up and breed for traits that I really like. So I'm leaning more towards a mixed flock. Again, thanks!

It doesn't seem to me like just a few meat birds would be worth it. If it were me I would get a straight run of 10 or 20 cornish cross birds, process the hens early and then the boys at about 16 weeks.

 

[PrincessLea2]

WA state, right here!!!

 

[ImpsMama]

It doesn't seem to me like just a few meat birds would be worth it. If it were me I would get a straight run of 10 or 20 cornish cross birds, process the hens early and then the boys at about 16 weeks. 

I've got personal ethical issues with the cornish cross.... Not knocking those that raise them, I'd just prefer not. I want a bird that can live to maturity and reproduce naturally... And forage, definitely forage. I did think about it briefly, but just can't get past the "ick" factor.

 

[DeltaBluezTess]

I will throw my two cents in, which is rare for me. Admittedly I am biased since I raise and breed Rhode Island Reds, but don't rule them out because of reports of aggression. The birds you buy at a feed store or from a hatchery do have that reputation, but in both appearance and demeanor they are totally unlike a true standard bred RIR. My birds are very, very docile, to the point that I have to be careful not to step on them when I'm in their pen. I don't handle my birds much at all, but they will let me reach down and pick them up if I choose. I also have bantam RIR's and they are amazingly friendly little creatures that lay a big egg for a bantam. I have also raised Standard bred Barred Rocks and while they aren't quite as friendly as the reds, they are still very easy to work with. I guess what I'm saying is don't consider chicks you buy at the feed store or hatchery to be the same as what a breeder will come up with. If you are just concerned with maximum production, by all means go the hatchery route.



Thanks for your replies! I will look into turken, I haven't looked at those yet. Jersey giants, I believe are pretty slow maturing? I ruled them out due to that after reading some other threads about best dual purpose birds...  Barred rocks, wyandottes, and orpingtons seem to have quite a following on some threads on BYC as dual purpose birds that are good winter layers, which is why I started with them. I agree my barred rock is my best layer, and pretty big--I really don't like her temperament, though, and I have a small daughter (3 y.o.) that I hope will help me with the chickens as she gets older, so I need kid-friendly, or at least not aggressive. What are others' Barred Rocks like? Do I just have Ms. Crazy Bird, or are flighty peckers common?

I ruled out RIR due to reports of aggression, though I have no personal experience with them. I have actually read tons about different breeds and studied the Henderson's breed chart and whatnot. I guess I was more wondering what local people were having success with, as since BYC is such a wide community, sometimes breeds that are working well for people in other climates aren't suitable for ours. And also a lot of people on BYC are pretty dismissive of hatchery quality birds, complaining that they have had most of the "utility" bred out of them; I've seen the same complaint about people focusing on show quality plumage at the expense of egg production/forage-ability/body type/etc. None of this is from personal experience, just what I've read (and I think show quality birds are beautiful!), so I'm not trying to offend anyone here. I'm really just wondering if hatchery birds are poor stock, and show birds aren't the best utility birds, then where does one find good utility birds? Are some show quality birds also good utility birds? Do local breeders exist for utility-type birds? Are there breeders around that are focusing on good dual purpose birds, that sell chicks/hatching eggs/etc? If so, how do I find one? I guess this was my attempt at finding one!

I'm also a sucker for pretty birds--I love the GL Wyandotte coloration, and the BBS english orpingtons. The cream leg bars were a whim (the orpington breeder also had CLBs, and offered a free cockerel, so I picked one and a hen up as well when I got my orpington chicks), more for eggs and pretty birds than dual purpose, and I may or may not keep them. I thought I was getting good English Orpington stock, which I was going to use to start moving more towards dual-purpose than layer; the breeder advertised good lines (that I knew about from following the English Orpington thread here), but then has not responded to any inquiries made by me since I purchased the chicks--so I'm guessing I got suckered into buying poor stock from a breeder just out to make a buck. That was my first experience buying from a breeder rather than a hatchery and it was a pretty poor purchase experience. I'm hoping fellow BYC'ers can point me in a better direction for local breeders rather than relying on classifieds.

I'm also trying to keep a fairly sustainable flock going, so I don't want to just raise broilers. Although I don't know if a flock as small as mine can truly be sustainable--probably not, without outside stock, as I mentioned earlier. Space and neighbors aren't issues, we're pretty rural with over an acre, but I don't really want to produce many more eggs than our family eats. And a handful of chickens can free-range our yard without mass destruction; more would probably impact the garden. Two of my hens went broody this past summer, and next year, I'd like to let any broody's raise chicks to replace the layers and fill the freezer.  

Oh, boy, I can be long-winded when I get going...  sigh...

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I raise Orps as well as other rare breeds and a few layer types. I used to have hatchery RIR but now have heritage RIR. More robust and docile and very tame. I love therm! My fav are my Marans


Diane

 

[CarolynF]

you were @ the show ? thought I saw you talking w Bee Guy.

I sure was. Where were you? I wish you'd hollered at me! Next time for sure, ok?