Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[ochochicas]

I am popping a bottle of vaccine open this Saturday, and anyone can come vaccinate...has to be done in 1 hrs time, once the vaccine is mixed.
What I do is vaccinate my chicks & birds, then move out to anyone else's cars and do their birds/chicks.
I am far from most of you...but trying to help here.
The vaccine comes in a 1000 dose bottle (only) and cost is not bad, but shipping is expensive as the bottles must be kept chilled & overnight delivery.
So you can see how I'd have ALOT of extra doses !
I will be sure the vaccination is going on Saturday, by tomorrow for sure.
There was a talk going on about splitting a bottle of vaccine, and thereby saving at least 500 doese for another time.
Once it is mixed, you have 45 minutes-1 hr if kept cold, to use it as fast as you can.
So saving half for another hatch would be awesome.
I have not heard anymore talk of this though, if it were true, Pips&peeps would know

That is a generous offer! I hope others can take advantage of vaccinating their birds.

If you want to split the vaccine, you have to have a separate (preferably sterile) container to mix it in. You can cut/break the dry vaccine in half and then only add half of the liquid (100 ml I think). You can save the rest for later as long as they aren't mixed and you keep everything sterile. My vaccine instructions say to use it within 2 hours. I think it would keep a tiny bit longer as long as it were chilled.

 

[CarolynF]

I'm a happy calatoger and forager as part of the Kitsap Mycological Society. Although with young kids I don't get as much time out in the woods as I used to.
However, my daughter (7) can identify Chanterelles reliably, and most of the edible berries in this part of the state.. Just need to get the younger one (3) out there more...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucocoprinus_brebissonii

When I lived in King Co. I belonged to the Puget Sound Myc. Society, but that's been quite a while. My favorites are morels but DH has a really bad reaction to them, so we seldom hunt them any more. Chanterelles are what we hunt mostly, which is fun since they are plentiful around here. I had The Prince growing in the yard one year, but sadly that didn't last. Those are so great. Getting the kids out in the woods is a lot of fun, however mine never enjoyed eating them. But it's a great place for them to play and rev up their imaginations. We loved the weekend forays with the PSMS folks, we spent the weekend camping so it was great for the whole family.

 

[CarolynF]

Waiting for these RIRs to grow is becoming tedious. They are almost 9 wks old and I've never seen such docile, scaredy cats before. They refuse to sit on a perch whether it's 2" or 12" off the ground. They prefer to huddle on the ground or on the floor of the coop. And of course when they're in the coop they choose the corner furthest away so I can't reach them to put them up on the perch. I've opened the pen door twice to let them wander in the larger garden area, but after one of the big girls confronted them they won't even venture out again... even when none of the hens are around. Sheesh. Adding them to the flock at the end of the month is going to be a challenge I think! The little EE that's with them is much more normal, he/she scampers all about and is quick to get up on a perch. But not wanting to sleep all alone on the perch, ends up joining the huddle on the floor. I was hoping the EE was a pullet but I'm more on the fence now. It may very well be a cockerel. Oh well it's been an adventure this spring. @ochochicas it's really funny that you bought a welsummer that turned out to be a Sp. Sussex. Mine was just the opposite! I bought 2 SS that turned out to be Welsummers. And a wellie that turned out to be an EE -- Twice! These were from a "breeder" if you can believe that! I'm way too trusting.

 

[kristenm1975]

Hello all! I'm on Vashon Island and ready to get started with quail. I'm interested in buying about a dozen coturnix and would love jumbos. There's a very nice seller named Aaron in Woodinville who's going to set me up with standards if I can't find jumbos but I thought I'd ask here if anyone's got jumbos for sale. Also, anyone heard about an increase in Avian influenza in Western Wa? Another BYC poster not from around here mentioned it. Thanks for any tips!

 

[ochochicas]

Waiting for these RIRs to grow is becoming tedious. They are almost 9 wks old and I've never seen such docile, scaredy cats before. They refuse to sit on a perch whether it's 2" or 12" off the ground. They prefer to huddle on the ground or on the floor of the coop. And of course when they're in the coop they choose the corner furthest away so I can't reach them to put them up on the perch. I've opened the pen door twice to let them wander in the larger garden area, but after one of the big girls confronted them they won't even venture out again... even when none of the hens are around. Sheesh. Adding them to the flock at the end of the month is going to be a challenge I think! The little EE that's with them is much more normal, he/she scampers all about and is quick to get up on a perch. But not wanting to sleep all alone on the perch, ends up joining the huddle on the floor. I was hoping the EE was a pullet but I'm more on the fence now. It may very well be a cockerel. Oh well it's been an adventure this spring. @ochochicas it's really funny that you bought a welsummer that turned out to be a Sp. Sussex. Mine was just the opposite! I bought 2 SS that turned out to be Welsummers. And a wellie that turned out to be an EE -- Twice! These were from a "breeder" if you can believe that! I'm way too trusting.

Your chicks should just take a little time to adjust. The first time I put mine outside they were terrified. Now they like it out there (at 8 weeks old) and are roosting all the time. They don't like grass, which is weird. Maybe when they see the other chickens eating it they will start to like it. They are technically still isolated for one more week from the other birds just to make sure their vaccine has had time to work. The pullets are in a different part of the yard and we'll move their little coop closer to the barn each day until they are in the middle of where the big chickens free range.

I got my Sussex (aka fake welsummer) at Coastal in Auburn. In addition to that one, I got two Easter Eggers that ended up being cockerels and a black sex-link rooster. I'm not sure how you mess that one up. They told me it was a barred rock pullet. Out of the eight we started with from there a year ago, two died suddenly from different acute illnesses and the cockerels are gone as well. The sex-link was actually a very nice cockerel, but I think the neighbor's dog got him one day before we had our run built.

Here are my two Legbar (cross?) pullets on their second day outside. They love the roost!

 

[OverEggstended]

Waiting for these RIRs to grow is becoming tedious.  They are almost 9 wks old and I've never seen such docile, scaredy cats before.  They refuse to sit on a perch whether it's 2" or 12" off the ground.  They prefer to huddle on the ground or on the floor of the coop.  And of course when they're in the coop they choose the corner furthest away so I can't reach them to put them up on the perch.  I've opened the pen door twice to let them wander in the larger garden area, but after one of the big girls confronted them they won't even venture out again... even when none of the hens are around.  Sheesh.  Adding them to the flock at the end of the month is going to be a challenge I think!  The little EE that's with them is much more normal, he/she scampers all about and is quick to get up on a perch.  But not wanting to sleep all alone on the perch, ends up joining the huddle on the floor.  I was hoping the EE was a pullet but I'm more on the fence now.  It may very well be a cockerel.  Oh well it's been an adventure this spring.  @ochochicas
it's really funny that you bought a welsummer that turned out to be a Sp. Sussex.  Mine was just the opposite!  I bought 2 SS that turned out to be Welsummers.  And a wellie that turned out to be an EE -- Twice!  These were from a "breeder" if you can believe that!  I'm way too trusting. 

Gee, I am getting some Hammies next month and praying to the gods that they never realize that they can sleep in trees! Perhaps, if your RIRs keep being such lowlifes (lol)... they can come be aunties. Either my guys will think ground hugging is good... or yours will learn to roost. One of us is bound to win! Lol

 

[CarolynF]

Hello all! I'm on Vashon Island and ready to get started with quail. I'm interested in buying about a dozen coturnix and would love jumbos. There's a very nice seller named Aaron in Woodinville who's going to set me up with standards if I can't find jumbos but I thought I'd ask here if anyone's got jumbos for sale. Also, anyone heard about an increase in Avian influenza in Western Wa? Another BYC poster not from around here mentioned it. Thanks for any tips!

AI has really taken its toll in Washington this year. A big flock of a variety of fowl were destroyed in Port Angeles. It started near the N. border and spread down the coast into Calif. Both sides of the Cascades. It's been a huge topic in the last few months. You can read the posts if you go back some.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Hehehe... that's an idea that has some merit! I doubt mine would learn to perch though. The EE was perching with the SS-turned-Wellies before I brought home the RIRs. (S)he tried for several days to convince them to joing her/him but they would have none of it. They'll jump up there for a minute or two when they're playing but that's it. Silly birds!

 

[kristenm1975]

Thank you, CarolynF, that's good to know! I'll do some digging.

 

[Carolei]

I either buy vaccinated birds, or vaccinate my own, and always have since moving here, and we have never had a case of Marek's.
I am popping a bottle of vaccine open this Saturday, and anyone can come vaccinate...has to be done in 1 hrs time, once the vaccine is mixed.
What I do is vaccinate my chicks & birds, then move out to anyone else's cars and do their birds/chicks.
I am far from most of you...but trying to help here.
The vaccine comes in a 1000 dose bottle (only) and cost is not bad, but shipping is expensive as the bottles must be kept chilled & overnight delivery.
So you can see how I'd have ALOT of extra doses !
I will be sure the vaccination is going on Saturday, by tomorrow for sure.
There was a talk going on about splitting a bottle of vaccine, and thereby saving at least 500 doese for another time.
Once it is mixed, you have 45 minutes-1 hr if kept cold, to use it as fast as you can.
So saving half for another hatch would be awesome.
I have not heard anymore talk of this though, if it were true, Pips&peeps would know.

At what age can birds be vaccinated against Mareks? I read somewhere it had to be day old chicks. Is that true?