Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chickielady]

does anyone have any recommendations on where I could post to rehome my two cockerels? One barred rock 11 weeks and one speckled sussex 12 weeks, both beautiful and well handled and loved. Really hoping to find them a long term home.

Craigs List in your area, or hang flyers at your grocery store & feed stores usually will catch somtone's eye.

 

[Chickielady]

I know it sounds like a silly question...but newbies have silly questions. So, if the roosters are the ones interested in the opposite sex, are they like cats who are aware of other females in the neighborhood?

I just wondered if the neighbor's rooster was aware of my hens and vice versa.

Oh yes !
I have (many times) had neighbors' (acres away from me) Young cockerels (probably kicked out of their flock by a senior cock) show up here, found sleeping in a tree one morning.
No one within 2 miles from me admitted to "loosing" a cockerel..........

They more than likely booted the youngster out & he made his way to me via my hen's "egg songs"

Hens do not get sexual desires & need a male bird, in fact, any hen of laying age will squat as you walk close by, as she will see you as the head honcho....so you just stoop & pat her on the back...she will take that as "sex" as feel very good after that.

 

[Chickielady]

Been busy setting up a new pen situation for all our hatched chicks - bantams and the LF Cochins are now in their upgraded areas- we do apparently have to divide and conquer the mass roosters in out bantam bunch, those will go into their own pen until we pick out which ones we want, then rest get to go

I have a smaller pen & coop with cockerels in it, and next week, they go.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

I'm in the kitchen making two and a half gallons of salt-free (home-grown) chicken chili for my husband.
He had a heart attack and emergency triple bypass three months ago. Between that and the diabetes, he's now on some pretty steep diet restrictions. And he complains about the low salt canned chili I had him try. This stuff will be healthier, tastier, and cheaper!
Quote:
Thanks Chickielady.

Yeah, y'know... when they say "Serious as a heart attack"? They're not kidding!

Husband is doing pretty well. He didn't loose too much heart muscle in the heart attack. We got extremely lucky all the way around.
Even so, we spent two weeks at Harrison, and my husband spent another week at a rehab facility. He had a minor (common) complication from his diabetes, and his dementia majorly complicated things since he was in a lot of pain when he coughed, and that caused him to be totally non-compliant with the respiratory therapy. But slowly he got well enough to be discharged. Then, the very first day he was back home he got it into his head that he was well enough to try getting up on his own. And he fell right on his arse. Luckily he fell on the dog's bed and didn't hurt himself at all. But we needed to call 911 to help him get up.

Anyhow, we're thee months past all that drama now. He's walking around like nothing ever happened. Exercising some too.
He's had a slight step-down in dementia. Oddly enough, this one makes him more concerned about he health and welfare of our chickens, so he's taking it upon himself to go feeding them our kitchen scraps. He sees that as his job, now. Kind of sweet, actually. We just need to be sure there's scraps to feed them every day.

 

[Chickielady]

Yeah having them in the garden while you want to eat what you're growing isnt a good idea generally. I let them forage around it after everything dies. But the plank of wood, that can be around the garden, the bugs will hide under it during the day and when you flip it over there they are! I haven't seen too many ear wigs this way, but it works amazingly on pill bugs, since they like wood

I have heard newspaper laid down in the garden over night is good too....the next morning gather up the paper & into the burn barrel it goes !

 

[Chickielady]

Thanks Chickielady.

Yeah, y'know... when they say "Serious as a heart attack"? They're not kidding!

Husband is doing pretty well. He didn't loose too much heart muscle in the heart attack. We got extremely lucky all the way around.
Even so, we spent two weeks at Harrison, and my husband spent another week at a rehab facility. He had a minor (common) complication from his diabetes, and his dementia majorly complicated things since he was in a lot of pain when he coughed, and that caused him to be totally non-compliant with the respiratory therapy. But slowly he got well enough to be discharged. Then, the very first day he was back home he got it into his head that he was well enough to try getting up on his own. And he fell right on his arse. Luckily he fell on the dog's bed and didn't hurt himself at all. But we needed to call 911 to help him get up.

Anyhow, we're thee months past all that drama now. He's walking around like nothing ever happened. Exercising some too.
He's had a slight step-down in dementia. Oddly enough, this one makes him more concerned about he health and welfare of our chickens, so he's taking it upon himself to go feeding them our kitchen scraps. He sees that as his job, now. Kind of sweet, actually. We just need to be sure there's scraps to feed them every day.

Good to hear he is up and about & on the way to healing !

 

[Two Chicksahs]

Where do little cockerels go when they've gotta go or get to go? (tongue in cheek). I'd love to have the speckled Sussex Roo but as it is I think my Rhonda is going to be "Red" and is a Cockerel based on their behavior which is kind of like a sheep dog but with a little peck to keep the other girls in line. I'm not 100% sure yet but Red/Rhonda is now about 10 weeks old so I'm hoping to know soon, then we have to decide whether Red stays or goes, or goes into the pot.

How is it decided who's on top of the pecking order? My girls are doing things like chest butting and tussling. If Red isn't a Cockerel I'd say then that she is on top but my lavender EE is acting aggressive, not so much that she draws blood or that I have to banish her to a separate quarter but... it certainly isn't passive aggressive neither.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Thanks Chickielady.

Yeah, y'know... when they say "Serious as a heart attack"? They're not kidding!

Husband is doing pretty well. He didn't loose too much heart muscle in the heart attack. We got extremely lucky all the way around.
Even so, we spent two weeks at Harrison, and my husband spent another week at a rehab facility. He had a minor (common) complication from his diabetes, and his dementia majorly complicated things since he was in a lot of pain when he coughed, and that caused him to be totally non-compliant with the respiratory therapy. But slowly he got well enough to be discharged. Then, the very first day he was back home he got it into his head that he was well enough to try getting up on his own. And he fell right on his arse. Luckily he fell on the dog's bed and didn't hurt himself at all. But we needed to call 911 to help him get up.

Anyhow, we're thee months past all that drama now. He's walking around like nothing ever happened. Exercising some too.
He's had a slight step-down in dementia. Oddly enough, this one makes him more concerned about he health and welfare of our chickens, so he's taking it upon himself to go feeding them our kitchen scraps. He sees that as his job, now. Kind of sweet, actually. We just need to be sure there's scraps to feed them every day.

I'm so sorry to hear about this. What a huge challenge for the both of you. It's scary when you're in the middle of it for sure so I'm glad you had luck on your side. It's wonderful that the dementia diminished a bit and he's found a sense of purpose. Sometimes I sprout a bit of barley grain and it's fun to toss it to them. If you NEED more things for him to toss out to them, it might make an easy and healthy addition.

Take care now and don't take on too much this summer! I hope your chickens can give you a sense of peace and distraction on hectic days.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
Thanks for the support and encouragement. It was your story of those mites and neem oil that prompted me to use it throughtout the coop and in the nest box this time.

 

[QuiltinGramma]

Oh yes !
I have (many times) had neighbors' (acres away from me) Young cockerels (probably kicked out of their flock by a senior cock) show up here, found sleeping in a tree one morning.
No one within 2 miles from me admitted to "loosing" a cockerel..........

They more than likely booted the youngster out & he made his way to me via my hen's "egg songs"

Hens do not get sexual desires & need a male bird, in fact, any hen of laying age will squat as you walk close by, as she will see you as the head honcho....so you just stoop & pat her on the back...she will take that as "sex" as feel very good after that.

We moved the chicken tractor this afternoon, so I decided to go in the run and sit down and chat with the girls before the ground got all poopy. It was funny, I picked one up and hugged her to me to keep from flapping and petted her, stroking her back. When I let her go, she would come back close to me, examining my clothes and clucking....by petting her down her back, did she think that she had just had sex? Oh, my!