Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Manningjw]

There's so much information here for newbie chicken-ers.

We're in the home stretch for a coop that is hopefully going to keep out whatever will try to eat our chicks. They've been extra bratty lately, all cuddles and cheeps when we go to take them outside, but catching them to go back in...oh man. I'm sure the neighbors have been entertained.

Hey Vasher! Nice job on the coop! Great choice on the hardware cloth - I was cheap and picked the 2" x 4" wire for mine and now I cannot use it for younger chicks because they can just hop right out of it! Also rats can just run right through it! I had to put an automatic door in the part they sleep in for that reason. Anything bigger than about 1" a rat will climb right through even if it is 8 feet off the ground they will climb up and right in. If you have a gap in the eaves the width of a 2x4 you will want to close that or you may have rat problems in the future like my friend did. Your coop reminds me of the one I helped him build, I like it .

 

[pennyJo1960]

4/5 barred hens one taking her break again.. many more than wise in pullets not laying too young

 

[Chickielady]

Surgery is postponed again. I have a stasis rash that is not healing and keeps erupting so now I have to see a dermotologist to figure out how to get it to heal for surgery.

Manuka Honey

 

[Chickielady]

I understand the frustration they put my acl surgery 3 years
allowing harsh arthritis and sever pain. possibly predinose
therapy could help surgery is still do able with it at lower dosage.

NEVER EVER EVER do prednisone..........it is wonderful, and will make you feel 16 years old !
Then manic, and crazy...and it has 1000 side effects, ALL OF THEM ARE BAD and once you have it, you are toast...a brief episode of a week (for example) in 1960, will eat your joints, hips especially and by the time you are 60, that one episode of dosage, will have eaten all your joints, mooned your face & turned your spine into goo.
I hate Prednisone !!

 

[Chickielady]

I have 4 what we called exhibition crates because they are heavy wire crates
for dogs of 3 sizes use the small one to hang one in if
mine do ever go broody might be the easier gentler method

Yes !
But suspend them, so they swing, and the hen MUST get air from underneath, so if the crates have a solid bottom, they will not work.
The way it works, is a wire floor allows the cold air in.
The alternative is to dunk the hen in cold water.....

As the saying goes, Nothing madder than a wet hen..................and that is why we have that saying, but they forgot: Nothing madder than a wet COLD hen.

 

[Chickielady]

All this talk about broodies - I JUST completed my first hatch last week and no sooner, did one of my Marans go broody for the first time. She is just over a year and I have one other, she better not go broody. I managed to collect the eggs over the weekend but she is still sitting on yesterdays, I think I will move her with the eggs and see what happens. If she's any good at mothering I may let he adopt some of the babies I just set in the incubator last night. We'll see.

@Chickielady are you still breeding Bielefelders? I may try this breed eventually...

What is gross, is that you find a broody....sitting on eggs...and collect them and make sure you take the eggs in the house & cook them immediately for your dogs, or feed them back to the hens...
So many people collect eggs like this and have no idea the broody culprit has been sitting on the eggs for 2 days, and in that amount of time you will have an embryo deveoped....unless you have no Cock bird...
Within 2 days, there is developement !
As you can imagine, they develope far faster than we do !!!

 

[Chickielady]

All this talk about broodies - I JUST completed my first hatch last week and no sooner, did one of my Marans go broody for the first time. She is just over a year and I have one other, she better not go broody. I managed to collect the eggs over the weekend but she is still sitting on yesterdays, I think I will move her with the eggs and see what happens. If she's any good at mothering I may let he adopt some of the babies I just set in the incubator last night. We'll see.

@Chickielady are you still breeding Bielefelders? I may try this breed eventually...

yes I have Biels, but my main cock was killed by a hawk about 2 weeks ago, so we are waiting for another main man to step up...

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yes !
But suspend them, so they swing, and the hen MUST get air from underneath, so if the crates have a solid bottom, they will not work.
The way it works, is a wire floor allows the cold air in.
The alternative is to dunk the hen in cold water.....

As the saying goes, Nothing madder than a wet hen..................and that is why we have that saying, but they forgot: Nothing madder than a wet COLD hen.

I have some 1/2 plastic covered wire so just take the plastic tray out
and its ready I have 2 yard swings with the cover held by a frame
hang them from that minus the cushions underneath

 

[Hinotori]

Offered chicks to several hens. Their answers were "we don't want those screaming things! "

A silkie thought about it. I mean tilting head and you could see her thinking. She finally decided to go cover them and doesn't show signs of leaving. Usually they just take them, but I moved the hens as well and upset them.

 

[Scram85]

I love this thread. I come home from work and there are 50 posts in one day! I learn lots of interesting facts and some trivia as well.