Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Leigti]

As long as the containers it's stored in are air tight, feed can keep over 6 months.

OK, that makes me feel better about buying more at once.

 

[Duck Drover]

So I had a few chickens explode overnight. Like serious just drop half their feathers molt. It was so bad I had to do head counts because I thought something got into the pens and killed some birds. That amount of feathers

Mine are molting harder than usual too. It looks like a pillow fight with drifts of feathers in places! Lots of nice nesting material, at least.

 

[Duck Drover]

My old barred rock hen started molting last month.  I'm actually happy she is doing it now rather than in the winter when she needs those feathers to stay warm.  I had another hen last year that was nearly naked for all of October.  Fortunately it didn't start to get really cold until her feathers had grown back.  

There are a group of pullets here that are four months old.  My rooster has been breeding with one of them.  He is gentle with her and she doesn't protest, so I let them be chickens.  She must be getting close to laying, and she has the reddest comb of all the girls.  

We have two young roosters this year so the hens are missing feathers on their backs from being double bred. I have never used saddles before but I might consider it after this molt. I have so many hens trying to go broody too so that leaves fewer hens for the roosters. I wanted to do a flock reduction but it might not work to have fewer hens with two roosters.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Duck- there are some really cute saddles out there, you could even make your own too if you are handy with a needle and thread.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Duck- there are some really cute saddles out there, you could even make your own too if you are handy with a needle and thread.

where might someone find a pattern for those?

 

[junebuggena]

where might someone find a pattern for those?

http://backtobasicliving.com/blog/make-a-chicken-saddle/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/424354/free-chicken-apron-saddle-pattern
http://weallsew.com/how-to-make-a-chicken-apron-or-hen-saddle/

 

[SeattleSelkie]

My roosters favorite girl in her apron.
http://weallsew.com/how-to-make-a-chicken-apron-or-hen-saddle/

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Anyone here know what kind of bee I encountered here? It looked like a black bumble bee with a white/light spot on the thorax. The best looks very similar to a paper wasp nest and is about the size of a large lemon.

. I tried to trim my cherry tree and one of them gave me a really good bite. Hence how I found the nest.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Thank both of you stew may have to be that a bit sooner than Letting him
get a bit of meat on him

 

[pennyJo1960]

Anyone here know what kind of bee I encountered here? It looked like a black bumble bee with a white/light spot on the thorax. The best looks very similar to a paper wasp nest and is about the size of a large lemon.

. I tried to trim my cherry tree and one of them gave me a really good bite. Hence how I found the nest.

Would you want to post a photo of the bee