Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[rosemarythyme]

Excited that one of my hens squatted today, so first egg of 2024 maybe 10-14 days from now? This is of course after I finally had to give in and buy a dozen yesterday as I'm down to maybe 4 eggs from fall. Planning on adding a few more chicks in spring as our youngest hens are going on 4 years, so that'll help with eggs for next winter.

 

[Smokerbill]

Things are kind of iced up around here, mainly the front porch and railing. Walking in the snow isn't bad.

I found that oyster shell granules are great for adding traction to an icy porch! Might as well use them for something since the chickens don't seem to like them.

Edited to add: When I picked up eggs the first time this morning I saw that something had knocked over a small container of scratch grains that was sitting on a chair outside the run. The scratch wasn't eaten, just knocked over.

I just went out again and this time I noticed the raccoon tracks in the snow in front of the run. It didn't try to get into the run, but now I know raccoons know there are feathered meals just out of reach behind the hardware cloth. LOL

And in front of the house I saw what I believe were coyote tracks in the snow. Might have been a fox, but I think they were too large. And last night around 9PM I heard a barred owl calling from a nearby tree.

The predators and scavengers must be hungry after suffering through a week of snow covering everything. Not going to let my birds free range for a while, I think.

 

[Kmaria187]

I found that oyster shell granules are great for adding traction to an icy porch! Might as well use them for something since the chickens don't seem to like them.

Love this IDEA!!!! gonna use them on my walkway out to the chickens that way if they eat them great if not at least I wont slip

 

[gimmie birdies]

Yeah! today will be 17 which is better than -17.

 

[Kmaria187]

Just started snowing here and boy are the flakes big!!!! Took a photo out of my office window looking out to my chicken run

 

[pennyJo1960]

We got 6 inches of snow all told.
Then the temps rose to 38 big melt.
oops rain froze on the snow!
I have to say my pair of cockerel are my new buddies.

 

[ValerieJ]

Sidewalks are an ice cube today. Chickens still haven't come out of the enclosed portion of the coop much. They will come into the dry enclosure for treats then go right back in. They have always come out in the snow before, but I didn't make a straw path for them this time. Still, I expected them to come to the dry enclosure part. I think it is just too cold for them. Up to 33 right now and hopefully rising.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Wish I had my old ice skates.
Am sure I would find a dry patch go flying.

 

[Hinotori]

We just had freezing rain overnight but thats all supposed to be done for the foreseeable future.

 

[Smokerbill]

I just went back out again to check for eggs, and I gave the girls a bowl of chopped up parsnip peels to see if they'd eat them. They didn't seem much interested, but sometimes new things take time.

It's been raining lightly for the last couple of hours, and it's warm enough that it's melting the ice that's on the front porch. I put the auto fill cup waterer back into the run so they can quit drinking out of the dirty yogurt container. Sometimes I think they prefer drinking dirty water.