Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[lovinchickypoos]

came home yesterday afternoon, and the little one that the others had been ostracizing on was dead. Man, it really got to me. I was in a major funk all last night. I wish I knew if there was something wrong with her besides being a runt and being picked on.... There was nothing obviously wrong though...

SO SORRY TO EVERYONE WITH LOSSES THIS WEEK! THESE THINGS SEEM TO COME IN WAVES

So yesterday, out of the blue, DW says, "When is the 2013 coop-a-thon?"

So -- who needs stuff built?

MY GOODNESS, IF ONLY MY BUDGET WOULD ALLOW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are some good treats to use to try and tame down my chickens? None of them are mean to me but they aren't tame at all. I feel bad that every time I go in to their coop/run to feed, water, collect eggs or clean it, they all run and squak and fly around. Is there hope for my adults at all or should I focus my attention more on taming the babies?

THE FINLEY SHOPPER IS SELLING MEALWORMS NOW!!! IT'S LIKE CHICKEN CRACK!!!!

Just wanted to share some pictures of my chickens that I took today

YOU HAVE SOME BEAUTIFUL BIRDS!!!! WHISKI IS GORGEOUS!!!

 

[lovinchickypoos]

Meh. January.

I lost a (very old) cow last night, the worst way possible: she started going downhill when we weaned, didn't get better with extra feed, vitamin and mineral treatment, and antibiotics. She should have been hauled somewhere with cover and fed for the withdrawal period and then slaughtered but we've been having equipment problems left and right and couldn't get her off the place. Then she went down on a point in the field visible from basically everywhere except inside my kitchen window. She was trying the whole time to get up, and we were upping her caloric intake to see if we could get her past the low (which happens; sometimes all it takes is a 45F day, or a change in position) but it was crazy-making have to do it with the whole subdivision looking on.

And one of the neighbors got drunk yesterday and decided to verbally abuse my sister while she was out feeding , medicating, and watering the downed cow, and then came into the field and tried to start a physical fight so that my sister had to call 911 to deal with the trespass and other illegal behavior.

The emergency response GPS ended up with the deputy showing up on my doorstep, which was sort of not what I needed yesterday when I was puking sick and having trouble keeping my BG up. I had NO idea what he was talking about, and when I went in to get another coat he and his ride-along (mysteriously dressed in full Mariner's warm-up gear) flat out disappeared. All in all too much agricultural soap-opera for me; I was having sufficient trouble trying to keep the EE's pen clean, since I can't move it alone and have no hope for help with it until March at the earliest.

This is the same woman who once called me a dozen times in a week when she first moved here to try to nag me into rebuilding the fence so that it would keep her dogs in her yard. That would be the fence that keeps coming down because her late teenage son climbs it to get into our woods to drink, and which, OH YEAH, was also built by the previous owner on the outside of an illegal retaining wall that impinges ten feet onto our property. Most of my neighbors are fine people but not all of them are very bright or at all understanding about the day-to-day pressure of cattle farming, and none of them understand that state law requires a 50-50 split on materials and labor on line fences.

OH: for those of you who haven't been here, the neighbors on my north and west property lines are in a 1970's vintage half-acre lot development with covenants against renters, and are largely professional people of one sort or another, and well-off retirees. Not the slums, but human beings of all incomes are capable of violationg the golden rule in spectacular fashion.

DEAR LORD, SOMETIMES I WISH I LIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF 100ACRES...BUT I'M SURE PEOPLE WOULD STILL FIND WAYS TO ANNOY ME! HOPE THINGS GET BETTER FOR YOU AND YOUR WACKO NEIGHBOR MOVES OUT AND IS REPLACED BY SOMEONE WITH SENSE!!!!

 

[Greg Richardson]

HoneysuckleHills. I've had a Black & Decker I use for work and around the house here.
I went to the 24 volt one but the 18 work fine for you and be less $$$.
I needed a bit extra power for getting screws into wood in real old houses.
Lot of great ones out there now for reasonable prices compared to 5 years ago.
If this drill would ware out I'd get a chance to buy the ones that have the light on them.
My friend had one of those at a job and I told him better watch it real good or this going home with me.
Just watch this B&D last forever stopping me from getting a drill with a light LOL!

As with any tool you'll get lemons.
Buying tools over the years I've bought bottom price on up and if you do it long enough you'll find it's a crap shoot no matter the price range but you'll generally do better not buying bottom price.

That being said, if the tool is only going to get occasional use and you take care of it no need to spend the big bucks just as long as you buy the tool that fits the type of work you be doing.

We all get our favorites over the years.

Some times the brand name isn't anything more than a name, and other times it means it's built better.
Dewalt & Makita I don't think you can go wrong with buying those.
Ryobi to me is more in the B&D group.

 

[lovinchickypoos]

The sun is out today for a change! Normally, I enjoy the clouds but it's been grey for too long around here. It seems I just jinxed it as I see the clouds coming back as I'm typing this!

My goal today is to get in the shower and actually get dressed!!! My chest sounds like I have been smoking for 40yrs. At least the nose is allowing air flow!

The girls are getting stir-crazy from not getting let out of the run. Since Blondie was torn apart I have rarely let them range. I'm trying to avoid a routine to throw off whatever did it. It's not making happy chickens, though. I really want to get a camera out there so I can catch what is probably a dog doing the damage. I have hopes that finances will allow us to put up our own fence that will work better than what is already there.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

Thanks Lovinchickypoos. Whiski showed up one day last summer along with 4 other roosters. He is the only one that stuck around so we got him a few girlfriends. that turned into a total of 7 adults and over 60 babies!!!!! Im down to around 26 babies now, including the 6 young adults. Im really happy with what he has produced and considering how many babies I got last year, he is very gentle with all my girls. Sadly though, his three sons, Evil, Rum, and Royal are mean to the babies and my girls and need to find them homes. I dont have the courage to cull them. they are part my first baby batch. One of his daughters who is 5 months old went straight into laying "big girl" eggs.

 

[hallerlake]

Meh. January.

I lost a (very old) cow last night, the worst way possible: she started going downhill when we weaned, didn't get better with extra feed, vitamin and mineral treatment, and antibiotics. She should have been hauled somewhere with cover and fed for the withdrawal period and then slaughtered but we've been having equipment problems left and right and couldn't get her off the place. Then she went down on a point in the field visible from basically everywhere except inside my kitchen window. She was trying the whole time to get up, and we were upping her caloric intake to see if we could get her past the low (which happens; sometimes all it takes is a 45F day, or a change in position) but it was crazy-making have to do it with the whole subdivision looking on.

And one of the neighbors got drunk yesterday and decided to verbally abuse my sister while she was out feeding , medicating, and watering the downed cow, and then came into the field and tried to start a physical fight so that my sister had to call 911 to deal with the trespass and other illegal behavior.

The emergency response GPS ended up with the deputy showing up on my doorstep, which was sort of not what I needed yesterday when I was puking sick and having trouble keeping my BG up. I had NO idea what he was talking about, and when I went in to get another coat he and his ride-along (mysteriously dressed in full Mariner's warm-up gear) flat out disappeared. All in all too much agricultural soap-opera for me; I was having sufficient trouble trying to keep the EE's pen clean, since I can't move it alone and have no hope for help with it until March at the earliest.

This is the same woman who once called me a dozen times in a week when she first moved here to try to nag me into rebuilding the fence so that it would keep her dogs in her yard. That would be the fence that keeps coming down because her late teenage son climbs it to get into our woods to drink, and which, OH YEAH, was also built by the previous owner on the outside of an illegal retaining wall that impinges ten feet onto our property. Most of my neighbors are fine people but not all of them are very bright or at all understanding about the day-to-day pressure of cattle farming, and none of them understand that state law requires a 50-50 split on materials and labor on line fences.

OH: for those of you who haven't been here, the neighbors on my north and west property lines are in a 1970's vintage half-acre lot development with covenants against renters, and are largely professional people of one sort or another, and well-off retirees. Not the slums, but human beings of all incomes are capable of violationg the golden rule in spectacular fashion.

I hope you're feeling better today. Being sick on top of everything else. doesn't help.

 

[Greg Richardson]

Oh more joy!


U.S. hit by new stomach bug spreading around globe

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer Published: Jan 24, 2013 at 11:15 AM PST

• 1 Comment​
• ​
• Print​
• Email​

Stock image​

NEW YORK (AP) - A new strain of stomach bug sweeping the globe is taking over in the U.S., health officials say.

Since September, more than 140 outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by the new Sydney strain of norovirus. It may not be unusually dangerous; some scientists don't think it is. But it is different, and many people might not be able to fight off its gut-wrenching effects.

Clearly, it's having an impact. The new strain is making people sick in Japan, Western Europe, and other parts of the world. It was first identified last year in Australia and called the Sydney strain.

In the U.S., it is now accounting for about 60 percent of norovirus outbreaks, according to report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Norovirus - once known as Norwalk virus - is highly contagious and often spreads in places like schools, cruise ships and nursing homes, especially during the winter. Last month, 220 people on the Queen Mary II were stricken during a Caribbean cruise.

Sometimes mistakenly called stomach flu, the virus causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhea for a few days.

Every two or three years, a new strain evolves - the last was in 2009. The Sydney strain's appearance has coincided with a spike in influenza, perhaps contributing to the perception that this is a particularly bad flu season in the U.S.

Ian Goodfellow, a prominent researcher at England's University of Cambridge, calls norovirus 'the Ferrari of viruses' for the speed at which it passes through a large group of people.

"It can sweep through an environment very, very quickly. You can be feeling quite fine one minute and within several hours suffer continuous vomiting and diarrhea," he said.

Health officials have grown better at detecting new strains and figuring out which one is the culprit. They now know that norovirus is also the most common cause of food poisoning in the U.S.

It's spread by infected food handlers who don't do a good job washing their hands after using the bathroom. But unlike salmonella and other foodborne illnesses, norovirus can also spread in the air, through droplets that fly when a sick person vomits.

"It's a headache" to try to control, said Dr. John Crane, a University of Buffalo infectious disease specialist who had to deal with a norovirus outbreak in a hospital ward a couple of years ago.

Each year, noroviruses cause an estimated 21 million illnesses and 800 deaths, the CDC says.

For those infected, there's really no medicine. They just have to ride it out for the day or two of severe symptoms, and guard against dehydration, experts said.

The illness even got the attention of comedian Stephen Colbert, who this week tweeted: "Remember, if you're in public and have the winter vomiting bug, be polite and vomit into your elbow."

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Meh. January.


I lost a (very old) cow last night, the worst way possible: she started going downhill when we weaned, didn't get better with extra feed, vitamin and mineral treatment, and antibiotics. She should have been hauled somewhere with cover and fed for the withdrawal period and then slaughtered but we've been having equipment problems left and right and couldn't get her off the place. Then she went down on a point in the field visible from basically everywhere except inside my kitchen window. She was trying the whole time to get up, and we were upping her caloric intake to see if we could get her past the low (which happens; sometimes all it takes is a 45F day, or a change in position) but it was crazy-making have to do it with the whole subdivision looking on.


And one of the neighbors got drunk yesterday and decided to verbally abuse my sister while she was out feeding , medicating, and watering the downed cow, and then came into the field and tried to start a physical fight so that my sister had to call 911 to deal with the trespass and other illegal behavior.


The emergency response GPS ended up with the deputy showing up on my doorstep, which was sort of not what I needed yesterday when I was puking sick and having trouble keeping my BG up. I had NO idea what he was talking about, and when I went in to get another coat he and his ride-along (mysteriously dressed in full Mariner's warm-up gear) flat out disappeared. All in all too much agricultural soap-opera for me; I was having sufficient trouble trying to keep the EE's pen clean, since I can't move it alone and have no hope for help with it until March at the earliest.


This is the same woman who once called me a dozen times in a week when she first moved here to try to nag me into rebuilding the fence so that it would keep her dogs in her yard. That would be the fence that keeps coming down because her late teenage son climbs it to get into our woods to drink, and which, OH YEAH, was also built by the previous owner on the outside of an illegal retaining wall that impinges ten feet onto our property. Most of my neighbors are fine people but not all of them are very bright or at all understanding about the day-to-day pressure of cattle farming, and none of them understand that state law requires a 50-50 split on materials and labor on line fences.


OH: for those of you who haven't been here, the neighbors on my north and west property lines are in a 1970's vintage half-acre lot development with covenants against renters, and are largely professional people of one sort or another, and well-off retirees. Not the slums, but human beings of all incomes are capable of violationg the golden rule in spectacular fashion.

DEAR LORD, SOMETIMES I WISH I LIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF 100ACRES...BUT I'M SURE PEOPLE WOULD STILL FIND WAYS TO ANNOY ME! HOPE THINGS GET BETTER FOR YOU AND YOUR WACKO NEIGHBOR MOVES OUT AND IS REPLACED BY SOMEONE WITH SENSE!!!!

I've done the more-than-100-acres thing, and it just means whatever crazy neighbors are out there can come on the place, cut fences, and shoot your 200 pound Angus bull because they thought it was a dear.

 

[Stumpfarmer]

I hope you're feeling better today. Being sick on top of everything else. doesn't help.

Thanks, I'm better, although it would have been nice to have Heather available so we could get past the stuff I've put off while it's not raining.

 

[brynjim2012]

This will be nice to have a community that is regionally able to relate to the raising of peeps in PNW. Thanks for supporting this.