Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[DeesHens]

Quote: "Darling weirdos" it is then.

I had thought perhaps if you had very bright white or shiny red hair maybe that would be the attraction.

Sometimes trying to understand the chicken mind is beyond me.
~Dee~

A little bit of red does show up when I'm in the sun, but there isn't enough of that for them to really gravitate toward my hair. On the subject of understanding the chicken mind, try to figure this one out: chickens will find the dirtiest water source possible and drink from it whenever they can, even if fresh clean water is two feet away. Other chicken keepers have noticed this too.


It is so timely that you shared the dirty water preference with me. We have a small bucket filled with water in Betsy Barr Rock's tractor run with various greens in it (like flowers in a vase) for her to munch on. They don't wilt as fast this way. I noticed the water was becoming murky so began adding clean fresh water to it daily. We also give her a fresh clean pan of water AM and PM. This is the one intended for drinking. Guess which one she insists on drinking? DH was with me today and I pointed it out to him. He thought perhaps she was getting more nutrients from it so preferred it?

Just happy to know others have experienced this too. A "darling weirdo" indeed!

 

[FirewifeJess]

I haven't. And I won't. I don't really believe in the lottery. My dad always called it a tax on the dumb, or a tax on the poor.

I agree.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote: "Darling weirdos" it is then.

I had thought perhaps if you had very bright white or shiny red hair maybe that would be the attraction.

Sometimes trying to understand the chicken mind is beyond me.
~Dee~

A little bit of red does show up when I'm in the sun, but there isn't enough of that for them to really gravitate toward my hair. On the subject of understanding the chicken mind, try to figure this one out: chickens will find the dirtiest water source possible and drink from it whenever they can, even if fresh clean water is two feet away. Other chicken keepers have noticed this too.


It is so timely that you shared the dirty water preference with me. We have a small bucket filled with water in Betsy Barr Rock's tractor run with various greens in it (like flowers in a vase) for her to munch on. They don't wilt as fast this way. I noticed the water was becoming murky so began adding clean fresh water to it daily. We also give her a fresh clean pan of water AM and PM. This is the one intended for drinking. Guess which one she insists on drinking? DH was with me today and I pointed it out to him. He thought perhaps she was getting more nutrients from it so preferred it?

Just happy to know others have experienced this too. A "darling weirdo" indeed!

Mine adore filthy water! It's aggravating. I try so hard to keep their waterers clean and the second I let them out of the run they rush the puddle filled with poop and old kitchen scraps.

 

[DeesHens]

Quote: Mine is always the first to come greet me and has a great personality. She keeps peace in my mixed layer flock, without being a brute.
Here is a picture of her as a chick, you can see the penguin resemblance:


Oh my! You just cannot get much cuter than that!

Thanks for sharing the wonderful pic and how great your BA hen is. Sure am looking forward to having some. ~Dee~

 

[DeesHens]

Off Topic:
well I was out and about today and I was nearby the "end of trail" conv. store where they were selling the .5 BILLION + lottery tickets for todays drawing. I admit I was tempted to join in. BUT, I realized at the last moment, if I would buy said ticket and then win the jackpot I would be immensly wealthy. Then I had a second thought, dang, if I win, I would also become spoiled. So, I decided not to spend my $2.00 on a ticket.

Upon arriving home, after congradulating myself for such insight, I finally realized the truth. I was just too **** cheap to spend the $2.00. Dang, bummed out again.

So how many of you bought a ticket?

Not me. I can relate too much to how you think.

~Dee~

 

[KMHunter]

Quote:
Clearly I'm not Ron, but I feel that I should give my two cents. I got three golden sexlinks at Del's in Monroe seven years ago. The first one died somewhere around age 4, from what I do not know. The second had to be put down for some kind of lingering ailment that caused her to lose her ability to walk (it was not paralysis). The third is asleep in my chicken house; I call her the Duck because she made duck-like noises as a youngster. I believe that she actually started laying again a few days ago. Bless her heart, she's a senior citizen and she's still laying. Of course, she only lays one every few days, but as long as she lives she'll always have a spot in my coop. I don't know if the first two had problems due to the hatchery they came from, but the third is doing great.
I have had two Sexlinks. The first one was a GSL and she died of tumors in her abdomen and I currently have a BSL that I kept around after deciding to switch to primarily Faverolles. She is friendy and inquisitive, and like Ron says they lay almost every day. But they lay most all their eggs by the time they are 2 or 3. I like them, but want something that will lay pretty well through the winter and lay for years so I chose to raise Favs. But I really like SL's.

 

[CarolynF]

Sad day for me. I just got off the phone with Marge Best's hubby, she is out of town until early next week.

I am not going to be able to surprise my DW by putting the chicks under my broody since hatch is friday. So I am going to spill my plan to my DW and see if she wants me to get them next week and just raise them in the brooder or wait until I get a broody again and try then. Since I have the money set aside already I hope she lets me get them next week. Plus they will be more people friendly I think if we raise them instead of the broody. Her hubby is going to pass on my phone numbers to her, so if she calls before Friday it still might be a go.

That is when I will let the Wifey in on my plan.

Dang, after all your planning!! I hope it works out in the end. Keeping my fingers crossed for your plan.

Oh... I see you're back on. Good thing I crossed all my fingers for you! heheh

 

[DeesHens]

Quote: "Darling weirdos" it is then.

I had thought perhaps if you had very bright white or shiny red hair maybe that would be the attraction.

Sometimes trying to understand the chicken mind is beyond me.
~Dee~

A little bit of red does show up when I'm in the sun, but there isn't enough of that for them to really gravitate toward my hair. On the subject of understanding the chicken mind, try to figure this one out: chickens will find the dirtiest water source possible and drink from it whenever they can, even if fresh clean water is two feet away. Other chicken keepers have noticed this too.


It is so timely that you shared the dirty water preference with me. We have a small bucket filled with water in Betsy Barr Rock's tractor run with various greens in it (like flowers in a vase) for her to munch on. They don't wilt as fast this way. I noticed the water was becoming murky so began adding clean fresh water to it daily. We also give her a fresh clean pan of water AM and PM. This is the one intended for drinking. Guess which one she insists on drinking? DH was with me today and I pointed it out to him. He thought perhaps she was getting more nutrients from it so preferred it?

Just happy to know others have experienced this too. A "darling weirdo" indeed!

Mine adore filthy water! It's aggravating. I try so hard to keep their waterers clean and the second I let them out of the run they rush the puddle filled with poop and old kitchen scraps.

That's wicked sick! Glad we don't have any of those puddles. Bad enough when they eat grain where the poo lies. I've been dumping the grain on split zucchini leftover from the garden. I thought I was so smart until today I had to remove 1/2 a zucchini with caca all over it.

~Dee~

 

[CarolynF]

Clearly I'm not Ron, but I feel that I should give my two cents. I got three golden sexlinks at Del's in Monroe seven years ago. The first one died somewhere around age 4, from what I do not know. The second had to be put down for some kind of lingering ailment that caused her to lose her ability to walk (it was not paralysis). The third is asleep in my chicken house; I call her the Duck because she made duck-like noises as a youngster. I believe that she actually started laying again a few days ago. Bless her heart, she's a senior citizen and she's still laying. Of course, she only lays one every few days, but as long as she lives she'll always have a spot in my coop. I don't know if the first two had problems due to the hatchery they came from, but the third is doing great.

Thanks... the more information I can get the better I like it! Sounds like Duck is a real sweet heart!

I have had two Sexlinks. The first one was a GSL and she died of tumors in her abdomen and I currently have a BSL that I kept around after deciding to switch to primarily Faverolles. She is friendy and inquisitive, and like Ron says they lay almost every day. But they lay most all their eggs by the time they are 2 or 3. I like them, but want something that will lay pretty well through the winter and lay for years Iso I chose to raise Favs. But I really like SL's.

It's interesting that I keep hearing about fatal sicknesses with the SexLinks. Not a happy thought.
I have a BSL but she's no egg laying machine by any stretch. But she's a total sweet heart.
Thanks Kim.

 

[itsren]

Can anyone confirm the sex of these two birds? I've learned to wear gloves with these birds - Blackie has very sharp claws and has ripped my finger twice. Ouch!

Rocha... (Cocoa looks almost exactly the same - just more feathering on the feet)





This is the confusing part about Cocoa and Rocha - they don't have pointy feathers like we saw on the roos at the show... sorry about the blurry picture:



And this is little Latte. Not a yellow chick any more. Can you tell by seeing how little she is compared to me - and how big Rocha is compared to me how much smaller Latte is? S/he's tiny compared to the other three.





Any pullets in these photos?

I'll post pics of Cocoa and Blackie later. I want to try and get Blackie's photos in good light - he's so pretty - he's black with brown mixed in, but his lower feathers are turning a deep shiny greenish color.