Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[itsren]

I got a little bit of work done on the coop today, but my son took a short nap so I didn't get to finish putting the hardware cloth on. At least I should be able to finish it tonight after my husband gets home and can watch the monster.

While I was working in the garage, I let the Polish and blue silkie out of their cages to stretch their legs. Guess what they ended up doing? The Polish waltzed right into the silkie's cage, pecked her to make her get out of the way, and proceeded to scratch up all the shavings looking for treats. (The Polish is totally food motivated and the silkie isn't. But there is a barrier between them, so it's not like she's seen me giving the silkie treats.) The silkie ended up standing at the door, shuffling around nervously, and moping that her cage was invaded.

I am guessing that this was a pretty good introduction? The silkie did get pecked, but it wasn't hard and the Polish didn't care once she got out of the way. I got the impression that the silkie really wanted to scratch around with the Polish, but was uncomfortable going in the same cage with her. I had tossed a little scratch grains in front of the two cages so they could forage together, but the Polish wasn't going to leave the silkie's cage until I made her go.

Jennifer

The pics of your coop are cool. That's going to be an awesome coop!

I'm beginning to think pecking at each other is par for the course in the matter of introductions. Chick chase this afternoon was quite entertaining - esp. since Caunnie decided she really wanted to get in there and peck at the chicks. I don't know if she thought she was helping round up the chicks, or what, but she was definitely joining in on the chick chase. It was quite funny watching my DH trying to catch the little chicks. I don't think he realized how spunky they've become. Blackie flew right out of his hands. It was pretty funny.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Hey guys....DH is taking an emergency trip to Seattle tomorrow to visit a terminally ill friend...if anyone is interested in my sale birds, he said he'd be willing to transport.

I have:

1 pair of LF GLCs (Shyla has first pick on these)
About 8 LF spangled Orloffs. Hatched this fall. Fully feathered, no heat lamps. St run. $10 ea or $70 for all
2 Muscovy drakes---1 lavender, 1 solid black. $25 each or both for $40
1 pair of African Dewlaps $80
2 bantam silver laced Wyandotte cockerels $5 each

PM me if you're interested. DH can meet b near Seattle, or along the way but he does not have time for special trips. Thanks.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
May is typically a little warmer than December. Maybe not last year though, huh? How late did we have really cold weather last year?

I can't find any stats, but I remember it being chilly. I would go out there in a sweatshirt, jeans, and my big warm Bogs boots and freeze while I was socializing with them IN the coop. So it must have been cold, because lately it's been in the upper 40s and I'm only a bit cold and can stay out there for quite some time with the girls before needing to go inside to warm up.

 

[Greg Richardson]

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Photo By Fotolia/volff


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[TurtlePowerTrav]

Question....

DH just asked me about the logistics of how this was going to work when the newest chicks (up to 12) hatch. If all 12 hatch, the new babies will need the big brooder because that many will not fit in the fish tank brooder. We'll let them dry off in the fish tank brooder, but they'll need to move quickly to the bigger one. Will my 4 older chicks, who will be 8 weeks old at that time, be old enough to go outside full time in the mini coop/chicken tractor? The mini coop has a hardware cloth floor, and will be completely predator proof.

Today my older chicks played outside quite a few hours without being under the light, and seemed fine, so I hope that's a good sign.

I guess the tiny babies could go into a large Rubbermaid tote for a week or two, if we need to grow the the bigger chicks out in the big brooder a little longer.

Home Depot has the small 8" ceramic light housings rated to 100W. I would just put a 75W incandescent light in it. That is what I had in my tractor for my pullets. And you still need to post pics of the other 2 chicks(Blackie and Roacha). And looking at the pic of you holding Cocoa, you must be very tiny or that chick his absolutely huge. It looks like the size of my 11 week EE and GSL.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Hey guys....DH is taking an emergency trip to Seattle tomorrow to visit a terminally ill friend...if anyone is interested in my sale birds, he said he'd be willing to transport.

I have:

1 pair of LF GLCs $40
About 8 LF spangled Orloffs. Hatched this fall. Fully feathered, no heat lamps. St run. $10 ea or $70 for all
2 Muscovy drakes---1 lavender, 1 solid black. $25 each or both for $40
1 pair of African Dewlaps $80
2 bantam silver laced Wyandotte cockerels $5 each

PM me if you're interested. DH can meet b near Seattle, or along the way but he does not have time for special trips. Thanks.

 

[Chickielady]

Everybody check out these awesome spiders from down under...warning, some FB users posted rough language...


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...04376056.98921.367116489976035&type=1&theater

 

[Chickielady]

These are the Fudge x we don't have a clue babies. The Crow X Fudge baby is Blackie - and, oh my gosh, is he BEAUTIFUL (albeit a little flighty). Rocha (top picture) and Cocoa (not pictured) look the same - and hatched out of a brown egg. Latte (bottom picture) hatched out of a cream egg that CR didn't recognize.

If they are the crow x fudge babies, there is a great possibility that the 2 top birds pictured are from the crow's cuckoo marans half...which is auto sexing, and the light birds (the 2 top pictured) look like cockerels to me.
If female, they'd be darker, see below:



Males are lighter, females darker.
BUT bred to the Ameraucana will give them a pea comb.
The 2 top pictures you posted look very cockerel to me, watch for a wide space between nostrils...a big clue to the coming cockerel...and look for 3 rows of peas.
The hen will have just 1 row of peas.
Hope this helps, I can only guess.
But in a few weeks you should be able to DIG on the bird's saddle area and see sharp needle-like hackle feathers emerging.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Sorry, gotta vent. This is a metaphor story;

So the "crazy" rooster came to visit with "protective" rooster's top hen. Things were going pleasant for about 3 minutes. When "protective"rooster(PR from now on) came in from checking on the other hens and chicks, things were getting loud between "crazy" rooster(CR from now on in this story) and PR's top hen. PR was making the top hen and chick food to eat and was staying out of the conversing going on. The CR started bawking real loud at the top hen, and she was bawking back. Top hen can defend herself pretty good, but PR was getting concerned she was going to be attacked. So PR tried to deescalate the situation and got bawked at by CR to stay out of it, in the PR hen house. It was all the PR could do not to attack the CR at that point, but top hen bawked real loud and got the CR to finally go to his bachelor pad. I think that PR and CR are going to have a cockfight if CR bawks "stay out of it" in PR's hen house again. And it wont be pretty.

 

[Chickielady]

I have a question on making my big coop silkie-friendly. Silkies do not seem to be the most acrobatic of birds. Should I build a ramp up to the roosting bar? I was planning on making a long perch along the back of the 6' length of the coop with a 2X4. I could put a ramp along the wall in front of the window, although that might mean I have hens sitting on it all the time to look outside. What do you think?

Jennifer

Most people I know who raise silkies use a wire floor system, kinda like a rabbit cage.
There may be other ways, best give a silkie breeder a call, and go see how they do it...silkies do not do well in a regular chicken coop.