Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Farmin Momma]

Ooohhh my gosh, he looks so great in his new kickin red glasses!

 

[Farmin Momma]

We lost one of the broody's chicks today. Momma has blood on her comb and beak, so she tried to fend off whatever it was(assuming a hawk, we have lots). Such as life in the country. My DW asked if we could cover the whole backyard(18,000+sf) and I told her sure if she comes up with about $1000 for the netting and PVC.

We have the same problem with hawks taking chicks. I will be stringing up some, yarn or rope with colored ribbons around my yard. It makes it so they don't have a clear flight path to grab and go.
Sorry ya'll lost a chick.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Thanks guys. At first I didn't like them but they're growing on me because of how much I know they match his personality; they just HAD to be red...we spent over 2 weeks looking for red ones. Plus, these make him look a bit like a goofy superhero and he's SO that kid! LOL

 

[FirewifeJess]

Better pic...those darn 2 year olds are too fast! LOL

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
I am not too upset, it is life. But I think I may get some netting and put some up in the uncovered areas of the yard. My DW asked if I could put the remaining chick with her Silkie chicks. I said I could but it would be hard to reintegrate the LF back into the main flock(we will have a separate Silkie only flock), and the chick is part of the LF flock now. Just gonna leave her with momma(I know it is a pullet, sexable at hatch, no barring)

 

[FirewifeJess]

We've yet to see any hawks near our yard and haven't lost any birds yet from predators. I know someday it will happen, but for now we'll pretend there are none.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Has anyone seen a dramatic difference by changing feed (meaning, an overnight sudden change) in egg laying? Sunday I changed feed and we had been getting 3-4 eggs a day for a while; it was a bummer. My little girls started laying this week; that would bring us up to 5-6 eggs a day just from them, but we're suddenly getting 7-8 eggs a day after changing feed. We had been using Nutrena (and still have 9 bags of it in the deep freezer!!!) and I wanted to use up the 3 bags of Purina that aren't in the freezer. WDYT? Fluke? Or should we use Purina from now on, after we get through the darned excess of Nutrena we have? I have no preference really, I was originally trying to do what was best for our overall health and go organic, non-GMO, soy free, etc, but now I know that route wasn't what was best for MY flock.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Has anyone seen a dramatic difference by changing feed (meaning, an overnight sudden change) in egg laying? Sunday I changed feed and we had been getting 3-4 eggs a day for a while; it was a bummer. My little girls started laying this week; that would bring us up to 5-6 eggs a day just from them, but we're suddenly getting 7-8 eggs a day after changing feed. We had been using Nutrena (and still have 9 bags of it in the deep freezer!!!) and I wanted to use up the 3 bags of Purina that aren't in the freezer. WDYT? Fluke? Or should we use Purina from now on, after we get through the darned excess of Nutrena we have? I have no preference really, I was originally trying to do what was best for our overall health and go organic, non-GMO, soy free, etc, but now I know that route wasn't what was best for MY flock.

Look at the % of vitamins and minerals and compare. Sometimes that contributes to laying or lack of laying. If you feel like the Nutrena is not going to give the same as Purina, you could put a Flock Block in the coop. I use one, supplies them with extra nutrients and gives them something to peck on until they get let out of the coop.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I will do that for sure. Especially since I need to get through 360lbs of Nutrena before I can start buying Purina for good. The only reason I bought the Nutrena was because it was on sale at both Reber AND Bothell last week. So, currently have to get through 3 bags of unfrozen Purina, then 360lbs of Nutrena. Taking into account my dozen girls eats about 20-25lbs a week, that should last 19 weeks. Oi!

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Quote:
I will do that for sure. Especially since I need to get through 360lbs of Nutrena before I can start buying Purina for good. The only reason I bought the Nutrena was because it was on sale at both Reber AND Bothell last week. So, currently have to get through 3 bags of unfrozen Purina, then 360lbs of Nutrena. Taking into account my dozen girls eats about 20-25lbs a week, that should last 19 weeks. Oi!

Dang, that is a lot of feed they eat. Mine only go through a 25lb bag every 2 weeks. 10 chickens and 1 chick eating that. I guess them free ranging almost all day long helps keep my costs down.