Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Greg Richardson]

Tell your son I think he did a great job on his car. I remember that in boy scouts as a kid and then I remember my son with his youth group at church.
It's great for kids.

That cracks me up your Husband ordered those axles. I guess you can buy anything these days.

I also like it you Parents and families have races. That is a great idea.

 

[RainyDayChicken]

These are my 3 weeks old RIR's. They were hatched on Dec 12th. I have seven pullets and one rooster(DA).

I avg 3-4 eggs a day from them, more when that big ball of fire in the sky breaks thru the clouds.

 

[lovinchickypoos]

I live in (pretty much) the middle of surburbia. Do they still come around? I'm surrounded by houses on all sides, however we have a huge yard with a small creek, pond, and mini forest. Here's what's left of Rhodie:

Unfortunately, I had one of those in my field today.

My favorite, Blondie, my BO, got massacred today (my avatar) right where a month ago I had a rooster torn up. Pretty sure it is a neighborhood dog as there was no carcass except a foot and two wings and the feathers were strewn out at a distance as if she was shaken. This would've been between 8am-11am. I am beyond pi$$ed. She just started laying again yesterday. My suspicions lay with a couple GSDs who live kitty-corned to our field because they are not secured and I have caught them running under a couple places in my other neighbor's fencing. Also, 2011 I did not have any problems with this & these people just moved in last summer. One of them barks almost CONSTANTLY for long periods every day. Most of the time it is at their own horse. I can't stand when my security and privacy is messed with.

Hello fellow Washingtonians!! I am new here and am from the Tri-Cities area in SE Wa. I own about 34 chickens: 4 roosters, 9 hens and 21 chicks. I have owned over 60 though since May 2012. 15 babies, 1 rooster and 1 hen have found new homes and the 9 have sadly come victim to hawks and a few babies have been pecked. Considering all of that, I feel I'm doing pretty good still having all my original hens, my original rooster, 6 teens and 21 babies. I am selling my 3 teen roosters which will bring me down to 31. That's a good number for now until I see what my babies will turn out to be.

HEY, IT'S A FELLOW FINLEYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, someone else on this side of the mountains!!!!

 

[RainyDayChicken]

Unfortunately, I had one of those in my field today.

My favorite, Blondie, my BO, got massacred today (my avatar) right where a month ago I had a rooster torn up. Pretty sure it is a neighborhood dog as there was no carcass except a foot and two wings and the feathers were strewn out at a distance as if she was shaken. This would've been between 8am-11am. I am beyond pi$$ed. She just started laying again yesterday. My suspicions lay with a couple GSDs who live kitty-corned to our field because they are not secured and I have caught them running under a couple places in my other neighbor's fencing. Also, 2011 I did not have any problems with this & these people just moved in last summer. One of them barks almost CONSTANTLY for long periods every day. Most of the time it is at their own horse. I can't stand when my security and privacy is messed with.

HEY, IT'S A FELLOW FINLEYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, someone else on this side of the mountains!!!!

I am very sorry for your loss. I think me and the dog would come to a understanding.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: Leg catch poles also work very well on near mature LF.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Today I walked into my barn to find the neighbors STUPID bird dog trying to get into my chickens. I grabbed the first thing which happened to be a walnut board about 1x3 x about 4'. Today was the first time I have actually lost my temper in several years. The dog did run home. I contacted the neighbor and told them (they were at work) They know I have a zero tolerance. If the dog comes back it won't be good. See he is a bird dog. Too stupid to run when I try to chase him and . when I have shot into the ground to scare him off he runs to me. well how much easier could it be to give him a lead injection. This dog already killed all but one of the owners chickens so I rustled that one. This dog should have been dealt with then. I will save them the trouble IF he is still alive and comes back.

 

[Justahannah]

Long time, no see! There's no way I'm going to even attempt to catch up on the hundreds of pages I've missed, but my condolences for the chickens lost.

I disappeared to handle a crazy finals session last term, and then had an even crazier holiday season assisting with some family health issues. But now I'm back home, back in school, and life is almost normal again. My birds are all doing well, and three of them even started laying mid-December (the red sexlink, the wyandotte, and the buff sussex)! Getting 1-3 eggs a day is pretty darn awesome when I thought I wouldn't get any til spring. Here are some pics of the bad girls:









Also, we ended up taking in the puppy my sister rescued. Her name's Pearl, she's 3-4 months old, and after some research I'm beginning to think she's mostly Catahoula leopard dog. She matches up with all the descriptions I've read down to the super-webbed toes, but it's still just a guess since we don't know anything about her parents. We've only had her since the 1st, so we're having fun with housetraining, teething, and all-around obedience. She's good with the cats but a little too interested (in a playful way) in the ferrets and chickens, so I'm definitely open to tips on how to teach her to protect, not play with them, or at the very least, ignore them. She's pretty darn smart and eager to please, and I can get her attention back on me pretty easily, so I don't think it'll be impossible to teach her to be good around them. In the 9 days we've had her, I've already taught her that "Bedtime" means to go in the crate for the night, to listen to "sit", "down", and "drop it" a good portion of the time, and to go to the bathroom in one spot of the yard (except when she still makes a mess in the house

). She's already made so much progress in just a few days I think she'll be a wonderful girl soon enough, and she's a cuddler to boot when she's not in hyper-puppy mode.

 

[WhiskiRanch]

Today I walked into my barn to find the neighbors STUPID bird dog trying to get into my chickens. I grabbed the first thing which happened to be a walnut board about 1x3 x about 4'. Today was the first time I have actually lost my temper in several years. The dog did run home. I contacted the neighbor and told them (they were at work) They know I have a zero tolerance. If the dog comes back it won't be good. See he is a bird dog. Too stupid to run when I try to chase him and . when I have shot into the ground to scare him off he runs to me. well how much easier could it be to give him a lead injection. This dog already killed all but one of the owners chickens so I rustled that one. This dog should have been dealt with then. I will save them the trouble IF he is still alive and comes back.

Bird dogs can be hard to deal with when it comes to protecting your flock. In the dogs mind, they are just trying to do their job and what they are bred for but the owner of the dog needs to do their part and more to keep the dog on its own property. Elmer and I own a bird dog along with all my chickens. She only has gotten a hold of one of my pullets but that happened before I had my chickens in a coop/run and she slipped past me while I was feeding her in her kennel and brough Elmer back one of my chickens. She didn't even misplace a feather on that bird and now that bird is my apricot colored hen, Blondie. Because she is a bird dog, we couldn't really punish her because she doesn't understand. Now that my chickens are in a coop/run til the bugs comes out, our dog, Whitney gets to run loose on the property. She knows not to go near my coop. The one time she did, she got a scold warning a good smack on the butt. I also think the electic fence zapped her. Since my coop is within myhorse pasture, I have trained Whitney to stay in the front yard and wait for me while I go feed the chickens. Its amazing how smart she is. All I have to say is "momma's feeding the chickens. Stay here" and she sits and waits for me. When the bugs come out, I will have lock Whitney in her kennel or leash her when she is outside so my chickens can roam every afternoon. I don't want to punish her for bringing me a chicken because to her its a bird and that's what she bred for and why we have her (pheasent and duck) so as a responsible bird dog owner, I willl make sure that I don't give her the opportunity to get a hold of a chicken. Bird dog owners have a responsibility to keep their dogs on their proporty because they are a special type of dog and guns don't bother them which makes it difficult to scare them away from chickens and coops. And sometimes, it triggers them to bring a bird back. Its early in the morning and I'm probably babbling on but my point is, bird dogs can be a huge threat to our flocks and the owner of that dog needs to keep them away from neighboring flocks because scolding the dog will just confuse them.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:

Aren't they cute?

Adorable!!!

Long time, no see! There's no way I'm going to even attempt to catch up on the hundreds of pages I've missed, but my condolences for the chickens lost.

I disappeared to handle a crazy finals session last term, and then had an even crazier holiday season assisting with some family health issues. But now I'm back home, back in school, and life is almost normal again. My birds are all doing well, and three of them even started laying mid-December (the red sexlink, the wyandotte, and the buff sussex)! Getting 1-3 eggs a day is pretty darn awesome when I thought I wouldn't get any til spring. Here are some pics of the bad girls:


Also, we ended up taking in the puppy my sister rescued.

Lovely EE and adorable puppy! I'm researching dogs lately too; sometime in the next 2 years I think we'll get a puppy. Thinking Christmas 2013, which gives me many many months to get things situated for having a dog. I also need something that will take to training easily and leave my chickens alone. Can't wait to decide on a breed and find us a dog! I also want a dog that is big and a guard dog.

 

[Greg Richardson]

It was 48 here at 6:30 this morning raining hard. It is now 37 and snowing at 8:42.
Been quite a while since I've seen such a fast drop in temperature.