Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[HoneysuckleHills]

Farmin Momma: you and Slinglings take some mighty fine photos! (I love photos. And jokes.

)

and dawng,too!

I think I need a new camera and have you guys come teach me....

 

[Slinglings]

I feel the need to know what to do when the time comes to cull a hen. I signed up for a class through the seattle farm co-op, they will be processing 6 birds with 10 'students' watching/participating. Will I regret this???? The thought of watching this really makes me sad/gives me the creeps, etc. but I don't feel like I'm being a responsible chicken owner by not knowing what to do when the time comes. I don't want to eat any of my birds, honestly, I'm just sort of concerned about having an injured/ill bird and I don't want to see them suffer..I guess I could always bribe a local chicken person to come over and do the deed

Anyway, am I going to regret watching 6 chickens be killed and processed? I have pet cats and I don't feel like I need to know how to kill them, ya know? But they can be taken to an emergency vet and they aren't at risk of being attacked by a raccoon (they're indoor cats). Can chickens be taken to an emergency vet to be euthanized? It would probably cost a fortune. There should be an at home euthanasia kit for pet chicken owners. Chloroform, then an injection of some kind. Something easy and not bloody.

 

[BantyChickenLuv]

Here are some more pics of the babies:

The Modern Game Bantam in the back definitely has the most character so far, and is acting like a roo. I decided to name him Klondike.

Being himself again.

One of the Cochins, who, true to being a Cochin, could care less about people.

 

[beausonge]

Greg - thank you SO much for all those links and the great post above it! I had considered gardening as part of school and know it would benefit us all to get outside purposefully each day, it's just hard. William is finally at an age where he's beginning not to need a long nap every day now, which frees us up a lot. Also...the weather = ugh! It's a hassle just getting ME outside to the coop each day, let alone all the kids.



I think what I'll do to start is torch the whole area, spread poop over all of it this whole spring/summer, and plant part of it in the fall for a winter garden. Or maybe we could do a really small area together just to start out this summer. We will finish school completely mid May, perhaps the rest of the month can be spent preparing a garden together. One bummer: we need a longer hose. It doesn't quite reach the garden.

My favorite memories of my childhood were when we planted the "children's garden" seeds we got from Gurney's every year. Dad gave us our own plot and every year the seeds were different. My father passed on many years ago. My favorite picture is him on his hands and knees picking bugs off his prized cabbages. They grew gigantic! Mom had a giant crock the size of a large garbage can she would fill with cabbage and brine. That was the best sauerkraut ever! See the memories you can make with your children? '

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Jess, why do you put it in the trash? (here it would be illegal, but it's also a big waste of landfill space and fertilizer! If you don't want it, I'm sure you could easily find a gardener to take it off your hands. We pay a ton for trash removal, I would hate to pay to have all of that hauled off with the trash)

I have no inclination to compost it so I use the green waste trash bin. I just don't have time! My kids are the priority and I don't have the know-how or time to get the garden started, so we can't use it anyway. Question though...could I put all that poop and shavings in one corner of the garden and just spread it out? I currently have a completely wasted space of a 20'x20' raised bed surrounded by stone and all it grows are wildflowers and weeds. I don't WANT to compost, simply don't care. I know those are blasphemous words around these parts and maybe if I had more strength or help to get my yard/garden sorted out I'd want it, but I do need to get rid of it. We're even thinking of torching all the weeds in the garden so they don't grow up again in the spring. It's just a mess. I'll take a pic and post it.
You don't have to do a darn thing except dump it somewhere. Nature (and the chickens) will do the rest
There are a number of ways to make compost. The ones that are more work are faster. The passive (less work) ways are slower, but sooner or later everything breaks down. Given the nature of our mineral soils, I hate to see good organic matter wasted.

 

[itsren]

The debate is on. Does Blackie go to auction today? Last night, after Blackie spent an entire day free-ranging by himself because I couldn't catch him I was 100% positive he was going this morning. I spent the day terrified he was going to become food for some hawk while I was gone. Thankfully, he was good at hiding and hung out under a Rhododendron watching Latte in the tractor. This morning, after hugging him and holding him, I'm not so sure I want to let him go.

Sigh. Last night the kids were pretty upset about him going, too when we talked to them about it last night. DH says if I want to keep him until we have to let him go, he'll get the fishing net out of the attic today to help me catch the little buggger (didn't know we had one). He's 14 weeks tomorrow. He still peeps most of the time and has a deeper voice some of the time (usually when I finally catch him). How long can I keep him before he crows and gets me in trouble? Or should I just get the inevitable over with and take him?


Reminder to self: 759

 

[itsren]

I have no inclination to compost it so I use the green waste trash bin. I just don't have time! My kids are the priority and I don't have the know-how or time to get the garden started, so we can't use it anyway. Question though...could I put all that poop and shavings in one corner of the garden and just spread it out? I currently have a completely wasted space of a 20'x20' raised bed surrounded by stone and all it grows are wildflowers and weeds. I don't WANT to compost, simply don't care. I know those are blasphemous words around these parts and maybe if I had more strength or help to get my yard/garden sorted out I'd want it, but I do need to get rid of it. We're even thinking of torching all the weeds in the garden so they don't grow up again in the spring. It's just a mess. I'll take a pic and post it.

Yes - just spread it out over that garden area you have in the back yard and let it sit. Tell the kids not to play in there. Explain to them that is where you are going to be spreading the poop. Nature will compost it for you - even if it is sitting on top. Because there are pine chips in the mix, any acid loving plant will thank you for it. Who knows - maybe you can start your own mini blueberry farm in that area when you up to it. Blueberries are easy to grow and LOVE acidic soil.

The only reason I have been digging mine under is because I have been putting it in garden beds I plan to plant in spring. I'll have to do some soil testing before planting, but that's ok. I planned for that. I dug some in last fall and that stuff was pretty much non-existent when I dug these last two garbage cans full in - so it must compost pretty fast.

 

[itsren]

I think what I'll do to start is torch the whole area, spread poop over all of it this whole spring/summer, and plant part of it in the fall for a winter garden. Or maybe we could do a really small area together just to start out this summer. We will finish school completely mid May, perhaps the rest of the month can be spent preparing a garden together. One bummer: we need a longer hose. It doesn't quite reach the garden.

If you need it torched, and don't have one - let us know. We have one. We can probably come over and I can send DH to go out and do it. That's how DH "weeds" the open spaces. LOL. We used to argue over using chemicals and after the kids were born I finally won the argument. So he said "Fine. I'll torch it." I think he wanted a reaction out of me and seemed a bit surprised when I told him to go for it - and told him to be careful not to set himself on fire. So far so good. I follow him around with the hose. It works great.

 

[BeccaBeeOly]

Hey Olympia area folks - I stumbled across an organic chicken feed co-op. Check it out at: https://sites.google.com/site/chickenfeedcoop/home And if anyone has experience with this co-op/feed mix, I'd love to hear it!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on gardening and composting for me and the kids. I'm really excited to get started. At least I know I have a HUGE area to spread the poop and shavings for now, until we're ready to get started. I'm definitely excited to incorporate some gardening into my kids' schooling, we're pretty big Charlotte Mason lovers here and enjoy being outside for learning about God and what He created. Gardening will be perfect, I just haven't taken the plunge yet. So far I know I'll need: rain boots for each kid, rain coats, child sized gloves and garden tools. Just the prospect of buying them all that to start school in the fall makes my heart melt, I love it!!! So I think we'll spend the rest of the winter and spring prepping the garden, and maybe plant a late summer/fall garden depending on how much I can learn ahead of time.