Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

Hi All,

I have a 10 month old Favorelle Rooster:


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Yesterday he and my 2yo Cochin rooster got into a fight. They bloodied each other's combs but no chunks or holes. The young man at the beginning of the road came over last evening and caught and held each rooster for me. I smeared liberal doses of bag balm all over their combs and waddles and we put them back in the coop.

I am afraid that this fighting will continue and probably escalate. The Favorelle seems to be the agressor as he went after my Cochin several times yesterday afternoon. We have three ducks and the drake and one of the girls (I don't know what you call a female duck) absolutely despise this Favorelle rooster. Whenever they come near him they both hiss and sorta quack while moving their heads up and down. They chase him around and chase him off. Now they are really ticked off and did this to him for an hour yesterday. Our Cochin rooster is so big and his wings are too small to allow him to fly. He sleeps in a hutch and when the ducks go in the coop at night, they sleep with him. My Cochin has always been very tolerant of other males and he is so sweet to his girls. I have two Araucana cockerels - who hang out peacefully with the Cochin. I am worried the Favorelle might go after him.

I was interested in keeping him to breed some winter laying qualities into future pullets. I have read that Favorelles are usually at the bottom of the pecking order so this attack surprises me. I absolutely cannot have him going after the Araucanas. I have only had chickens for two years and I just don't have any experience with this situation.

What do you all think? Will they learn to get along or will it just get worse? If you all think it will get worse would there be anybody who would be interested in taking him? If you have to eat him just don't tell me. He is about 8 lbs according to the neighbor who helped me. He has been on Flock Raiser, scratch, and free ranging during the day.

Vickie et al

Kelso, WA.
Did you aquire him from somewhere else, or raise him from a chick yourself?
If I had that many boys, I would probably make a bachelor pad for them. If they are around girls they can get more aggressive.
I am breeding Favs and mine are totally non- agressive with each other. It could get worse in the spring as longer warmer days take over.
Or it could just take a week or two for them to work it out.
 
The only thing I have to say, which is moot since it should warm up here hopefully this week, I would add a small amount of heat for her if is really cold like it has been. But only because she will be expending too much energy trying to keep herself and the eggs warm and I notice they don't come off the eggs to eat as often or for very long so the eggs don't get too cold. Which means she isn't getting much in the way of food, so she may lose too much weight. Just a thought. I got a 100 watt ceramic bulb from the pet store, works great. I also put a heat lamp out during this cold snap in the food area so the babies can come out from under mom a little more easily and get enough food. I am not trying to provide enough heat that babies are slow to feather but it's something to think about. But again, this cold snap may be over soon, so by the time you move her and get eggs under her and they hatch, you may not have to worry. My two silkie chicks that a broody hatched are doing fine and feathering quickly, but I do have a white heat lamp over the feeder and water area. At least for now. They probably won't need it by the end of the week.
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I do agree with Travis, that you should feed her something with higher protien. It will keep her warmer.
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I will change her feed very soon, as soon as I can get out of the house and nab a bag of flock raiser or starter feed. I'm SO happy she's still in there, ruffled up and growly as can be! Super cute!
I do have to agree with Sara. It doesn't have to be WARM, warm, just not freezing. I have two silkies brooding two eggs together. I have a heated dag pad in the house, under the shavings for them, and a 50 watt ceramic bulb over the top. It is not warm by any stretch of the imagination at this point. I will turn off the pad as soo as the temp goes above freezing here at my house. It hasn't gotten much above that yet.
The only way I could add heat would be to keep the lid of the hutch raised full time, and hang the brooder lamp from the rafters of the covered run. Does that sound like a good option? I do want her to succeed and not have to raise another clutch later, for her own health. That would mean I would have to run an extension cord from the inside of the coop to the run though. Just kind of a bummer to have to provide heat, but it seems to be the general concensus that she'll likely kill those eggs if I don't. :(
 
If I move the rabbit hutch to the garage just for that extra layer of warmth (it's not warm in there by any means), won't she come out of there and crap all over the garage? I'd be worried about moving her to someplace she's never been.
 
If I move the rabbit hutch to the garage just for that extra layer of warmth (it's not warm in there by any means), won't she come out of there and crap all over the garage? I'd be worried about moving her to someplace she's never been.
I would leave her in the run, and hang a lamp over her. Not too close of course. When the temps get warmer you can just do it at night.
 
We are thinking about getting a business license, (we have been selling our eggs for awhile now) the tax write offs would be nice.
Make sure you read the latest info. Don't know what the rate is but it use to be you only had so many years to make a profit. Been a while since I looked into it. With the Wife and I both owning a business I have enough tax info that floods my head for those types of business. Thank God I have a great tax accountant that is to the letter of the law cause the IRS audits small business more than any other. Go figure huh? The big boys get away with creative accounting yet they come after us the ones taxed to death.
Good to see you Nikki!! Looks like you had a nice holiday.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!! I hope everyone had very happy holidays with loved ones, safe travels and lots of time filled with love and laughter! Its been a long time since I was here and lots has gone on. I'm so sorry to hear of all the losses and sick birds. :( Welcome to all the new members, this is a fast moving thread full of great info and awesome people, enjoy! Hinotori, talk of your potato soup has my mouth watering!! ;) Jess, your family is gorgeous!! Looks like you had a great Christmas! We had a great Christmas as well. It was our first Christmas at home with just the 4 of us. My parents couldn't come this year (they live in Colorado) and the in-laws went to California. I wasn't sure what I would think of this new Christmas but it was nice, I do miss the family though. Our DD turned 9 on the 30th she says she "feels older" already. Lol... so do I. We got 4 new girls (2 BR and 2 WLH) about 2 weeks ago and they have settled in well with the rest of the group, I think one of them has even laid a few eggs for us. We are thinking about getting a business license, (we have been selling our eggs for awhile now) the tax write offs would be nice. Anyway, hope all are having a great holiday season!!
Hi Nikki! Good to hear from you! Glad you had a nice Christmas but I understand what you mean about missing those that are usually with you. But cherish the calm and quiet that comes with it, too. It sounds like chicken math finally wore you down (since Chehali). ;) Did you get your plants in the ground ok? I agree with Greg about the small business issues. Write-offs can be a lot more hassel than the reward they seem to offer. But if it works for you... hooray.... go for it! Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!! I hope everyone had very happy holidays with loved ones, safe travels and lots of time filled with love and laughter! Its been a long time since I was here and lots has gone on. I'm so sorry to hear of all the losses and sick birds. :( Welcome to all the new members, this is a fast moving thread full of great info and awesome people, enjoy! Hinotori, talk of your potato soup has my mouth watering!! ;) Jess, your family is gorgeous!! Looks like you had a great Christmas! We had a great Christmas as well. It was our first Christmas at home with just the 4 of us. My parents couldn't come this year (they live in Colorado) and the in-laws went to California. I wasn't sure what I would think of this new Christmas but it was nice, I do miss the family though. Our DD turned 9 on the 30th she says she "feels older" already. Lol... so do I. We got 4 new girls (2 BR and 2 WLH) about 2 weeks ago and they have settled in well with the rest of the group, I think one of them has even laid a few eggs for us. We are thinking about getting a business license, (we have been selling our eggs for awhile now) the tax write offs would be nice. Anyway, hope all are having a great holiday season!!
I'm glad you had a great Christmas - even if it was different. Congrats on the new girls! That's awesome one may already be laying.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!! I hope everyone had very happy holidays with loved ones, safe travels and lots of time filled with love and laughter! Its been a long time since I was here and lots has gone on. I'm so sorry to hear of all the losses and sick birds. :( Welcome to all the new members, this is a fast moving thread full of great info and awesome people, enjoy! Hinotori, talk of your potato soup has my mouth watering!! ;) Jess, your family is gorgeous!! Looks like you had a great Christmas! We had a great Christmas as well. It was our first Christmas at home with just the 4 of us. My parents couldn't come this year (they live in Colorado) and the in-laws went to California. I wasn't sure what I would think of this new Christmas but it was nice, I do miss the family though. Our DD turned 9 on the 30th she says she "feels older" already. Lol... so do I. We got 4 new girls (2 BR and 2 WLH) about 2 weeks ago and they have settled in well with the rest of the group, I think one of them has even laid a few eggs for us. We are thinking about getting a business license, (we have been selling our eggs for awhile now) the tax write offs would be nice. Anyway, hope all are having a great holiday season!!
Nikki -- Check into getting registered as a "farm". You don't need a business license (because you have that farm thingie) You get similar tax write offs, as well as being able to purchase wholesale. I think it would be worth checking into. Good luck, Dave
Oh no! I'm so sorry. Truly. :( What did the something get into? Dig in? Chew in?
We're not exactly sure, but we're pretty sure it was a rat. There's a small hole in the coop big enough for one to fit through that we've been meaning to patch up. It tried to take the girls with them but couldn't fit them through the hole.
Oh no! I'm so sorry you had to find your girls that way :(
Yay! Our new table: I love it! We just need a bench for the other side and we'll be all set!
Well today was a long day for me and I decided to take a few pictures of the animals before I went to get the kids from school. I hope ya'll don't mind, there are just a few I would like to share........ [COLOR=0000FF]These are my three teen girls that I am waiting on eggs from. They were hatched from eggs I bought from 4HPoultry mom I think.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]This awsome guy was sitting on top of my silo (sp?) yesterday.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]All the pics of chicks are the EE's and White Leghorns that I ordered and got on 1/2/13.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]Two of those teens again.[/COLOR] Black kitty is Bently and white girl is Shelby. Both shelter kittys and the best cats I have ever had or met. Little Mr. Ratchet My baby Jazz and Ratchet. Some of the girls! Very happy pigs. I have always taught my dogs to sit for pictures from a young age. Ratchet is doing great with his training. Look at Barricade trying to get Jazz to play. That face is to great! You would never know that boy was in pain. This is the one Rooster I got from the same hatch as my teen girls. I hope ya'll enjoyed my over load of pics.
Thanks everyone for the hellos and business license advice. We haven't looked any further into it (I'm kind of glad for that). I'm so sorry to hear of all the losses and attacks!! We had a rat attack quite awhile back that sounded just like a few stories I read on here tonight. I have done a better wire skirt but they still get in under the doors and dig holes all over the coop. All our girls are bigger now so they haven't been bothered. I can't wait for summer, I have a list of improvements to make!! Jess, I love your new table and chairs! Very pretty! Itsren, do you have more babies!?! I love all the pictures! So cute, I love Danes and Mastiffs.
 
Did you aquire him from somewhere else, or raise him from a chick yourself?
If I had that many boys, I would probably make a bachelor pad for them. If they are around girls they can get more aggressive.
I am breeding Favs and mine are totally non- agressive with each other. It could get worse in the spring as longer warmer days take over.
Or it could just take a week or two for them to work it out.

He was a "pullet" chick I got last March from Wilco. What I really like about him is that he has not been at all agressive towards us or any little kids. Our Cochin - you have to watch him and my 7 y.o. granddaughter is afraid of him. The hens dislike him because he pulls them by their combs - I named him Rocky but maybe Tarzan would be better?
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I had a couple of Easter Egger eggs hatched by my broody Welsummer this fall. Rocky's chick had 5 toes and all kinds of crazy colors - black, white, red - just really cool looking.
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I gave the two to a friend of mine who wanted roosters (she has 12 pullets). I wanted to cross him with some of my poor winter laying hens to hopefully improve winter laying. I have heard Favorelles are supposed to be good winter layers.

I plan on doing some separation as I want to use my two wheaten Araucana roosters and I have a covered, securely fenced "paddock" that's 12 x 12 for that. It never gets too hot in the summer as it is in the shade of trees. They are wheaten which is a color some Araucana breeders are trying to preserve. At present I have one Araucana pullet but I have also ordered 4 Araucana started pullets (8 weeks old) for later this spring. Will breed to one of the roosters and then breed their pullets to the other rooster. I am told by Araucana breeders this should "fix" the wheaten gene in my flock.

Today they seemed pretty peaceful - actually they looked like they both had a BAD hangover.
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The young man that helped me pointed out that there were no torn combs or punctures. He said the same thing you did - it could go either way. I Guess I will sit on it and see how it plays out.
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Thank you so much for your opinion,

Vickie et al
Kelso, WA.
 
I was at Coastal today and we were talking to the assistant manager (can't remember her name) looking for more flock blocks because they were out. She was telling me that they would be getting chicks in soon. I had said I wasn't getting any this spring as I'm going to breed my own layer replacements.

She asked if I bred rabbits or knew anyone who did. She said they normally carry bunnies as well as chicks but have been having a hard time finding a source. I told her I'd mention it here.
 
Well if you want eggs to hatch, I have plenty for ya. But they would be mutts or EEs. They are Free to you or any other BYCers.
As far as her nest in the hutch, IMO I would not put a basket or any thing in there other then stuff for a nest (straw) that way the chicks can go in and out easily. Again kust my opinion.
will you ship eggs? I can't take any yet. I'm trying hard to get my incubator to hatch something without karma coming after me and my incubator. Right now i have 4 eggs in it. i'm doing extremely small amounts of eggs til i get the incubator to work properly.
 
Quote: OK Sorry I misunderstooded. So Yes I have only had the "need" to cull a couple times. I have my own method that I am OK with and IS BTW an acceptable method according to some research / educational facilities. There are methods to gas them at home. Some people here could tell you how. I would be concerned about the pellet gun. See some are plenty strong but then others would leave ya like when Larry's girlfriends horse broke its leg. Larry had to shoot the horse and now it's got a broken leg and a gun shot wound. !!!! lol IF ya wanna PM I will tell what works for me. BUT most probably couldn't do it. It's the only way I can deal with it.
 

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