Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[melissaG]

Hey Chicken Rustler! I'm in Ethel too! Just joined earlier this week.

Can I just say that Blackie is the sweetest little girl! And my husband is amazing with his gentle handling of the girls. Her comb is super glued and DH is snuggling with his shoulder buddy right now!

THANK YOU for your help!

Wow, nicely done!!!

Looks great!

 

[RustyHen]

Hey Chicken Rustler! I'm in Ethel too! Just joined earlier this week.

Hi there, that is a beautiful pup! Collie or Sheltie? We love our old 13 yr old Sheltie have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He loves our chickens when the are in the brooder, the first thing he does when coming back in the house is rush to check on them. Then he lays down, mostly at his age he just sleeps a lot, but not when we have new peeps.

 

[robj]

OH dear, that's a bit of a conundrum

I let my chickens get away with murder really >.> They need out, I give them free rein, free rein= free range= my front lawn is mowed and fertilized, quite well

but cutworms in my garden? Toast! an hour after I've run the rototiller

The chickens in the green house are chicks some 2 months old some 1 month. My grown ups are in a coop and have free rein for now of the garden. But I told

them

today that if

they eat one more leaf off my blueberry bushes it freezer camp for them ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!

 

[itsren]

Quote:
Thank you! She was such a trooper. She sat in my arms and snuggled her head against my husband's chest as he superglued her. She's such a "daddy's girl". LOL!

 

[bikerchicky]

I need some advice, too. I just let my two young pullets in with my hens to test the waters. They're getting along famously! Whew, didn't need to worry after all.

BUT.... the feed. The tykes get chick feed (crumbles) that's 18% protein. The hens get Layer (pellets) with 16% protein.
What do you feed a combined flock? If I go to non-layer pellets + shell on the side, the protein is low. If I go with all chick feed + shell on the side, the hens are going to throw the crumbles far and wide - again. Does anybody sell chick *pellets* or the equivalent? I've got about 9 more weeks of this so it's going to take a full bag of something, I guess.

Suggestions Please! (I'd rather not keep doing wet crumbles).

For what it's worth (since I'm a noob at chickens) I think giving all of them layer would be fine. Consider this...if these chicks were raised by a hen they would eat exactly what she eats, bugs, grass, and crumble. I think most chicks that eat what mom eats grow up just fine, so I wouldn't worry too much about what feed to give them. And, if you are supplementing with oatmeal or yogurt or other goodies, they will get enough good stuff.

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: The only thing I have to say about that it is actually more detrimental to the chicks to feed layer feed with higher calcium to chicks and young birds than it is to feed adult birds a feed with higher protein. Just my two cents. I would feed developer to all and put out some oyster shell for the ones laying. They will take what they need.
I feed flock raiser to all my older chicks and adult birds with oyster shell free choice.

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: The only thing I have to say about that it is actually more detrimental to the chicks to feed layer feed with higher calcium to chicks and young birds than it is to feed adult birds a feed with higher protein. Just my two cents. I would feed developer to all and put out some oyster shell for the ones laying. They will take what they need.
I feed flock raiser to all my older chicks and adult birds with oyster shell free choice.
Oh, sorry, I see you were asking about type of feed. Do you have feeders with those little dividers in them so it is much more difficult for the hens to throw feed out? I got those and it was much better!

 

[robj]

Hi guys !
Been busy & still feeling yucky but I get to go to the doc tomorrow afternoon.....hooray (NOT)

Grandma's bearded iris bloomed, gorgeous purple & yellow...and then the rain & wind knocked them over.......

I will have to stake the blooms, or find a drier place to plant them.

Got all my darrow Blueberries dug up & moved...some were barely in the dirt due to chicken rotovating.........I think all 10 will survive (I hope)

Anyone here ever hear of deer or possums/raccons eating winter squash vines or fruit ????????
Vines are very stickery...I ask cuz I am planning on planted the Sweet Meats & Long Island Cheese winter squash out behind the house instead of in the garden.............they take up so much room.

OK I guess back to work................

I haven't grown the winter squash. Butt I had a Friend who knew everything about gardening tell me that deer won't bother squash and convinced me to plant mt zucchini, pumpkins and water melon and cucumbers (I know) outside the garden fence. They came around at first to eat the flowers once I actually have some fruit develop they would take a bite then spit it out and leave the fruit to die.

Hi Matt,
BYC has areas for discussing breeding and showing and those threads are much as you've described. The Washington thread is a Social area, a place where people of all interests hang out and chat. I think, this one time, you just chose the wrong place to express a strong opinion in a harsh tone. Based on your earlier posts in this thread it seems your a fairly serious chicken breeder and I think we will all agree that we appreciate your constructive contributions and sociable conversation. And like someone else said, we are first... backyard chicken folks. Remember, too, that at least two of the people on this thread are president of a breed's club. We're just a big family here in Washington and just like chickens, we each get pecked once in a while. None of us are perfect. You shoulda heard what one gal said when she was new and got mad at us all!!!! Oh that naughty girl.

So now that you've been thru the gauntlet, I hope you'll stay and be part of our imperfect FAMILY!

Hang in there Matt! Open mouth insert foot

! We all have our opinions and we all are not going to agree all the time. Agree to disagree Matt has put out quite a bit of helpful advise and always seems willing to help no questions asked. I personally am moving on and chalk it up to "it is what it is" Hang in there Matt!!

Can't get multi quote to work, so I just wanted to say Thank you to all who were so helpful on my blue egg quest!

Hope you find what you're looking for

I need some clean legged, brown egged, breed ideas.

I'm down to 8 brown/pink layers and have a customer who doesn't like blue eggs, but the others really like it when I mix egg colors. One of the rocks died from heart issues last week. I have a brahma that hasn't laid me a usable egg in months. It's one of three birds since the forth girl lays a smaller egg. So we may be cullling one here shortly. I need a few replacements.

Orpingtons if you want light brown and Marans if you want a darker brown. The Marans eggs are like a red brick color and pretty big for the size of the hens.

 

[ChickAudie]

Quote:
Oh!!! She was just the worst!!!

ouchies hope she will be ok!! and hello all. New to the thread. I am in Yelm

Hi Elisha! Welcome! I have some friends out your way!

Quote:
Regular flour works in a pinch as well. The starch clots it. I've used that on wounds when I had nothing else.

I know your Blackie is doing better, I am just curious, what about the egg membranes? I thought the inner layer on the egg shell was a good blood stopper? Would it not work so well for chickens because they don't have skin like us?

Brought home two of Farmin Momma's chicken fam today

But they are bigger. Bigger wings! Bigger Poop! And I admit. They scared the jeepers outta me with the flapping and the killer chicken stare!!! And, Bunny, she bit me. (The kids called her Funny Bunny, LOL!)

Then there was this egg-whitish stuff that came from one of them and I am so nervous because I don't know if I am over reacting (which I totally did earlier today when I got home and my poor baby slammed his finger in the door [hinge side! door closed!!]. My Mama would have told me to shake it off, but no. I had my heart in my throat and off we went to the ER!) or if there is a serious concern. I think I might have not been ready for an adoption, but she's so pretty and fluffy and the kiddos love her white feathers!

Her and Opal, met by accident when she made a dramatic and daring escape from Quarantine Island. Funny Bunny greated Opal with a promt peck in the noggin. She's also harder to catch!

HaPpY bIrFdAy KmHuNtEr!!!!!!!!

Jess - ouch!!!! Feel better soon and cool storage

 

[melissaG]

The chickens in the green house are chicks some 2 months old some 1 month. My grown ups are in a coop and have free rein for now of the garden. But I told

them

today that if

they eat one more leaf off my blueberry bushes it freezer camp for them ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!