Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Tacampbell1973]

On kitties, the lower opening is oval in a female and round in a male.

Hi! I will be the fiirst to admit that I am a horrible gender judge. I thought i had one, maybe two cockerels and at least two pullets,yet one morning I went out to feed and realized literally overnight three of them turned in to future roosters. Now I have a problem. I am unable to get rid of any of them, it would be like giving away my children, so am hoping to build a couple more pens so Ican accomodate them all as adults. Wish me luck

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

That would work. Such a shame to give it to the dogs. We give ours the bits we don't eat (Heads, feet, carcasses). Maybe your dogs would eat them without skinning. I know our dog eats rabbits complete with fur (babies that die for unexplained reasons).

My Zeus is 5 months old if it fits in his mouth he'll eat it. I'd say if i had a penny for every time i cleaned up his poop but sadly I would if i was willing to pick it out of his poop.
My other dog is picky if it has feathers he wont eat it, if pork has skin on it he wont eat it....
For me not a shame. I mean It's another meat source for my dogs, I can always breed them again..

 

[sweetmsmisty98]

I am sure this is in the wrong thread but I have 2 khaki ducks that need a good home with plenty of swimming water. . I'm in kitsap co. If anyone is interested. Free

 

[Tailfeathers]

Hello my fellow Washingtonians,

I have a question and wanted all your opinions on it

What are your thoughts on the long term health of hatchery vs. breeder hens? Specifically, LF brown egg layers breeds - not hybrids?

If all things are equal in how they are raised ( quality food, fresh water, clean conditions, adequate ventilation, etc) have you found that hens from reputable breeders have proven to have better reproductive health ( less prone to EYP, internal laying etc) then hatchery birds?

I am not looking for maximum egg count but as much as my older GSLs have suffered with reproductive issues I really don't want any other birds to go through that. So far my BR & EE (also hatchery) seem to be holding up better. I don't need SOP/SQ birds but would certainly be willing to pay more for chicks and/or pullets if there was a better chance for long term health.

Thanks and for those Westerners like myself - enjoy the sunshine

You ask a good question and I quickly scanned the one page to see what kind of answers you got. I'm pages behind on several posts so I don't have the time to give a indepth reply that your question deserves.

So let me see if I can help somewhat with this short reply. With a hatchery, you really have NO idea what you're getting. It all depends on what those who bred the birds were doing before they contracted to sell eggs to a hatchery. Remember, a hatcheries goal is to sell as many chicks as they can in a fairly short period of time in order to make the money they need for the entire year. A hatchery is a business. Businesses exist to make money. Otherwise they would be a charity.

But the word "breeder" is much to general and generic too. As a well known judge on here has said - not everyone who calls themselves a breeder is truly a breeder. Some are just propagators of the breed.

Now to one quick real life example. Many years ago when I started out with Barnevelders, I was constantly having to treat sick birds and sudden deaths for some unknown reason. Many others were dealing with the same. To the point where I know that some gave up on the breed altogether. Finally, in an act of almost desperation, I culled down to one male and two females that never got so much as a sneeze, sniffle, or sign of sickness whatsoever. From there I stopped medicating and if a bird got sick it either got better or died. After about 3 years, I rarely saw a sick Barnie. Now, I know it's been years since I've seen a sick Barnie.

Point being, if the "breeder" isn't incorporating vitality and vigor into their breeding program, you'll probably not wind up with real healthy birds from them either.

Hope that helps somewhat. Now I gotta see if I can get caught up on this thread before heading to bed.

God Bless,

 

[chickiemomy]

Quote:
love my buckeyes -heritage, dual purpose large fowl - very easy going, docile, amenable to about anything -hardy to cold temps. Not as noisy as my Black Australorps - which I also really like - they are the predator alarms for my little flock, so may not be as good noise-wise. Buckeyes will forage well, but are content in the run/coop too. There are a few new breeders in Western WA - should become more available in short time. Mine came from feedstore - my next buckeyes will come from a breeder.

 

[motherochickens]

Very excited, we got our very first egg layed earlier this week from our Cuckoo Maran!!! She lays at about 1pm every day in the same spot on the floor. Can't wait for the rest of the girls to start laying... we've got lots of people in the house fighting to eat the one egg each morning

 

[CoopDeDoo]

love my buckeyes -heritage, dual purpose large fowl - very easy going, docile, amenable to about anything -hardy to cold temps. Not as noisy as my Black Australorps - which I also really like - they are the predator alarms for my little flock, so may not be as good noise-wise. Buckeyes will forage well, but are content in the run/coop too. There are a few new breeders in Western WA - should become more available in short time. Mine came from feedstore - my next buckeyes will come from a breeder.

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I have two Buckeye pullets that I just adore. Glad to hear there are breeders in this neck of the woods. My "dream" flock would be a mix of LF breeds and I think there will always be a Buckeye or two in there

 

[CoopDeDoo]

Very excited, we got our very first egg layed earlier this week from our Cuckoo Maran!!! She lays at about 1pm every day in the same spot on the floor. Can't wait for the rest of the girls to start laying... we've got lots of people in the house fighting to eat the one egg each morning

What a great looking first egg!

 

[CarolynF]

We don't wring necks, we put them in kill cones and then a cut on each side of the neck with a VERY sharp knife - they bleed out very fast. You'd be amazed at how tough their necks are - don't try to wring necks, you'll and up with scratches and no dead ducks.

As far as the white ones - we did darks for a while, but they never pick as clan as the whites, so I'm doing whites, buff and greys now for a cleaner carcass.

I know what you mean about finding them. I think it depends on the time of the year. We get a LOT of calls for ducks in the fall - mostly the Asian community.

Hey, I know about chicken (and duck) math. That''s why we ended up with so many last year

Good to know!

Breadmaking again.... I added 1/2 Cup of spent grain from DH's batch of beer, can't wait to taste the results!

Faverolles are another large docile breed that are dual purpose. PM Cloverleaf Farm for availability. She is pres of Faverolles Fanciers Club.

Hey Travis... Haven't seen Cloverleaf around for a while, she must be catching up on much needed sleep! ;-)
My SFH is checking out the nest box and getting pretty red in the face. Do you recall their avg. age at POL?

I am sure this is in the wrong thread but I have 2 khaki ducks that need a good home with plenty of swimming water. . I'm in kitsap co. If anyone is interested. Free

Hi Misty, this thread is just fine! We definitely have some duck folks here!
Drove thru Gorst yesterday and thought of you. Did you see me wave?

 

[CarolynF]

Very excited, we got our very first egg layed earlier this week from our Cuckoo Maran!!! She lays at about 1pm every day in the same spot on the floor. Can't wait for the rest of the girls to start laying... we've got lots of people in the house fighting to eat the one egg each morning

Yippee!!! Congratulations!!! Being a Marans her eggs must be getting darker now, right? Love those Marans eggs!