Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Imp]

Do the eagles prefer the chicks or will they take off with a full grown as well? There's one that likes to bring his fish to eat in a tree in my backyard. I worry about my chihuahuas too.

Full grown eagles will certainly take an adult chicken given the opportunity. It seems somewhat rare. I've heard more about eagles taking ducks over the years. And hawks appear to cause more problems. Probably because there are more of them. Maybe the best defense is lots of cover/trees/brush for your birds to hide under; and keeping them locked up at night to protect them from owls.
And yes eagles will take small dogs and cats too, but thankfully that seems rather rare as well.

Imp

ETA-funny, I couldn't see the other 2 responses till I submitted mine. At least we are all giving consistent info.

 

[SeattleLeah]

Hi everyone! Im in Seattle and would love to hatch some chicks this spring but cannot bring myself to fire up the brooder. I love hatching in my incubator, but brooding is such a pain! Does anyone have a determined broody they would like to sell/trade/lend? thanks!

 

[HannahinOly]

I hope so! I've eaten a few and they looked fertile but having never hatched any from those hens and their fella I don't know. Sending good hatching vibes your way.

Well, they were good! One has hatched already and i see another has pipped

 

[CoopDeDoo]

Well, they were good! One has hatched already and i see another has pipped

Yay!

 

[Melnurse]

You're right about finding lots of good ideas here on BYC, I did a lot of reading too, and learned a lot. Funny that you should mention the locks, when we first built our coop it was recommended to put 2 different locks on each door for that very reason, one high and one low. On one of the doors it didn't make sense so I used a small combination lock - no key needed. People always ask if I'm afraid someone is going to steal my chickens!

I have electrical to my coop for lights but I don't heat. Heat can actually be a problem -- first the fire danger, second they will be heartier if you don't heat the coop at night. In E. Washington it's different due to much colder temps. When we look around the yard at all the wild birds, they're perfectly happy and healthy even on the coldest days, even the hummingbirds. (Yes we have hummingbirds all winter.) Mother nature has given them a terrific down coat and it's works really well. But you might want to make their perch from a 2x4 so they can sit on the 4" side and cover their toes at night.

More great suggestions, thank you!

 

[Lutefisk]

Well, they were good! One has hatched already and i see another has pipped

Woohoo! Those are the first from our eggs, ever. Aree you going to post pics???

e

 

[RebelChief]

Thanks all. When I lived there before I was down at Penn Cove walking my puppy and an eagle was stalking us. I was so scared he was going to try to swoop in and take him away !

 

[Melnurse]

Another hint for Coons...they hate electric fence! At least, at my house they do...

I had problems with coons up until I added two strands of electric wire, one down low, and one up a little higher. I heard a coon spitting and screaming the first night after I installed it...haven't had a bit of trouble with them since. I took the wire down to add to the fencing and need to get it back up before the little buggers come around again. If you do put electric in your coop you could add a small electric fencer and keep the coons from even trying to get your birds!

DD

I am sending a copy of this to my husband - the electrical guy. LOL

 

[HannahinOly]

Woohoo! Those are the first from our eggs, ever. Aree you going to post pics???

another has hatched and the last pipped. All 4 were for sure fertile which was a surprise. I counted eggs and there were only 3 this morning. My other broody hen took an egg this morning, so naughty

 

[Zgoatlady]

I'm a "wanna-be"!!! I'm fairly new to chicks....just moved to Washington and waiting for my new chickies as the end of the month And searching for sewing machine and patterns to learn quilting!!! I've got the same interests.....just not the talents yet lol!!!

Oh I'm new to quilting too. You can find tons and I mean tons of patterns on the internet free. I'm taking a class from craftsy on paper piecing and love the teacher and the class. Oh in June there is a shop hop for quilters.