Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Kaneke]

LOL -- do any chickens really know their names? mine always came running to "chick chick chick", only the rooster would come to "roo roo roo", and they all knew what "to the coop! to the coop! " meant ....

too many predators of various sorts here to let them free-range unsupervised; I suspect it was finally a coyote that attacked them in the run, since there were several holes dug under neighbor's fence ... and Phoebe apparently ran afoul (whoops, sorry!) of either a redtail hawk or a golden eagle ... we have both baldies and goldens around here but the bald eagles pretty much stick to fish in the river and frogs in the marsh; no evidence of owls around here, we do have bobcats but mostly they prefer to stay in the safety of bramble thickets, not run across open grass, since our coop and run are close to the house, with only an oak tree and scraggly Indian-plum bushes around its base, nearby .. and we have Roxy, the territorial German shorthaired pointer patrolling the yard, as well as Krispy, the half-Siamese tomcat ...

 

[Chickielady]

So I want to place a order for some English Orpington chicks but can't afford to get 8 of them. The person also has Ameracuanas and Marans. If your interested PM me please and I will tell you more and who they are.

Have you talked to Salina ?????????????????????
Red Reiner ?

Her English Orps are to die for, and she is in Monroe~

 

[Chickielady]

LOL -- do any chickens really know their names? mine always came running to "chick chick chick", only the rooster would come to "roo roo roo", and they all knew what "to the coop! to the coop! " meant ....

too many predators of various sorts here to let them free-range unsupervised; I suspect it was finally a coyote that attacked them in the run, since there were several holes dug under neighbor's fence ... and Phoebe apparently ran afoul (whoops, sorry!) of either a redtail hawk or a golden eagle ... we have both baldies and goldens around here but the bald eagles pretty much stick to fish in the river and frogs in the marsh; no evidence of owls around here, we do have bobcats but mostly they prefer to stay in the safety of bramble thickets, not run across open grass, since our coop and run are close to the house, with only an oak tree and scraggly Indian-plum bushes around its base, nearby .. and we have Roxy, the territorial German shorthaired pointer patrolling the yard, as well as Krispy, the half-Siamese tomcat ...

HELLO KANEKE !!!
finally you are back, or are you still on the island ?

 

[Kaneke]

HELLO KANEKE !!!
finally you are back, or are you still on the island ?

yeppers, we are BAAAAAAAACK ... until sometime late fall/early winter, health permitting

need my chicken fix .. now that I am feeling better ... all "my" Maui chickens apparently were raided by feral dogs ... tenant replaced them with what she was TOLD were Silkies, but which look remarkably like Orpington crosses ... the only survivor of last year's crew was the white Leghorn, a former battery hen, who no longer lays but still keeps the centipede population in check

 

[Chickielady]

Mites and lice are a problem in every climate. For management I use cedar shavings (if you have enough ventilation the fumes don't bother the birds, if you don't have enough ventilation...fix it!) with about a cup of food grade diatomaceous earth in it (my pens are either 4x8 or 6x8, adjust for size of your pens), since mites love to find cracks in wood to live in I use PVC perches, and as little wood as I can in the coop in general, for clean legged birds I have been known to use sand in their pens for bedding, which seems to help some as well. Usually I just hit the birds with a dose of Eprinex (bonus, gets worms too) and that takes care of it. If they persist I will treat topically with either Diatomaceous Earth or other poultry dust.

There is a "new" kind of mite here in our state, a much much smaller mite than our infamous friendly neighborhood Northern Fowl Mite.
These new mites are tiny, microscopic, and BITE, and can even bite humans, and test out tasting on dogs, cats and whatever other warm blooded critters they can find.
They are extrememly hard to kill !!!!
I suspect they are migrants from the south, and in other countries are referred to asSong Bird Mites, but what they call our northern fowl mite, is "Chicken Mite".
Song bird mites can hibernate in the nest for months, waiting for the inhabitants to return.
Song bird mites are much much smaller than Northern Fowl Mites...and they can run fast.
They also have an uncanny ability to run UP walls & hang out on the ceiling...sensing, as TICKS do, an aproaching warm blooded creature.
Then they will drop in your hair.
You know then, that you have the Song Bird mite, not the Northern Fowl Mite.
And yes, they will bite you if they have a fancy to.
Bites appear around your neck, and in body creases, but they do not burrow into the skin as the scabies mites do.
These buggers are all brand new to the state, and as far as I know, all new to the U.S.A.
I have never seen these in all my 40 years of chicken keeping !!!
Eprinex does nothing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

yeppers, we are BAAAAAAAACK ... until sometime late fall/early winter, health permitting

need my chicken fix .. now that I am feeling better ... all "my" Maui chickens apparently were raided by feral dogs ... tenant replaced them with what she was TOLD were Silkies, but which look remarkably like Orpington crosses ... the only survivor of last year's crew was the white Leghorn, a former battery hen, who no longer lays but still keeps the centipede population in check

So good to have you back,, but I bet you are hating this cold weather !!!

 

[Chickielady]

We got some kind of flu at the show, and felt SLOW the next day, Sunday.
By Monday we were having sinus headaches to blind you, PAIN in the eyes, face, down the neck....NO ENERGY and sore throat.
I was panning a trip to see TC but know I better stay away from anyone while I have this, and in fact, am just now back on line.

My hatches and chicks have been my only worry and I have been able to handle that, but barely.
WOW
That is a nasty FLU !!!
I still have a cough that is DEEP
very deep and productive if I hack enough that I feel my arteries in my brain may just explode...........................
Sometimes I have to stop coughing, waite til my blood stops pounding...and then resume.

I had a rough first couple of nights where I had to stay up all night cuz I could not breathe laying down.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Isn't it awesome spending the day loving on & smooching your grandkids !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're gonna kill me ! But I love them so !!!

 

[Totalcolour]

@Chickielady - sorry you aren't feeling well. Stay warm and drink lots of good stuff!

Got two new babies today - a Spangled Russian Orloff, and a BC Marans.

 

[Slinglings]

We got some kind of flu at the show, and felt SLOW the next day, Sunday.
By Monday we were having sinus headaches to blind you, PAIN in the eyes, face, down the neck....NO ENERGY and sore throat.
I was panning a trip to see TC but know I better stay away from anyone while I have this, and in fact, am just now back on line.

My hatches and chicks have been my only worry and I have been able to handle that, but barely.
WOW
That is a nasty FLU !!!
I still have a cough that is DEEP
very deep and productive if I hack enough that I feel my arteries in my brain may just explode...........................
Sometimes I have to stop coughing, waite til my blood stops pounding...and then resume.

I had a rough first couple of nights where I had to stay up all night cuz I could not breathe laying down.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Isn't it awesome spending the day loving on & smooching your grandkids !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They're gonna kill me ! But I love them so !!!

Sounds like what I have..it started right after the show...

 

[marchick]

marchick...... morning...... read about Sally Sunshine's home made incubator.... good temps... good humidity.... and you can probably use parts from your old incubator.... Good luck.....
Dave

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704328/diary-notes-air-cell-detatched-shipped-eggs/24680

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...bator-how-we-did-it-and-test-run-ready-set-go

That was so cool but I don't think I'm talented enough to make one by myself and My husband gave our old incubator away.I just sent for a Hovabator 1588 with egg turner can't wait for it to come.I won't be able to hatch eggs this year.I hope to buy some eggs from pinks black copper marans next year.Not that I need show quality but want real dark eggs to add to my basket! thank you for all the info!