Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Rainier]

Both of you need to pay attention to
DIG

Predators will DIG under a fence lickity split !!!!!!!!!

We found a treasure trove of building supplies in a section of the yard that is overgrown with bushes. In it was a roll of chain link fence. I know this will do nothing to stop on the outside but would it work if we laid it down underneath the the chicken run and then covered it in dirt/bedding? My guess would be that if they can get through up on the top then being under the ground would not make a difference but thought I'd throw that out there for thoughts.

 

[Rainier]

HOW IS THE BABIES ???????????????????????

No babies yet but I would love to have them now. I work with someone who has a small farm and he has chicks that we can get from him. We will not be getting any until this weekend. He tortures me by calling his SO and having her hold her phone next to the chicks so I can hear them chirping!!! He has several different ages and has more that are due to arrive any time now.

 

[CoopDeDoo]

CL - we have 10 of your eggs as of day 14 candle Lockdown is this Thursday so we'll know for sure in a week!

Rainier - Western WA is a big area and if you are in the foothills or on the Peninsula you can probably add bears to your list of potential predators. I haven't heard of a lot of issues with them, but they are definitely around. Where I am, dogs, eagles and raccoons are the biggest problems. We use 6 foot tall welded wire - buried down about 8 inches as a perimeter around both runs and attached to 8 foot 4x4s ( also buried). We also lock them up well every night and the vents have a double layer of welded wire. To separate the runs internally, we usually use the plastic garden fencing. We started out trying to save money and used chicken wire with plastic fencing attached to it - took less than a week for our dog and our neighbors dog to get through it Since you are renting, try to think like a predator and you may be able to adapt what you already have on-hand - if you buy a place - go for the best material you can afford if you plan to keep poultry long term.

 

[CoopDeDoo]

Ok fellow Washingtonians - I should have chicks next week. I for sure will have extra BBS Jersey Giants ( from CL) and Faverolles (from Elizm). I may have extra Splash AMs ( project Silkie feathered - you can find the thread on this project in the Breed section) and I have 3 Silver Penciled PR eggs left.

All cockerels must go and I will be willing to let them go in pairs/trios if any of you are interested in starting your own projects of know of any 4H kiddos that are -Send me a PM.

I am on the very north end of Whidbey so I could meet in Skagit, South Whatcom or North Snohomish counties. The Fav and SPR should be able to be sexed as soon as they start to feather - the others will take a few weeks.

I do have someone that will take all the cockerels for processing but I it would be awesome if someone on here wanted them so I could at least have a chance to see how they grow out

I will know a lot more next week, however, I only plan on keeping 4-6 pullets so there should be plenty of extras to share

Lori

 

[poularde]

Just stopping in. I have two Faverolles roosters looking for a home now. Breeder quality. Nice boys just turning one year. If interested please PM me.

 

[Naloboy]

Our chickens are doing great ! It's been a week and they have settled in nicely and are laying between 3 - 6 eggs a day.

And then my wife and daughter came home with a baby goat last night. He was born the night before. So yah. Bottle feeding and potty training.

 

[Zgoatlady]

I've been sick with the crud so a fast post, just put on 4 dos eggs for fertility test HOPE they are good.

 

[Chickielady]

There are typos all over my posts because I use my phone as a computer and sometimes hit the shift instead of the function button or I accidently get a double space that foces a capital letter mid-sentence. I can't seem to go back and edit with my phone but hopefully the errors are not too distracting to the message. At least auto-correct does not change Bantam Silkies to Banana Willies like it does when I text or write e-mail messages! My husband likes to share this picture when he gets humorous auto-corrections.

 

[Chickielady]

No one asked me where I lived, at least that I saw. I stated that I am in Western WA which I get is a big area but it is about as precis as I am going to get. I have been vague about where exactly I am due to my oldest child's birth family being completely nuts! Am I being paranoid about their ability to find us, probably but I'm not willing to risk my family's mental and emotional well-being on the off chance they find what I post. The birth family knows our family well enough to know where to direct searches on the net for us.

I asked cuz it would help us get eggs/chicks to you if we had a better idea where you are..BUT, what you describe is very scarey !!!
So it sounds better you remains 'hidden'

 

[Chickielady]

CL - we have 10 of your eggs as of day 14 candle

Lockdown is this Thursday so we'll know for sure in a week!

Rainier - Western WA is a big area and if you are in the foothills or on the Peninsula you can probably add bears to your list of potential predators. I haven't heard of a lot of issues with them, but they are definitely around. Where I am, dogs, eagles and raccoons are the biggest problems. We use 6 foot tall welded wire - buried down about 8 inches as a perimeter around both runs and attached to 8 foot 4x4s ( also buried). We also lock them up well every night and the vents have a double layer of welded wire. To separate the runs internally, we usually use the plastic garden fencing. We started out trying to save money and used chicken wire with plastic fencing attached to it - took less than a week for our dog and our neighbors dog to get through it

Since you are renting, try to think like a predator and you may be able to adapt what you already have on-hand - if you buy a place - go for the best material you can afford if you plan to keep poultry long term.

Our worst predator here in SW washington is MINK !!!
The vampire blood thirsty glee killers can squeeze through virtually any fence wire except hardware cloth.
They love to kill, for shear fun, and then drink the blood from the bird's dripping neck, and go off to kill another.