Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chicksahoyfarm]

Need all your opinions please. I have a silkie that has gone broody for the first time. My question is should I let her sit on eggs as I'm near spokane and we haven't reached the coldest point of the year yet? I know people do it on the other side of the state but don't know on this side as we get a lot more snow here. Thanks in advance.

 

[ShockValue]

Need all your opinions please. I have a silkie that has gone broody for the first time. My question is should I let her sit on eggs as I'm near spokane and we haven't reached the coldest point of the year yet? I know people do it on the other side of the state but don't know on this side as we get a lot more snow here. Thanks in advance.

I'm interested in this too. I'm on the other side of the state now, but I do recall some Spokane winters being cold enough to make my nose hurt to breathe

 

[ImpsMama]

thats great do you know when your wyandotte started laying for you by chance?

She hatched mid March 2013 (I think March 11??), and she started laying mid September. She was 2nd of the five--the barred rock was early September, the other three were end of September. I purchased them as 6 week pullets, but they all hatched within a week of each other.

 

[Hinotori]

I don't let mine hatch at this time of year and I'm on the west side. Weather is to unpredictable and we don't have a barn.

Now during that cold snap we just had, the two week old chicks did just fine in a dog house and under the broodies. The little buggers would be running around in 20 degree temps. It hit 16 at night but there were lots of adult silkie bodies in the house to keep it warm in there. I let the mamas raise the chicks with the flock.

 

[ochochicas]

Quote: My hatchery birds are great. Morally I have a problem with the boys going through the grinder. I never thought before about what happens to the baby cockerels. I think non-hatchery birds are better taken care of. There are pros and cons to both I suppose. A lot of breeders have a limited number of birds, which results in line breeding and inbreeding, which in my opinion is not a good thing. I love all my birds regardless of where they came from.

Quote: I'm on the west side of the mountains and just put 8 eggs under my broody last weekend. I considered not doing it, but my rooster is very ill and I'm not sure he'll pull through. I wanted to hatch out a few more babies from him in the event we have to cull him. It looks like he was attacked by a predator and has bite marks on his neck. He's finally eating on his own, but has lost so much weight I'm not sure what his prognosis is at this point.

My broody is a large Black Copper Marans. She has hatched eggs before and is an excellent momma. We also have a barn and an enclosed coop, so the chickens can be protected regardless of the weather. They just survived three days of 50+ mile an hour winds, freezing temps and no power with out a single problem. I'm sure the broody will take care of the chicks regardless of the season. If she was a first time broody I'd probably not do it, or just give 3 or 4 eggs so it isn't as much work for her.

 

[CarolynF]

If I remember correctly, I believe our members from the east side have all been in agreement about not hatching in the winter especially for chickens that are not cold hardy. And I belive silkies are not cold hardy. Two good resources in your area are members named Pips n Peeps and FlyingMonkeyPoop.

 

[CarolynF]

WOW !!!  I'm beginning to think you should have kept your dislike for RIR's to yourself...    

Amberjem, put on your battle gear, folks will try and stone you for forming an opinion contrary to theirs...... 

Jeezzzzz folks....  put a cork in it.....    It's none of your business "WHY" Amberjem dislikes RIR's.....

My heavens I was simply curious as I started raising reds back in the 70's. The reason I like them so much is because they are so friendly and I really wanted to know why someone would have such dislike for them. I had no intention of offending anyone, no need for battle gear or for telling anyone to put a cork in it. The lack of civility in Internet forums is one major reason I rarely comment on them. If I offended anyone I apologize.

Seemed like a friendly question to me, too. I appreciate having you take part in our conversations.

 

[CharterChick]

My hatchery birds are great. Morally I have a problem with the boys going through the grinder. I never thought before about what happens to the baby cockerels. I think non-hatchery birds are better taken care of. There are pros and cons to both I suppose. A lot of breeders have a limited number of birds, which results in line breeding and inbreeding, which in my opinion is not a good thing. I love all my birds regardless of where they came from.




I'm on the west side of the mountains and just put 8 eggs under my broody last weekend. I considered not doing it, but my rooster is very ill and I'm not sure he'll pull through. I wanted to hatch out a few more babies from him in the event we have to cull him. It looks like he was attacked by a predator and has bite marks on his neck. He's finally eating on his own, but has lost so much weight I'm not sure what his prognosis is at this point.

My broody is a large Black Copper Marans. She has hatched eggs before and is an excellent momma. We also have a barn and an enclosed coop, so the chickens can be protected regardless of the weather. They just survived three days of 50+ mile an hour winds, freezing temps and no power with out a single problem. I'm sure the broody will take care of the chicks regardless of the season. If she was a first time broody I'd probably not do it, or just give 3 or 4 eggs so it isn't as much work for her.

If your Roo doesn't make it (

I hope he does!) then you can have your pick of any of the Roos that hatched from your eggs here! I'm sure I have more than a few!

I'm great at hatching roosters!!!

 

[ochochicas]

If your Roo doesn't make it (

I hope he does!) then you can have your pick of any of the Roos that hatched from your eggs here! I'm sure I have more than a few!

I'm great at hatching roosters!!!

Thanks for the offer! How are your chicks doing? I actually have 8 EE chicks from my roo and my Ameraucana hen that are 3 weeks old. I'm planning to keep one of the cockerels from that bunch to replace my Roo if he doesn't make it. He ate a whole scrambled egg today, plus two bowls of corn, some peas, cucumber and a tiny bite of ham. I'm starting to think he might make it!

I think all my olive eggers are cockerels. Crazy bad luck on that end. I'll have to try hatching some from a different hen next time.

 

[CharterChick]

Thanks for the offer! How are your chicks doing? I actually have 8 EE chicks from my roo and my Ameraucana hen that are 3 weeks old. I'm planning to keep one of the cockerels from that bunch to replace my Roo if he doesn't make it. He ate a whole scrambled egg today, plus two bowls of corn, some peas, cucumber and a tiny bite of ham. I'm starting to think he might make it!

I think all my olive eggers are cockerels. Crazy bad luck on that end. I'll have to try hatching some from a different hen next time.

Sounds like he's doing better! The chicks are doing great! Had to put up a fence around the pool and DD and I made them a roosting bar. They are too funny hopping up on it. They knock each other off! It's only a foot long. I wasn't expecting them to want to use it so soon! We are making a longer one for them tomorrow. We open the tree farm tomorrow. I have lots of wreaths made up and some cookies, candy canes, coffee, and coco for people. I'm excited! I love making the wreaths. I'll post pictures of chicks and wreaths tomorrow!