Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Chickielady]

No, no, no. Sorry, you misunderstood. I will be using them as the material, so that I do not need to find 8 different fabric scraps I like. We don't even have a fabric store really. But they will be sewn into proper chicken attire. Hence why I need measurements! I sew court gowns for Renaissance Faires... pretty sure I can do chicken wear. Lol

As a matter of fact, this is why I really need measurements. I want to do the type with the v-cut type over-the-tail hem at the bottom edge. Hammies have prominent and pretty little tails, I don't want the aprons to interfere with them!

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If sewing your own, pick a THICK TOUGH fabric, one that can stand up to LIFE, a good one I have used is old LEVIS.

 

[Chickielady]

There is 30 feet or so between the beds and berries. I will train them.

 

[Chickielady]

Exhausted...................cleaning & have a few hatches right now...I will log on again probably in a day or 2, I have visitors tomorrow !!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

What did the grape say when he got squeezed? Nothing, he just let out a little wine!

 

[cooliechick]

One year my mother threw out some acorn squash seeds in her manure pile. She had quite the acorn patch with lots of squash. I wonder if this would work for these squash?

I have Penedesenca, Cream Legbar, and OEer eggs to hatch on Wednesday and I have to be at Harborview Hospital Wednesday afternoon. I set them in the evening so hopefully, they will hold off until I can get back home.

Hoping to take the grandkids to see Grampa today at Harborview. He would enjoy that, and they would enjoy the ferry ride and the experience of seeing the city.

 

[CarolynF]

One year my mother threw out some acorn squash seeds in her manure pile. She had quite the acorn patch with lots of squash. I wonder if this would work for these squash?

I have Penedesenca, Cream Legbar, and OEer eggs to hatch on Wednesday and I have to be at Harborview Hospital Wednesday afternoon. I set them in the evening so hopefully, they will hold off until I can get back home.

Hoping to take the grandkids to see Grampa today at Harborview. He would enjoy that, and they would enjoy the ferry ride and the experience of seeing the city.

A gorgeous day for a ferry ride. I hope the seagulls give a good display for the kids.

 

[JennysHens]

Yet another question for you locals - what do you use for substrate in your runs? I'm building an 8' x 4' run off my coop for the 3 girls and want to make sure they stay clean and dry. I'm figuring I'll just let them enjoy the grass while it lasts and see just how much they destroy it. My yard has decent drainage, but it's soft clay and stays soggy during the rainy months. I just don't want anything that will get moldy or nasty and cause more harm than good for both the yard and the hens. The other thing I have to take into consideration is this is all semi-permanent, we are moving in 4-6 years and will have to take the coop and all the chicken stuff out when we sell and re-sod that area. For some reason, our realtor thinks people won't find a pre-built chicken coop and run won't be seen as an attractive option for potential buyers!

Thanks for all your patience and advice everyone! I'm loving reading everyone's stories, especially gardening wise! I started experimenting with gardening in AZ before we moved here (aka watched everything die!), so it's great to see what I can actually GROW now!

 

[elizmartin]

Arizona……..Tunnels and soakers in the ground…..drought resistant editable and the heat for many fruits like lemons and oranges and pecans and…...

I would try doing a low frame ( 2-3 inches) around the bottom of your coop and fill it with course sand….if diligent you can rake most of the poo and moisture should drain away.

 

[JennysHens]

Arizona……..Tunnels and soakers in the ground…..drought resistant editable and the heat for many fruits like lemons and oranges and pecans and…...

I would try doing a low frame ( 2-3 inches) around the bottom of your coop and fill it with course sand….if diligent you can rake most of the poo and moisture should drain away.

Biggest hitch I had in AZ is we were renting a house with lawn maintenance included and they hard-scaped the back yard so I was stuck with pots under the covered porch. I got green peppers and Rosemary to grow but didn't have much luck with the other things I tried.

As for the sand, do you mean for in the coop or the run? The coop is off the ground so I'm not as worried about moisture as the run itself.

 

[Carolei]

Yet another question for you locals - what do you use for substrate in your runs? I'm building an 8' x 4' run off my coop for the 3 girls and want to make sure they stay clean and dry. I'm figuring I'll just let them enjoy the grass while it lasts and see just how much they destroy it. My yard has decent drainage, but it's soft clay and stays soggy during the rainy months. I just don't want anything that will get moldy or nasty and cause more harm than good for both the yard and the hens. The other thing I have to take into consideration is this is all semi-permanent, we are moving in 4-6 years and will have to take the coop and all the chicken stuff out when we sell and re-sod that area. For some reason, our realtor thinks people won't find a pre-built chicken coop and run won't be seen as an attractive option for potential buyers!

Thanks for all your patience and advice everyone! I'm loving reading everyone's stories, especially gardening wise! I started experimenting with gardening in AZ before we moved here (aka watched everything die!), so it's great to see what I can actually GROW now!

I built a 5 x 10 covered run off my coop for my five girls when they first moved outside. It didn't take very long for them to remove every blade of grass. Since then I've used pine shavings in the run and it's worked out really well. The run stays clean and dry. I've since built an additional larger run, but they still like to spend part of their time in the small covered run. Here's a picture from the time when I only had the small run and there was still grass in it.


Here's a picture of them taking a dust bath in the dirt and chips inside the covered run.


I have one Australorp, Maxine, and she's a real sweetheart. She lays the biggest eggs of any of my girls.
Good luck with your flock!