Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Erren]

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[Erren]

Hi Erren, and welcome!  And THANK YOU!!! I was going to have to travel across the state for them.


I know several people in Okanogan county that have good birds.  @DaveOmak
is one and he stops by here from time to time.  There's also a good breeder in Brewster called "Just Fowling Around".  You can google them and take a look at their website.  What breeds are you looking for?   And there are lots of us on the west side of the cascades, too.  One of my friends will be selling a bunch of Barnevelders soon.  Beautiful birds!

I was looking for Guinea, ducks, and different types of larger egg laying chickens.

 

[Chickielady]

Hey there BYCers!

My wife and I are the proud owners of five chickens! We've had them for a few months now and I've just finished up their run, their coop was done a month ago. I'm going to put some bedding in tomorrow and from what I've read sand seems like a good option.

All that being said my wife and I have never owned chickens, and we're also new to the Pacific Northwest! We live on a ranch like property in Western Washington by Portland Oregon. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts, tips or things I should be particularly aware of raising chickens in an area that is rainy for so many months of the year.

I have a 6x15 ft. run and about 7.5 ft. of it is covered with metal roofing to give them a bit of moisture relief and shade. Other than that I'm stoked to be part of your community and I'm looking forward to my new hobby!

Sounds like you are doing all the right stuff !
I use pea gravel in my runs, due to so pure clay I have, I swear, you could grab a gob & throw a pot with it, providing you had a kiln....

Ask any questions, and we will all try to help out !

 

[Chickielady]

I was looking for Guinea, ducks, and different types of larger egg laying chickens.

here ya go, a link to the E Wa thread, hopefully this is a bit better help !
Note: The threads move according to the weather, LOL....and if you still do not find what you want, come back here & rattle my cage !
And remember, it is nearing fall.....few will have chicks & poults this time of year.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/353771/eastern-washington/1790#post_15196951

 

[Two Chicksahs]

quiltingramma I am guessing you are talking about peace of mind. There are a lot of terms bandied about so that was a good question as far as I'm concerned. Some people have chickens for years but don't get online or talk with others with experiences with chicken illnesses. I'm just saying you aren't the only novice chicken person here so others can learn as well.

 

[KelsT]

I am very new to chickens as well! and appreciate all the info!
I have 5 that or my first and are just about 5 months old and I am waiting for my first egg.
Then I Have 6 chicks in separate brooders, one group is sick and complicating everything!
Been treating them for Cocci and not sure if its working it's been 3 weeks on corid and still seeing signs of blood in some of the dropping
but now I dont even know what I am doing! I have a thread about it here... https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1007621/coccidiosis-or-something-else-need-advice-photos

 

[CarolynF]

Hey there BYCers!

My wife and I are the proud owners of five chickens! We've had them for a few months now and I've just finished up their run, their coop was done a month ago. I'm going to put some bedding in tomorrow and from what I've read sand seems like a good option.

All that being said my wife and I have never owned chickens, and we're also new to the Pacific Northwest! We live on a ranch like property in Western Washington by Portland Oregon. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts, tips or things I should be particularly aware of raising chickens in an area that is rainy for so many months of the year.

I have a 6x15 ft. run and about 7.5 ft. of it is covered with metal roofing to give them a bit of moisture relief and shade. Other than that I'm stoked to be part of your community and I'm looking forward to my new hobby!

Welcome to Washington and BYC

It's fun getting started with chickens, they have so much personality. Who woulda thunk!
I've been using sand in my pen and coop for 4 years now and find it very easy to take care of as well as very inexpensive. You'll typically get a bit more cold weather in the winter and hot weather in the summer than those of us further north. So you'll need the shade and you'll definitely want the sand in the pen to be kept dry. Sand + water + poop are a very bad combination. I found that out my first winter. I would highly recommend you cover the remaining area. I guarantee the rain will blow in and soak most of your covered area. I used smoke colored poly-whatever corrugated sheets from Lowes. I also have a tarp I hang on the South side which is where the rain and wind always from from. My run still gets a bit damp around the edges when the wind blows the rain in, but that's not a big issue. The pen has coarse sand about 6" - 8" deep. The coop is more like a half inch deep. I scoop poop every morning, which takes maybe 10 min. if I dawdle, and I always dawdle so I can play with the chickens! That's the best part, right?

We hauled a yard of sand from the local concrete mix company in our F-150, which cost about $16. It takes 2 trips as the sand is always damp, so it's heavy. Any extra we just stock piled because the coop needs a couple more scoops as sand sticks to the poop that's tossed out every day. I have 5 layers too (most of the time). I dump the daily "deposit" into an old trash can that has drainage holes in the bottom. You'd be very surprised how long it takes that to get filled up. When it's full I fill start filling second one. By the time the second one is full, #1 can has been composting a lonnngggg time and is ready to dump into the garden for fertilizer. I also like to throw dead leaves from the yard in there from time to time, and any kitchen scraps that the chickens don't get.

Best of luck!

 

[Manningjw]

It is time I should start looking for a new home for my young cockerel. He is a project Olive Egger and very friendly, the most calm/friendly cockerel I have had yet. I really would like to keep him but he doesn't fit my breeding plan

and I am not in an area where I could potentially keep two cockerels! I don't want to process him, I think he deserves a chance to pass on his genetics. If you have some single hens and want this little dude shoot me a PM

. He was hatched out May 5th this year, barely learning to crow, still quieter than all the hens. He is the biggest bird of his clutch he hatched with.

 

[CarolynF]

It is time I should start looking for a new home for my young cockerel. He is a project Olive Egger and very friendly, the most calm/friendly cockerel I have had yet. I really would like to keep him but he doesn't fit my breeding plan

and I am not in an area where I could potentially keep two cockerels! I don't want to process him, I think he deserves a chance to pass on his genetics. If you have some single hens and want this little dude shoot me a PM

. He was hatched out May 5th this year, barely learning to crow, still quieter than all the hens. He is the biggest bird of his clutch he hatched with.

Hi, sorry I can't take him, but wanted to thank you for posting the pic. I've seen many EE hens with this common coloring, but not a rooster. I was under the wrong impression that it was only the girls that looked like this. Good to know!

 

[Manningjw]

Hi, sorry I can't take him, but wanted to thank you for posting the pic. I've seen many EE hens with this common coloring, but not a rooster. I was under the wrong impression that it was only the girls that looked like this. Good to know!

Yep he is definitely a boy! The closest breed color would be buff brahma but this guy also has the barring gene too.