Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Birdnovice24]

Hello everyone, I have a 10 month old male Silkie that I'm looking to rehome if anyone is interested. He has never been aggressive with me, I just have two of them and they fight. I'm located on the Kitsap Peninsula

 

[CarolynF]

Welcome to our Newcomers!

 

[Chickielady]

The Easter Egger that's missing was a poor producer, and was too lightly built for my breeding project. I was planning on rehoming her to make room for my 'project' chicks.
The Barred Rock was our 'goose' chicken. The flock just won't be the same without her honking like a goose.
I guess I have an excuse to add more chicks this spring.

Now you are thinking !!!

But, did they come back, did the predator come back ? Was it a coyote or dog ?

 

[Chickielady]

You'll find Tami on FB as Tami Rainmom, she also advertises the chicks on craigslist.
I didn't know Lyn was starting Bielefelders, good to know!


Lyn Adams also has super nice Wheaten & Blue Wheaten Ameraucanas. If you're looking for other Marans for dark eggs, she also has Wheaten Marans.
Black Copper Marans available near Olympia from Gina Nelson (Gina's Poultry Gems), she's on FB. I see her on the Western Washing Poultry group fairly often.

Sarah Merry isn't doing chickens for now.

I have Wheaten Ams, same line as Lyn's, and Lyn & I traded Biels last summer.
Tami & I and Lyn are trading Biels to try to toughen up the bloodline.
Last I heard, Lyn has suffered a nasty Racoon attack...but I will be giving her some more stock to try & get her flock going again.

 

[CarolynF]

There are Americana breeders in Olympia and Shelton, I am not sure of names they may know of the others most have ads on craigslist Olympia.

Just an FYI, "Americana" chickens are not the same as "Ameraucana" chickens, which was in the original request. When it's spelled with an i like they do at the feed stores or the commercial hatcheries, it's a mutt (aka a cross breed) that has some of the attributes of an Ameraucana. It's easier to to keep straight if we call them Easter Eggers or EEs and it causes less confusion. An Ameraucana is a pure breed with published Standards of Perfection. I have nothing against EEs, they're fun and add nice eggs to our basket, I've always loved the ones I've had. Just trying to keep it straight.

 

[junebuggena]

Now you are thinking !!!

But, did they come back, did the predator come back ? Was it a coyote or dog ?

Pretty sure it was a coyote. Nobody around here was missing their dog overnight. I screwed a fresh piece of plywood (left over from a project) to the wall with the hole, attached hardware cloth along the bottom of it, and put screws from the inside-out all along the bottom so that if it did come back, it would end up hurt and bleeding. I'm just happy it wasn't a bear, honestly.

 

[Chickielady]

It is very interesting reading posts from different parts of the state. I can't remember, who the heck actually has sunshine at their house? I haven't seen the sun in so long I'm not sure I would recognize.
If the Biel chickens aren't cold hardy then they wouldn't work where I live. But I can't have roosters anyway so maybe the hens would work. I do not have electricity to my coop so there is no heat out there. And I usually let my chickens run around the yard all day long.
I'm sorry to the people who have lost chickens lately. I would be devastated. And mad. And I will throw some bread out for the wild birds, there was one in the chicken pen earlier today.
Speaking of other birds in the pin, I will be building a new chicken coop in the spring with a large run attached. Do people put anything on there runs besides hardware cloth and chicken wire? What about Bird netting? Or is that just overkill?
To continue this thread of random thoughts I noticed that every chicken on that website was extremely expensive. All the ones I looked up or a minimum of $29 each and somewhere even $99 each. If I spent that kind of money on a chicken I would raise it in my living room. I would never let it out of my sight All the chickens on there must be very rare. Even the wine dots were $99!

You need to make sure if you are talking about a mature bird, which would be at least 6 mo of age. The effort to breed for, get lays, set & hatch the eggs, and then raise the chicks & feed and care for them for 6 long months, YES it is costly, and once they are killed...you are out alot of money, and usually have to waite another warm season to start over !
Chickens cannot just be bought at any time of year from Safeway...like some folks think...like when their dog kills your birds and they offer you $20 to go buy some more...like "It is just a chicken for crying out loud !" but few see the YEARS and amount of back breaking work & $$$$ it takes to develop a good breed to SOP (Standard of Perfection) and then hatch chicks..rasie them...6 mo later you have a pullet that begins lay...
It is a long process that starts with a person buying good breeding stock, which can come from all over the country, or in the case of Green Fire Farms (and others) who import animals & it is expensive to bring them into the USA !!!
One must go through customs and wait quite a while when the new birds are in Government Quaranteen (for weeks & weeks !)...it costs ALOT!!
OUTRAGEOUS amounts !
(reminds me of when my brother moved to Hawwaii and took his Lab...who had to be in Govt Quarranteen for EVER it seemed so sad....he visited his dog often...but it was super expensive !
Scarey expensive.
Then to have the neighbor's dog come along into your yard....well, this is a short story about a long story but I am sure you understand how expensive it can be.
Some people work decades on the development of a new color or new breed,,,seasons go by as the development goes on...and yes, it is costly, and yes you have to pay.
But do not be detrred...poultry raising is the first and simpleist way to start a small scale farm, feeding your family, and learning about animal husbandry.
Fair warning...it is addictive !

In addition to that, remember to research your breeds... for example, Standard Combs stick way up in the air...and are harmed by frostbite easily...Pea combed breeds (like Ameraucana and Wyandottes) and Cushion Combed breeds (like Chantecler) may be what you need.
That said, shop around.
There could be what you want locally.
If you are after nothing more than breakfast...go with a Large Hatchery like Murry Mc Murry...I like them because they raise their own breeding stock year by year, and do not just accumulate birds from other places to clear. Some hatcheries are clearing houses that merely "get rid of" birds from other hatcheries...in which case you would have no idea where they came from...and quality could differ from year to year, or month to month for that matter.
So, shop around !
If you need a smaller amount and the hatchery only ships 25 at a time, ask here if anyone wants to split an order...in the case of Murry McMurry and other big hatcheries, you need to order 25, but that could be an assortment of different breeds...and they have a good guarranty.

 

[Chickielady]

If the run is meant to protect the chickens, sorry to say that the only thing chicken wire is good for is to keep chickens IN. It doesn't keep anything out. Bird netting doesn't provide protection either but comes in handy to keep wild birds out which can be a very good thing. I use 2" x 4" welded wire and half inch hardware cloth, especially for the bottom 3 feet where raccoons could reach through to grab birds. We also have an apron of welded wire around the perimeter of the pen to keep digging animals out, like dogs and coyotes. It's connected to the bottom of the vertical fencing and extends about 24".

NO DIG
NO CLIMB

The green 1x1 plastic fencing on the inside (by zip ties) is a chick pen...keep the little boogers IN.
They still get out sometimes.....................

 

[pennyJo1960]

Thank you I was not aware of the differences, I was suppose to have them but never happened and I bought 4 barred rocks then 2 Rhode Island reds then the what I have learned are light Brahmas as they are white still kinda young no cones as of yet but I am getting like 6 to 8 eggs daily for the older ones. I did start with all chicks. I am always happy to learn more.

 

[Rod-T]

Hello washington