Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[pips&peeps]

There is an eastern wa thread.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hello, bought a dozen bricks yesterday now my boxes are all up none on the floor now girls are starting to use them also moved the food into their coop make it less for me to feed brought my dog crate table along. the coop is 17 feet diameter so plenty of room. I will take new photos today.

 

[Leigti]

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.

I always make sure that the chickens I get will do well here in this climate. Especially considering I don't put heat or light in the coop. I have nothing against those nice expensive chickens or the people who buy them, to me it's the difference between just wanting a regular old dog that you can get at the Humane Society Versus a well bred dog with certain bloodlines and characteristic made for a specific purpose. Buying breeding stock or a rare breed is different than buying something that's just going to lay some eggs for you and to be a pet.
I love all sorts of animals, and would love to get into raising babies part of it but it's not practical for me at this time in my life. I don't have the time the money or the space. And I would want to do it right.
I actually did order some started pullets from McMurray hatchery. They should be here at the end of this month. And in the spring I will get some baby chicks, probably from either a friend of mine here in town or the feed store. I'm going for a variety of breeds, and egg colors To go along with my 218-month-old Wyandottes, The ones coming later this month are three Easter Eggers and one Australorp. In the spring I think I will get at least one more Australorp, maybe barred rock, and I'm not sure what else. I want a chicken that will lay white eggs but is cold hardy but easy to find around here. Any suggestions? I don't know what the general attitude towards "what" chickens is on this forum but A friend of mine has a bunch of mixed breed chickens that are laying eggs and should be ready in the spring.
I admit that I am a little hesitant to get chickens from craigslist, partly because you always hear horror stories about bad situations and partly because there just aren't a lot of them listed in this area.

 

[Rod-T]

There is an eastern wa thread.

Yes I know thanks

 

[Bridebeliever]

I want a chicken that will lay white eggs but is cold hardy but easy to find around here. Any suggestions? I don't know what the general attitude towards "what" chickens is on this forum but A friend of mine has a bunch of mixed breed chickens that are laying eggs and should be ready in the spring.
I admit that I am a little hesitant to get chickens from craigslist, partly because you always hear horror stories about bad situations and partly because there just aren't a lot of them listed in this area.

I think it's good to ask right here if someone has chicks or chickens for sale. I'd be way more comfortable getting them from folks on here versus Craigslist. I have 3 Andelusians and they have done very well in this 20 degree weather we are having. They are white egg layers. I currently have hatchery stock chickens and one breeder raised Chocolate Orpington that I paid $40 for, but to be fair she was 2 weeks away from beginning to lay when I got her. I think $40 was fair because they spent the time and energy getting her to 6 months old and now I get the eggs! I'm also about to get Bielefelder chicks for $29 a piece. I never thought I'd pay that much for a chick either. My reason is I really love what they look like and it sounds like I will like their disposition too. Also, I want to have a part in preserving a breed. We'll see if I like them or not, but if I get them to egg laying stage and change my mind about keeping them I will definitely sell them for $40 a piece! I'll have for sure put at least $11 worth of feed into each one!

 

[country lovin]

Welcome. .. from rockford? I used to work at brickplant in mica

born and raised but not from the actual town more like the surrounding wheat fields.

 

[Leigti]

You know that you are new to chickens when somebody mentions a breed and you have to go look it up Andalusian Have a large cool, would it get frostbite if the weather gets really cold? Like down to 0°?
I wish the Eastern Washington thread was more active. Although I admit that I am not helping that much because I haven't looked at it in a while. Mostly because it wasn't active. I guess we create our own problems sometimes. I haven't looked at the buy and sell section. I will definitely be looking around for baby chicks in the spring. And I will ask here. I appreciate all the help on this forum. I am making a lot of improvements over the next few months so that I can increase my chicken population.

 

[junebuggena]

You know that you are new to chickens when somebody mentions a breed and you have to go look it up Andalusian Have a large cool, would it get frostbite if the weather gets really cold? Like down to 0°?
I wish the Eastern Washington thread was more active. Although I admit that I am not helping that much because I haven't looked at it in a while. Mostly because it wasn't active. I guess we create our own problems sometimes. I haven't looked at the buy and sell section. I will definitely be looking around for baby chicks in the spring. And I will ask here. I appreciate all the help on this forum. I am making a lot of improvements over the next few months so that I can increase my chicken population.

It's not necessarily the temps that cause frostbite, but poor ventilation. It's usually moisture in the air condensing on the comb and freezing that results in frostbite. That moisture needs to be able to escape. There are lots of people who keep large-combed breeds in places with very harsh winters without ever having frostbite issues.

 

[Leigti]

OK, I do have a temperature and humidity gauge in the coop. It is very helpful. It is something I never would have thought to have until I got tortoises, temperature and humidity are extremely important with reptiles. My new coop will have good ventilation. Still working up the plans for it. I actually like designing and building and tweaking enclosures.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I just ordered a 40 x 100 foot of burlap to help keep mine warm, I just picked up mega egg fro, my coop jumbo not sure who laid it but darn. I started with two small coops 13 birds but they all crammed in one, then we had another geodesic put up for a coop and is still a work in progress at first I used straw then I got told about shavings went to them the birds love em
. but only my bards and reds are old enough to lay yet. my light brahmas a couple have started to get combs barely.