Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[CGilbert]

I'd love some sweettie heart..but I am so far away from you !!!!

Could we be more far apart in the same region ????

:/

No kidding, I just looked up Raymond, wa. Wow. I'd still be happy to drive it for the cost of gas, but at that cost it might be cheaper to go with an NPIP breeder that can ship. I plan to be NPIP by the end of the year, but not yet.

 

[Manningjw]

Question for those of you with experience with broody hens:

I have 4 broody hens out of 11!!!! I want to let one(or two?) of them raise chicks that are hatching right now as I type this. For those that I don't want to raise them, can I give them chicks for a day or 2 to break the broodiness then take them away? I have more chicks than I can possibly keep, the 8 or so that I plan to keep will be raise by one of the hens then the other 22 or so will need to find new homes almost asap. I was thinking I could break the broody with a few extra chicks then return those to the brooder once the broody is tricked.

 

[junebuggena]

Question for those of you with experience with broody hens:

I have 4 broody hens out of 11!!!! I want to let one(or two?) of them raise chicks that are hatching right now as I type this. For those that I don't want to raise them, can I give them chicks for a day or 2 to break the broodiness then take them away? I have more chicks than I can possibly keep, the 8 or so that I plan to keep will be raise by one of the hens then the other 22 or so will need to find new homes almost asap. I was thinking I could break the broody with a few extra chicks then return those to the brooder once the broody is tricked.

It depends on how long they've been broody for. Most hens will not accept chicks if they've only been broody for about a week. And those that are first time broodies can be unpredictable mothers. Not every hen that goes broody is going to make a good mother. If you do give them chicks, it would be best to do it after they've been broody for about 2 weeks, and the chicks must be under 3 days old. Once you give her chicks, let her raise them. Once they are feathered in, and no longer need a hen to keep them warm, you can sell them for a bit more than you would get for day old chicks.

 

[Duck Drover]

Question for those of you with experience with broody hens:

I have 4 broody hens out of 11!!!!  I want to let one(or two?) of them raise chicks that are hatching right now as I type this.  For those that I don't want to raise them, can I give them chicks for a day or 2 to break the broodiness then take them away?  I have more chicks than I can possibly keep, the 8 or so that I plan to keep will be raise by one of the hens then the other 22 or so will need to find new homes almost asap.  I was thinking I could break the broody with a few extra chicks then return those to the brooder once the broody is tricked. 

That should work. I have ducks hatch ducklings when my incubators are full or they hide the eggs well enough to start a nest and then I take the ducklings from them to keep them safe from the crows. They will go back to laying again in a short time. I don't like to traumatize the hens by taking away their ducklings but I sell them and I don't have enough safe pens with netting to keep the babies safe in the yard when they are so tiny.

 

[Manningjw]

Thank you both for the speedy reply!

One of my birds has been brooding since I put eggs in the bator, I never tried to break her for that reason. A couple of the other ones have bare bellies and have been at it at least a week or two and I am trying to break them so they may not be good candidates.

 

[Chickielady]

I have this photo stuck to my curser so wanted to share...this is the "Wild Type" coloration of the Styrian/Alstirer/Sulmtaer/Starjerska Kokos......all the same breed, all in different neighboring Northern European countries...

Beautiful birds !

 

[Chickielady]

Actually, a few feed stores do have vaccinated chicks. The chicks at Portage Bay Grange in Seattle are vaccinated.

For what ? Just marek's ?
It is good to know they are interested in putting a clamp on the virus rather than just making more $

 

[Chickielady]

No kidding, I just looked up Raymond, wa. Wow. I'd still be happy to drive it for the cost of gas, but at that cost it might be cheaper to go with an NPIP breeder that can ship. I plan to be NPIP by the end of the year, but not yet.

Let me know, I would love to have just 1-2 pullets, for "flavouring" around here.

 

[Chickielady]

@Chickielady Thank you for sharing that excellent article!

I can understand that a breeder may prefer not to vaccinate in order to breed chickens with greater immunity. However, for the individuals who are keeping chickens for pleasure, eggs, and as pets, vaccination makes the most sense. I would not bring an unvaccinated bird into my flock.

The vaccine issue will go on forever, each persona has his or her beliefs, just as with human vaccines.
Some hate them, and would rather take their chances.
Some of those who did take their chances found out the hard way that they should have vaccinated, with it taking over a year for every bird on their property slowly and painfully slipping away until dead.
More appropriate it would be to cull all the birds, as once one shows signs, they have more than likely had the virus for months, even up to a year.
It is too late, far too late to isolate the sole bird with symptoms of stumbling (or whatever symptoms)
It is so super sad....@ochochicas has been going through this very trauma.
She may well have not one chicken left by now....haven't herad from her.
It's be nice if she came back & gave us an update.
She has some very expensive birds.

 

[CyndiD]

I have this photo stuck to my curser so wanted to share...this is the "Wild Type" coloration of the Styrian/Alstirer/Sulmtaer/Starjerska Kokos......all the same breed, all in different neighboring Northern European countries...

Beautiful birds !

they look like the Red Dorking chicken