Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[TakeMeHomeJoJo]

It is a rough decision when you only have a few BY chickens. People say you have to accept losses, but if you have 3-4 chickens, losing one chicken is a 25-30% loss!!! 

I decided to extend my run using U posts + deer fencing on the sides, with poultry netting over the top. This is connected to my coop/run via a short tunnel. So it is sort of a secondary, day time run only.
They have more room during the day, then I let them out for an hour or two in the evening when I'm home and my dog is out.

That's a good idea. Unfortunately my dog is one of their predators!

Poor girls haven't left the coop all day. We coaxed them out for a minute or two to make sure they're ok; they ate a tiny bit then went right back in. They're hiding in the best boxes.

 

[Duck Drover]

We had a terrible mother sit on some eggs, she broke most of them but one hatched. She won't take care of it so now it's under a lamp. It needs a friend, anyone in the Kent Covington area have a chick to get rid of? Ours is 2 days old.

I actually do! We hatched a white supposed Easter Egger and I don't like white birds. It hatched on Mother's Day. It was my daughter's first solo hatch and it was from some eggs I purchased that were honestly the worst eggs I have ever seen. I had my husband pick them up for me and I had thought a nyone selling hatching eggs would know that pullet eggs and double yolks are not hatching eggs. The best sized ones for hatching were deformed so there were only a few actual hatching eggs in the dozen I bought. I even decided to contact the seller and of course she did not reply so I know she was scamming me with worthless eggs. I really don't want to raise this chick as a reminder that I got scammed.

 

[Duck Drover]

Oh wow! That must have felt like a great attack. I'm glad your birds are safe! I always thought of Bald Eagles as fish eaters, but I guess if the opportunity presents... :

I had no idea the size of them until moving up here and seeing the pair by the 520 bridge each morning. Holy smokes.

When we lived in Ellensburg we saw them all the time but they seemed to find plenty of meat without going after our chickens and ducks (chocolate Muscovies at that time). If we drove to Yakima along the river they were everywhere.

I have seen one here but the crows drove it off. That is the only good thing about having a pack of crows in our area. I love eagles but I would not want to feed one my birds.

 

[Duck Drover]

That's a good idea. Unfortunately my dog is one of their predators!

Poor girls haven't left the coop all day. We coaxed them out for a minute or two to make sure they're ok; they ate a tiny bit then went right back in. They're hiding in the best boxes.

Fortunately they are wise to eagles without any loss of life and the eagle was traumatized by the experience too. Hopefully there will not be another encounter between them.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I am really fortunate here so far there has been no overhead predators
my cohort on the house his buddies built my run while I stood by
directing

because they were aware of how to do it right...
although I picked a spot that had has natural cover of us huge tree...

 

[Duck Drover]

I am really fortunate here so far there has been no overhead predators
my cohort on the house his buddies built my run while I stood by
directing because they were aware of how to do it right...
although I picked a spot that had has natural cover of us huge tree...

I find the tree cover helps discourage predatory birds. We have lilacs bordering our fenceline and they provide shade and privacy too, except during the winter. I love having a green canopy and our fruit trees are great protection too. As we do a better job keeping crows from hanging out, we are getting more smaller birds that are great fly predators. I don't mind them eating the Flock Raiser as long as they also eat insects. The crows will eat our duck eggs and ducklings (they even got bunnies before we started putting net over the rabbit runs when we have bunnies). I love listening to songbirds but the crows can make more noise than the chickens. I have at least 9 ducks nesting right now so I am constantly listening for ducklings.

 

[Duck Drover]

Today is the last performance of my daughter's musical. It is also her first solo hatch of ducklings this weekend so I hope it goes well. We burned out both bulbs to our candlers and can't find replacements locally so she can only see the air cells with a flashlight. She traced them last night to put the eggs into lockdown so hopefully she followed directions for hatching. We just use Little Giant incubators and they have been tried and tested many times so there is no thermometer or hygrometer to check numbers, I just know what works and can hopefully pass on my knowledge to her. She has been my assistant for years but this is her first hatch on her own.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I find the tree cover helps discourage predatory birds. We have lilacs bordering our fenceline and they provide shade and privacy too, except during the winter. I love having a green canopy and our fruit trees are great protection too. As we do a better job keeping crows from hanging out, we are getting more smaller birds that are great fly predators. I don't mind them eating the Flock Raiser as long as they also eat insects. The crows will eat our duck eggs and ducklings (they even got bunnies before we started putting net over the rabbit runs when we have bunnies). I love listening to songbirds but the crows can make more noise than the chickens. I have at least 9 ducks nesting right now so I am constantly listening for ducklings.

I only have chickens they keep me busy and we have 8 cats 5 dogs mostly rescues knowing I was a soft touch

My housemates spoil me rotten catering to the chickens a garden finally getting another dome
to have a decent greenhouse knowing I want this to feed them better...
being rather fussy about how the run was made and covered.....

 

[Leigti]

I really feel for you people on the west side with all your rain. I figured I could get away without covering my run. Wrong. So I just about busted a gut dragging this piece of plywood on top of the run. Didn't have anybody to help me but it's at least there now. It is supposed to rain basically for the next 24 hours. And I'm keeping them locked in the run tomorrow because I planted some clover and grass seed and I don't want them eating it. I might keep them in the coop and run all week, not sure yet. I am eventually going to fence off that part of the yard but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Leigti]

The board is probabl 10 pounds heavier with all the extra water that soaked into it all day.