Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Duck Drover]

The yard looks like we had a pillow fight because the birds are all molting. This is the time of year we need to do duck round-ups to make sure we get flight feathers clipped before the ducks start flying but it looks like we already missed one hen that flew out of the yard today.

Unfortunately our net got caught in a tree and my daughter broke it pulling it out so now I have to buy a new net for duck round-ups. My daughter is leaving next week for a two week long international choir tour to the Baltic States so we did our routine ivermectin treatment as the chickens were leaving the coop this morning. Fortunately the ducks are less hassle than the chickens but we need to round them all up for wing clipping today.

It is hard to catch every bird at that critical period between growing their flight feathers and letting the blood recede so they can be clipped. We do multiple round-ups to try and catch every duck at the critical point before they can fly but now we have one out of the yard that we will need to catch once it returns to the yard for the round up. I hope it is the only one that has figured out that it can fly.

 

[pennyJo1960]

We had a pleasant surprise in our chicken coop
one very tiny green egg from one of little black sex-links

 

[junebuggena]

 

[junebuggena]

The eggs will get bigger, I promise.

 

[pennyJo1960]

The eggs will get bigger, I promise.

all start out miniature it is so tiny and cute


the other is are good old barreds who are always quite large egg layers

 

[junebuggena]

Got a first egg from one of her hatch mates just a few minutes ago. Turquoise blue.

 

[Leigti]

Got a first egg from one of her hatch mates just a few minutes ago. Turquoise blue.

Picture please so I can be completely jealous.

 

[Leigti]

The eggs will get bigger, I promise. 

how long does it take for the eggs to get bigger? I have a black australorp that lays small eggs. Sort of surprised me because I thought they were supposed to lay big ones.

 

[memrymaker]

Question: We are new to the Pacific Northwest and I'm wondering about rainy climates - what do you suggest I do so that the smaller run near the coop will stay dry enough for the chickens to use it during the rainy days? Our coop has a small run that actually attaches to the house, but we have not built the large run (as our chicks are a week old). We do have designs for it.

I want to use construction/river sand at the bottom of the small coop run so that the it stays as dry as possible on rainy days and drains well. I am building the coop on higher ground in the yard, but it still rains here for short AND long periods of time. There will be a roof on the top covering all sections of the enclosure, is that along with the sand base enough?

 

[junebuggena]

Question: We are new to the Pacific Northwest and I'm wondering about rainy climates - what do you suggest I do so that the smaller run near the coop will stay dry enough for the chickens to use it during the rainy days? Our coop has a small run that actually attaches to the house, but we have not built the large run (as our chicks are a week old). We do have designs for it.

I want to use construction/river sand at the bottom of the small coop run so that the it stays as dry as possible on rainy days and drains well. I am building the coop on higher ground in the yard, but it still rains here for short AND long periods of time. There will be a roof on the top covering all sections of the enclosure, is that along with the sand base enough?

Big roof over hangs are important for keeping rain out of the vents. Ventilation is another big must. All the damp, wet air needs good air exchange, so lots and lots of ventilation along the roofline.
Also, do not try to house too many chickens in your coop, especially if it's the only shelter. You need a minimum of 4 sq ft of coop space per bird, not counting nesting boxes. If you try to keep them in less space, crowding stress can pose a serious problem.