Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Hinotori]

when is that one and how save is it to buy birds at that

Probably safer than a hatchery. Its Feb 24th. Have to be a club member to sell so it's not just anyone.

Hintori--Cool! It would be neat to see the Pacific Northwest Poultry Association show at the Clark County Fairgrounds! I just really want girls only--I'm a softie and have chickens for pets and killing the boys is hard. Do you think there would be any sexed chicks at the fair?

Not usually sexed chicks. That's not something you can really do at home unless you have an autosexing breed or do the color cross breeding for sex links. Or breed a rooster from a fast feathering breed to a hen from a slow feathering breed so you can feather sex (again cross breed).

There may be juveniles and older birds available. Usually are

 

[Hinotori]

Im not counting chicks yet, but in about 4 months I'll probably have cull silkie pullets for sale. Actually since I just wanted a couple more white pullets, there may be some very nice girls available too

 

[pennyJo1960]

may have to go look there not sure I could order enough to help the other gal
to her 15 just only want like 3 in end doing straight run may get 7 and only 2 pullets

if i could buy more adult birds might be the road to take

 

[Llamacorn]

Hello everyone! Im new to the site. I dont have any chickens yet but I am hoping to start a small flock this spring/summer.

First step for me is figuring out a coop!

Oh yeah, I live in the arlington area.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Hello everyone! Im new to the site. I dont have any chickens yet but I am hoping to start a small flock this spring/summer.

First step for me is figuring out a coop!

Oh yeah, I live in the arlington area.

Well hello Welcome so glad you bopped in seems you have Lama then ? I hear they are great guard dogs also

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome to the group!

First your coop should be much larger than you think. If you're in town you may obviously have restrictions.

Second those $200-300 coops you can buy are too small for more than 2 large fowl hens usually. They also only last a couple years before the weather destroys them. They are not actually predator proof which you can tell just by gently shaking a display one. Wood is too thin to be sturdy. If my german shepherd wanted to get into one I doubt it would take her more than a minute or so. Ive seen her pull and bend chainlink in an effort to kill a rat through it. I've also seen an 18 pound schipperke destroy a wood slat fence so he could escape.

Putting one of those coops inside a good, tall fence greatly improves security.

 

[pennyJo1960]

much easier buy or build nice yard building like 8 x 10 or 10 x 10

 

[Llamacorn]

Well hello Welcome so glad you bopped in seems you have Lama then ? I hear they are great guard dogs also

I actually dont have any llamas or alpacas but I love them!

Welcome to the group!

First your coop should be much larger than you think. If you're in town you may obviously have restrictions.

Second those $200-300 coops you can buy are too small for more than 2 large fowl hens usually. They also only last a couple years before the weather destroys them. They are not actually predator proof which you can tell just by gently shaking a display one.

So I actually have a very old wood shed in my backyard that I am thinking of trying to salvage into a run with a coop inside.

 

[Hinotori]

Wood shed would be perfect. No condensation issues like metal or plastic sheds.

Just add some ventilation to keep ammonia from building up. Roosts are easy. I actually just have 2x4s flat screwed across some old wooden saw horses in my large fowl coop. So many ways you can make roosts.

 

[Hinotori]

Chainlink dog kennel panels make wonderful fencing. Just put hardware cloth around the bottom for more security.

I will admit I haven't done the hardware cloth. I really should.

Put a net over the top to protect from predators and keep your chickens in. My easter eggers will fly over the six foot fence