Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Grandmas Coop]

Do you still have a BCM rooster?

Ditto????

 

[Smokerbill]

Hey all ya bought 5 BC Marans and a bag of pullet feed anything but purina here.

You only use X-cel feed don't you? And didn't you get rid of that BCM cockerel I gave you because he wasn't fitting in? If I hadn't given him to you and he was being a jerk I'd have probably had him with noodles. LOL

 

[Smokerbill]

It looks like all of my New Hampshire pullets are actually pullets, so I made an impulse purchase this morning. I ordered 15 New Hampshire male chicks from Murray McMurray with the intent to raise them as meat birds, but I'll keep a couple of the fastest growing ones to breed with the pullets. I'll have a self sustaining flock if it all works out.

Delivery is sometime during the week of May 12th, so I have time to plan and get things set up.

 

[ValerieJ]

Great idea. The general ratio of roosters to hens is about 1 rooster for 10 hens. If I'm successful at integrating Cooper into the flock again, I will be at about 7 per rooster. That might be pushing it. I won't let them tear up my hens. After all, the point in THIS flock is getting eggs. lol But I sure would like a self sustaining flock. I prefer hen raise the chicks, not me.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Do you still have a BCM rooster?

Smudge died at 10 years young.
I have a Splash Marans from the same gal.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I do use the X Cell foods in Tacoma they have been making
chicken food like 85 years.

 

[ValerieJ]

How's the DH doing, Penny Jo?

We went to Wilco and bought some plants yesterday: a couple hostas, a coleus, and some flowering perennials to fill in spaces in the flower gardens, and then 2 blackberry and 2 raspberry vines for the berry run. A deer destroyed most of our berries a couple years ago. They never came back last year, so we'll dig them up and plant new ones.

 

[Smokerbill]

I've made a change to my plan for protecting my new tomato/pepper/bean plot in the yard from deer. I was originally going to use the 1" chicken wire I already had on hand but decided to use some deer net instead. Should be much easier to install, and it's just about high enough to stop the deer. Just ordered this...



I haven't decided on whether I'll make a chicken tractor or a fixed coop-and-run setup in the yard for my new chickens project. I ordered hardware cloth, and with the 100'x4' chicken wire I have I think I'd have enough to make both.

When I look out in the yard and see all the grass and weeds I see lots of chicken food, and I'd rather they eat it than me mow it down. And I just don't feel comfortable letting chickens run around loose here anymore.

 

[Smokerbill]

Great idea. The general ratio of roosters to hens is about 1 rooster for 10 hens. If I'm successful at integrating Cooper into the flock again, I will be at about 7 per rooster. That might be pushing it. I won't let them tear up my hens. After all, the point in THIS flock is getting eggs. lol But I sure would like a self sustaining flock. I prefer hen raise the chicks, not me.

My tentative plan... I'll end up with 7 hens if they all make it and rotate the two roosters I'm keeping into the flock, maybe a week at a time at first so they get used to the situation. And if it's too much for the hens I'll put the roosters in lockup.

My thoughts are to selectively breed for two traits, egg quality and meat quality, maybe have two different lines. Should keep me occupied. LOL

I picked all the bolting bok choi from the garden and put it in a fermenter. I don't think it can be called sauerkraut, it's probably just going to be fermented bok choi... if it works.

 

[pennyJo1960]

The deer only respect 8 foot fence use hardware cloth.
They do not come in here anymore.