Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[hallerlake]

Question for those of you who have hatched in Fall.... how many weeks old do my new little girls (yes, I am willing them ALL to be little girls) need to be before they can move outside? I have to finish the 2nd coop and run. And I'm trying to prioritize... 2nd coop first, or some sort of larger aviary/tractor set-up for my big girls. My poor girls have spent quite a while today in the small chicken tractor that I built for them when they were younger. It's rather small for them now.

BTW... when DH asked me what we were going to do with any roos that we end up with from the babies and I said we'd have to get rid of them. He walked off and grunted "Or we could get their vocal cords removed."

I think someone adores his new little hatch-lings.

That whole being gone while they hatched thing worked wonders!

Mine are outside now at three weeks with a heat lamp.

 

[Hinotori]

So, am I crazy in thinking I have a little roo on my hands when they're only 5 days old? Cocoa sure does a mighty fine job defending his little flock when the hand that feeds and cleans them comes in. That chick jumps at me and pecks me any time I reach in there. It's pretty funny right now. Doesn't help that the kids are cheering "Go Cocoa! Bite mom!"

LMAO!

I've had girls do that. Of the twelve EEs I have out there, four of them would attack me when they were little things in the brooder.

I had a particularly aggressive silkie do that as well, though. Turned out to be a boy. A tasty, mean rooster boy. He came at me one to many times and I took care of him. He was never nice. The other one that turned out to be a boy was such a sweet thing.

I'll cross my fingers that it's just feeling peckish and that they are all girls for you.

 

[mikeyb]

I think it would have been easier to archive everything that was 90 days old and left our forum as it was.
I don't understand the reasoning that it's ok to upset some people by forcing them to move and then they archive the entire old forum. It's backward/awkward way of doing something when it involves people.
The analogy used don't get it either.
OK, I'm done.

 

[hallerlake]

So, am I crazy in thinking I have a little roo on my hands when they're only 5 days old? Cocoa sure does a mighty fine job defending his little flock when the hand that feeds and cleans them comes in. That chick jumps at me and pecks me any time I reach in there. It's pretty funny right now. Doesn't help that the kids are cheering "Go Cocoa! Bite mom!"

It's not impossible. I remember Blondie giving the warning signal and all the chicks turning into statues when they were just a few days old.

 

[Hinotori]

How well do wood pellets compost?

They are wood bedding pellets sold at the feed store for horses and such. Spray them with water and they fall apart. The ones I cleaned out last fall were gone by spring. The chickens kept spreading that pile out for me and I kept raking it back up. I had the volunteer squash come up there and they did really well, until we had that frost take them out the beginning of September.

 

[itsren]

Quote:
The other three tend to run to the other side of the brooder. Cocoa comes running at me on a mission. Tonight I *finally* managed to catch Cocoa so we could see him/her away from the red light. Everyone else is easy to pick up. Not Cocoa. And boy, did s/he put up one heck of a stink the entire time I was holding him/her. Who knows! Maybe I'll get lucky, Cocoa will be a girl and give Rhodie a run for her money. Now, that would be funny - Rhodie meeting another bird as obnoxious as she is.

 

[Greg Richardson]

Quote: Yes, the fish.

 

[DeesHens]

Hello everyone. I have been working at reading the old posts in order to catch up which is just impossible for me it seems. Just when I thought I'd caught up ... I find out about the new thread and am already 16 pages behind. LOL So thought I'd better post so I can keep track of this new thread.

Enjoyed all the pics of chicks, kids, & fish tanks, recipes, and the discussions about cleaning coops, taming roosters, interesting input about eagles, hawks, falcons, etc. I did learn a thing or two along the way.

I want to give a shout out to the latest newbies ...

While I am at it I will give a little update about my Betsy Barr Rock hen the lone survivor from my small flock. 2 yr 4 mo. old. She seems to be adapting to her solitary life. She had a rough few weeks after the raccoon killed her one last flock mate, Gemini. After a long delay I finally was able to worm her once she began eating and acting more normal again. So now she just needs to stop molting, feather out and start gaining weight before winter sets in. The way she is eating now I don't think it will be too long. We did purchase a 100 watt (reptile) black light bulb so will regulate heating her coop using the dimmer switch wired to the porcelain light fixture. DH will also construct a wire cover to keep her from ever pecking or touching the light bulb. Today DH purchased some organic millet, wheat & flax to add to what is left of her organic layers mash. Since she isn't laying eggs but we want to use it up we figured it would be a good way to dilute down the high calcium ratio. Then we plan to make a trip to visit relatives and pick up a bag of Scratch & Peck organic grower for her. No retail outlets out here. Next spring we will also use it for the growing pullets when they get to that stage. So that is the latest from my coop.

Wind is howling tonight. Stay warm and dry everyone.

~Dee~

 

[Rainwolf]

How well do wood pellets compost?

They are wood bedding pellets sold at the feed store for horses and such. Spray them with water and they fall apart. The ones I cleaned out last fall were gone by spring. The chickens kept spreading that pile out for me and I kept raking it back up. I had the volunteer squash come up there and they did really well, until we had that frost take them out the beginning of September.

I use wood stove pellets that have no additives.
Just be aware that pellets expand as the get wet from droppings...
1 cup pellets = 3 cups of wood sawdust
The reason I use it is due to composting... I already have enough sand in my yard so I use the pellets and dropping to add to my bad ground areas. It works rather well!

 

[shinysatins]

Hi, I'm new here. Posted an intro on the old thread a week or so ago. The thread moves so fast I can't keep up though.

Shiny