Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[CarolynF]

I need some help from my fellow Washingtonians! I have 6 pullets born at the end of April. Barred rock, black australorp, buff brahama, blue andelusian, golden sexlink and a silver laced wyndotte. I have NO eggs! I just switched to layer pellets yesterday, they have a big house, 3 boxes, food and water. We dont have a timer light in yet. There is a golf ball in one of the boxes. I dont know what else to do! These are my first chickens ever and we have had them since they were little. The wait has been so long and now I am worried I am missing something??? Anyone have any advice?? Thanks in advance?

Patience and lights.
Things to look for.... getting really red face & combs.... squatting when you reach toward them... snooping around the nest boxes. I they've started doing any of these eggs will come along pretty soon. Oh.... do they have any bushes or some such they could be hiding under to lay?

BTW, Welcome to our group!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

I need some help from my fellow Washingtonians! I have 6 pullets born at the end of April. Barred rock, black australorp, buff brahama, blue andelusian, golden sexlink and a silver laced wyndotte. I have NO eggs! I just switched to layer pellets yesterday, they have a big house, 3 boxes, food and water. We dont have a timer light in yet. There is a golf ball in one of the boxes. I dont know what else to do! These are my first chickens ever and we have had them since they were little. The wait has been so long and now I am worried I am missing something??? Anyone have any advice?? Thanks in advance?

Patience my friend. Ever heard the old saying "A watched pot never boils" ? Well a watched pullet/hen will never lay and watched eggs will never hatch. Your girls should / could start laying any time. However given the time of year. There is a chance they may not start until spring. Also keep in mind. DO NOT use a cheap clamp on light fixture. ONLY use one rated for the size of bulb. Preferably Ceramic base. And use steel wire or small chain to hang the lights.

 

[TerrorBird]

I need some help from my fellow Washingtonians! I have 6 pullets born at the end of April. Barred rock, black australorp, buff brahama, blue andelusian, golden sexlink and a silver laced wyndotte. I have NO eggs! I just switched to layer pellets yesterday, they have a big house, 3 boxes, food and water. We dont have a timer light in yet. There is a golf ball in one of the boxes. I dont know what else to do! These are my first chickens ever and we have had them since they were little. The wait has been so long and now I am worried I am missing something??? Anyone have any advice?? Thanks in advance?

I have an Australorp born at the end of April who hasn't started laying. Her comb is very small and fairly dark and her wattles are bright pink but very small. She's just a very late bloomer, I think. I agree with CarolynF's assessment. Give them time and they'll give you eggs!

 

[JennS]

If anyone has time, could you go to page 242 (wow, this forum goes fast) and take a look at pics of my chicks to help me sex them? I keep looking at information online and just getting more confused. I'd really appreciate hearing how you all tell pullets from cockerels. My birds are around 5-7 weeks old, so hopefully they are starting to show clues.

Jennifer

 

[itsren]

Quote: NOT to worry. WE will get the young man a black pullet. I know midnight poultry at the corner of grab em n run ALWAYS has black birds.

Thanks CR. I figure some way, somehow we'll get this figured out.

 

[HarveysHens]

haha yes I feel like I am trying to watch water boil! I will have my husband get on some lighting for them and may be that will help out! I thought I would have had eggs towards the end of sept so I am growing more impatient my the day. I am just excited to gather the eggs and so is my 3.5yr old son! Thank you all for the repsonses and I will keep you updated

 

[itsren]

Happy 3 week birthday to my wee little boys...

They would not cooperate with the egg picture this time. They think they're too big to pose cute for mom now. Not sure which ones are Cocoa and Rocha in this picture, but Latte is the light one and Blackie is the one in the middle. If there's anything going on in the brooder, Blackie is sure to be in the middle of it!



Blackie and Latte - the ones I had *hoped* were girls, but I'm thinking all hopes have now been dashed due to Blackie's comb, and Latte's coloration.



Cocoa - deciding mom's gonna take my picture, so I'm closing my eyes and pretending she's not there bugging me. Cocoa's had that big comb from day one.



Latte, with Rocha being camera shy behind him. Rocha doesn't like his picture taken. Rocha and Cocoa look almost exactly alike. Rocha's comb bends over a tiny bit - that's how I know who is who. And, of course the egg, showing how much they've grown in 3 weeks.

 

[itsren]

Lookie what I just caught. Actually I almost stepped on it as I was walking into my little work shed. It is in a vented gallon jar and yes that is my hand under. BTW the frog was not harmed and hasbeen turned loose a little farther away so maybe it will be OK.

Cool! This must be the year of the frog. We have frogs croaking all over the neighborhood now - and in 15 years, I can't recall ever hearing or seeing them in our neighborhood before. I love going outside and hearing them.

 

[itsren]

Ogress, here's the pictures I promised of how we dealt with the wires on the Pullet Shut door.

Outside where the wires begin. One wire is the solar panel, the other wire is the light sensor. We have them fed into a plastic wire tube.



This is inside the roof of the coop. If the birds can't reach it, the wires are just stapled. My husband wrapped something around the wire before he hammered the thick staples in. You can see a bit of the wire going down the side of the coop... wherever the girls could reach and peck, we ran the wire through a wire cover.



On the side of the coop opposite the solar panel, we have the battery box. I built the wood colored shelf with backing board to support the heavy battery, but my design left the wires exposed. DH came up with the idea of screwing the thin white board covers over the mess of wires to protect the girls from getting into the wires.



Because the battery is pretty heavy, I didn't trust the one brace board to be able to support the tiny shelf I built. DH came up with the idea of using the nest box divider to support the battery shelf. Ignore the dust on the battery... can't say I've ever dusted it. Hope that's not dangerous.



Hope this helps!

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
Yeah, it is.

I joke around that there are millions of hungry cows in this country and millions of missing people.
Just sayin'

Russ