Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

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Jbear has also been posting lots on FB and looks like Sheryl Butler is doing quite well. Nice to see (what I would call) a local that ya know doing good.

 

[blueducklings]

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Feb is just about when my skin screams for anything that resembles sunlight.

Infact, I am dreamong of the sunny beaches @ Kanapali as we speak...got to go back...got...to...
But yesterday I found a Maui Gold Pineapple...smells like Maui.

Taste like %^#@^%$

So my excuse now is that I need to go get some real fruit.
BUT...that being said, Im still recovering from the over baked skin from last trip. Just got done with a seriese of skin meds. YUCK.
BUT by Feb....I'll be better than new and armed with waterproof sun tan lotion, SPF 50!!

Fragrance free too.

We sill visit if we can pull it off.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Yay Joe Mazur and Cheryl.

I have one of Joes Black Mottled Bantam Cochin Roos for my Bantam Mille Fleur Cochin project. He's beautiful. Joe breeds awesome birds. Anyone working on the project interested in Splits let me know. I'll be having some as soon as the hens start up laying again.

Have 20 Dark Cornish/Delawares and 20 Wheaten/Blue Wheaten Marans eggs that were due today but they ALL hatched last night and are raising a ruckus in the hatcher! Poor chicks still trying to hatch are getting trampled. Haven't set up a brooder yet as I took a month off hatching and put everything away. Yikes, better get busy. Anyone looking for chicks?

Something to share that others might find useful. I have had 14 hrs of light in my layer coop now for 2 weeks with no increase in production. My layer coop has access to the outside run 24/7. I can lock them in but don't routinely. I was up very early yesterday morning to get my son to an 8 am appointment so I was down with the animals before it was light out. Lo and behold, every chicken was outside the coop standing in the dark! They are busted! Either going to change the timer to be just in the evening or be locking their butts in every night. Bunch of cheaters!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

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The problem "I" see with the eve timer for lights is that (from what I know) chickens have very poor sight in the dark. If you suddenly turn out the lights will they find thier way to roost. This is why I prefer to do my timers in the am andlet the birds go to bed with the sun.

 

[blueducklings]

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Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh he is so perfect.

 

[hallerlake]

So where is everyone this morning?

 

[Jake Levi]

CR I am with you on the timer, early to rise and early to bed. Works for me,

They do find the roosts but I like waking them up earlier and then their own putting to bed, for now its up at 6:00 for all of us. I'm not pushing for a lot of laying right now, just want them to get rested and built up for spring egg and chick rearing.

Pitter Patter, looks like a real keeper!

Congratulations !!

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

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The problem "I" see with the eve timer for lights is that (from what I know) chickens have very poor sight in the dark. If you suddenly turn out the lights will they find thier way to roost. This is why I prefer to do my timers in the am andlet the birds go to bed with the sun.

Except I have a DH who is not happy with roosters crowing at 3 am. I have noticed that in the evening they are drawn to the light so they are all in the coop and while a few are milling about on the floor the majority of them are hanging out on the roost. I was puzzled that in the am instead of staying in by the light they all went out into the dark. I let them all take a break and do their molting thing. They just don't get as long a break as they would like. When I'm filling a 30lb feeder almost daily and getting 2 eggs then it's time to get busy again. I let my breeding pens just go with the seasons.

 

[Kaneke]

late start for me today, was UP in time enough, but was doing a bunch of farm chores on my FB farms (3 different programs)

DS's friend Roxanne brought him home last night and he grilled the chicken breasts that I'd had marinating in orange/lime/dill sauce all day; plus garlic mashed potatoes, fresh corn, and toasted sourdough slices ...

so we all slept in a little bit today, but DS had to work so he and Roxanne took off in a rush ... just time for a little morning conversation

NO eggs yesterday ! stupid chickens ! I will have to set up a timer and lights in the coop, since they seem to be going in really early, I've seen them roosting at 4:30 in the afternoon

of course they don't like wind, and while I have the run partially blocked from westerly winds, and the coop and run are in the wind shadow of the house for southerly winds; when we get something in from the east, they head for the coop .. and I think they freaked out when we got a couple of walloping gusts yesterday

 

[blueducklings]

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Shiney is scareey.

I finally figured out what kind of duckies I have.
Holderreads gave me some solid fawns, some original browns and the one boy...is a mystery.
These are all very rare in the USA. They are very old colours. Fawn is like Fawn & white without the white, and cinnamon is reddish and brown is just brown, not chocolate. NOT SHINEEY.

So if I let the all breed I will still get cinnamons...and maybe some blue fawns. Can't wait...except I really have no more room to keep any more ducklings. They grow up.

WAY COOL. Thanks Dave Holderread! Please don't retire anytine soon.

So...to deal wiff the wet muck, I got me 2 yards of river rock to spat all over the duck run area. (20X 10) it sould keep me dry when I go into the enclosure and the ducks will stay cleaner. I hate as much as they love the mud they make. Then they trot it into their fluffy den and mess up the clean eggs.
The deep compost method is finally working inside duck motel. I can see the steam. They should be very warm & comfy this winter.
So I now have 3 boys and 7 girls.
averaging about 4 eggs a day because 2 ducks are just coming out of molt. Not too bad. They are all blue except for one giant cream egger.