Washingtonians

[VelvettFog]

All my girls shared half a head of cabbage and some shredded lettuce. Also some older chopped up tomatoes.

How do y'all give treats like that to your chickens? Throw it on the ground? Too messy to clean up after them. If I put it in a bowl, they still throw it all over the place. How to keep the mess contained when giving scraps so that rodents don't come for leftovers?

I think if there are left overs you are feeding them too much. I toss my treats into the run.

 

[VelvettFog]

Sometimes, but not all the time. She did have the energy to go outside today (after spending the day in the coop with Ricky), she ate some as her crop felt more full than yesterday, and she jumped up to the roost with the rest of the girls tonight. She did poop as I gave her the solution from the dropper this evening though and it was laced with blood. I'm thinking maybe she's on the upswing though?

Jess,

A time or two you've mentioned that the crop is 'full'. Have you ever found it empty? When it is 'full' does it feel extra hard? or extra squishy?

 

[ByN8ureHomstead]

Quote:

Yep talked to Cloverleaf. Everything is still on schedule.

 

[VelvettFog]

@FWJ

Could your sick bird be injured? When I was there some of the neighbor kids were instant on catching/holding the birds. Maybe there was an accident? Stepped on or kicked? Some other trauma?

Which one is Princess?

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: That white ball of fluff is the high tech Silkiebator. Set it and forget it!

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: I think people do it when parasites will be most active and before they start laying a lot. I would say do it beginning of March.
September coincides with molting, and a slowdown in laying.
At least I think that is what I remember hearing.

 

[Kenshan1]

If you want Easter eggers that lay you will want to know the mixed breeds. Some of my EE's are mixed with my leghorn hen that lay super well but are a little lighter build and tend to be a little skittish.
If you know the history and breeds mixed you should have a good idea of if they will be heavy layers or not.
Good mixes for heavy laying EE's are the production type breeds for the hen and a Ameraucana Rooster (imho any how)
I don't have anymore chicks/starters that are not spoken for atm (except some roosters.... free if you will pick em up tomorrow!) But I have fertile eggs if your wanting to hatch some. Just know that my bantam flock rooster was out today so for the next 3 weeks it is possible bantam mix but my big AM rooster kept chasing so maybe not.

Urban chicken keepers here in my area, tend to love the colors and laying power so I have:
AM rooster with...
Leghorn for light blue egg laying, power layers
Blackstar for green layers with a 4-5 a week laying
Olive egger for the dark green layers with good laying power but also broody tendency
EE for Teal-ish egg layers again with good laying power (my EE's lay a minty green egg so add blue and you get a tealish color)
and of course my AM girls for pure bred BBS AM's
I only keep hens who lay 4 or more a week with the exception of broody/molting times..... My girls even laid eggs all winter with no supplemental lighting. (I let them get down to 2-3 a week in winter)
Here is Blue Two with her chicks. Tomorrow they get a full outside run to themselves

can you see all the chicks? 4 are peeking out........
I got 3 blacks 3 blues and 2 splashes.
This is the hen that vanished for 2 1/2 days and I thought was a gonner until she came out screaming for breakfast on the 3rd day.
Anyhow... if anyone is wanting EE's or BBS AM's just let me know when you want baby chicks or started birds and I will add to the hatch calendar. I normally hatch in winter/spring.

The problem is I would only want/need/ can only take 1-2 chicks & right now no way to hatch. My RIR is kinda nesting, she has plucked her feathers on her underside but is only half on half off the nest box & she wanted nothing to do with the 4 chicks I brought home. So i don't think she will hatch anything. I would need something close in age to the little ones I have about 2wks old with wing feathers mostly in. We want birds that will lay Med to Lrg eggs. I need friendly birds/chicks.

Shannon

 

[itsren]

The problem is I would only want/need/ can only take 1-2 chicks & right now no way to hatch. My RIR is kinda nesting, she has plucked her feathers on her underside but is only half on half off the nest box & she wanted nothing to do with the 4 chicks I brought home. So i don't think she will hatch anything. I would need something close in age to the little ones I have about 2wks old with wing feathers mostly in. We want birds that will lay Med to Lrg eggs. I need friendly birds/chicks.

Shannon

If you can wait until the Monday after 4th of July, we'd LOVE to try to hatch something for you. We just bought a couple of mini incubators from Chubby Chicken and we really want to do a science project with the kids over the summer. I'm having them study animal husbandry and the life cycle of the chicken. Then they'll write a "what I did over the summer" paper about it for their teacher. I'd really like for them to see the hatching process - but, at the same time, we can't keep chicks that hatch during August because of a scheduled vacation.

If you find the eggs - we'd be more than happy to do that. Did I catch that right - you're in Bonney Lake? We're in Auburn.

 

[KMHunter]

Here are my new babies! Below is the one Faverolle that would sit still for picture time! Lol!

Such fluffy chicks! I was surprised.


My Silkies

 

[FirewifeJess]

@FWJ

Could your sick bird be injured? When I was there some of the neighbor kids were instant on catching/holding the birds. Maybe there was an accident? Stepped on or kicked? Some other trauma?

Which one is Princess?

Dave - thanks for all the thought provoking questions! Crop - when they wake up and I feeltheir necks, there's no bulge or anything to speak of. After they've eaten anything at all, I can feel a bulge, however large, and it's usually pretty hard feeling but the stuff inside moves around if I press or squeeze gently.

As for neighbor kids and injury...I haven't let them come back to see the chickens. William hasn't attempted to kick another chicken since you left, either (the spankings 2 days in a row seemed to get through)! Princess is actually one of my new birds that I got on Saturday after you guys left. That's why I think maybe she just stressed out big time and got sick with something. Cocci seems likely because of her poop. This morning she wasn't gaping her mouth, I don't think worms if they aren't likely in Western WA and since she's still only 10 weeks old. She truly seems exactly like the type of bird who will stress out and get sick though, she's a very sweet girl but I could visibly see that she missed her old home. She was so sad and sough out my attention right away!