Washingtonians

[Farmin Momma]

That really makes me feel great how much you all like my picture! And yes I will be framing and hanging that one. I hope to see yall at the meet up.

 

[FirewifeJess]

2:40pm. The chickens are restless. I pulled up some more grass and weeds and threw them in. Happiness.

The rotating fan is keeping them cool (though a couple are still panting), their water has ice in it. The green metal roof might have been a bad idea. It gets way hot in there on these warm days! Hoping that means that what little sun and warmth we have in the winter will be reflected straight down on the chooks. I hope the med comes soon. Their poops are weird.

 

[Zgoatlady]

I'm in Olympia so could meet up n Puyallup depending on date time etc.

I wouldnt mind meeting in Puyallup to eat and than the ones who wanted to go to the new store could head there. Just a thought that we we all would be happy

I have to see when the date would be.. How does that sound to you SadiSue and everyone elsa JustBugged does that sound good? Maybe we could do something fun too like bring something chicken related all wrapped up and draw numbers to see who goes first. Just a thought it will get us talking thats for sure.

 

[Rainwolf]

I'm going to be picking oregon grapes tomorrow if anyone wants to join me! just let me know when you can come if you can and we can pick together

I have food grade 5 gallon buckets I put the berries in.

 

[Hinotori]

After having read people's posts about Coastal Farm Supply in Auburn, I went and think I have a new favorite place!

We could have a meeting there, shop for our chickens, and then go to someplace in the Supermall for a bite to eat or something.

That store is great! I like the little card to get a free bag of food, too. Hubby was eyeing the generators as they have one of the same type we have and it's cheaper than what we paid. We can chain them for use.

The little chicken tractors there are tempting for the silkies.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Well, day 1 of chickens being mostly confined to their run and they're all pretty happy actually! Lucy escaped (she's better at it than my cat!!) for a few minutes but decided that the scrambled eggs I brought them inside the run was better than being out, so she came back in. I have shoved quite a few handfuls of grass and weeds into the run as well and they're happy with that. Anyone know if it's a good idea to put cut grass into their run as the bedding? The sand takes too much effort to scoop poop out of daily, I figured if I just keep tossing in cut grass it'll pile up and dry out along with their poop, and maybe once a month I can rake it all out? Talk to me, west siders, about our climate and what you use inside your covered runs! I need the advice...I don't like scooping sand like kitty litter every single day.

Also, I have a ton of extra wild bird seed I was feeding to wild birds 2 years back in a different house. Can I give them some of that as a treat sometimes to get rid of it?

Asking again, for anyone who can tell me what's lowest maintenance in a covered run. A small area does get wet because rain runs off the coop into the edge of the run. But for the most part, although we have damp weather the run will stay fairly dry. Compressed straw? have some, could use it right now. Cut grass? DH just has to mow a portion of the yard and we could use that. Shavings? have some too, could use that in coop and run. Keep just the sand? ugh, don't want to have to scoop poop out of it daily. Right now there's a lot of poop in there. A dozen birds in the run even for a whole day creates a lot more poop than I thought it would. Didn't realize how spread out over the yard it actually was, until now. Thanks anyone who has some input!!

 

[Hinotori]

Ok, this is just a cool news story even if it's not from here. It is chicken related though.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31260321/detail.html

 

[FirewifeJess]

Ok, this is just a cool news story even if it's not from here. It is chicken related though.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31260321/detail.html

That's great!

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: I just put bark chips in my run. I like them, but the girls aren't as happy with it as they were with the dirt. But it wa muddy in places. So I think I will rake them into the areas that got muddy and leave the other places sand and dirt. I used grass clippings that were short, as our mower mulches everything. But Someone said that wasn't good for them. Even though I hadn't had an issue. Our vet throws down alfalfa, as in the baled stuff. Spreads it out and the chickens eat the leaves and flowers(which is really good for them) and the rest breaks down, but will create aless muddy place for them in the mean time.
Hope this helps!

 

[Hinotori]

I put down some stemmy alfalfa, shredded bark mulch, and some straw this last winter and spring. I had wood shavings and alfalfa in their dry shelter. They love to dig in and eat the leaves. I tarped over most of the run against the rain, but it was just to wet with it soaking in from the sides as well. I should go dig out everything that I put down in the run, but it's built up the low spots and there isn't much issue anymore. Never had any issues with smell as the chickens were constantly turning it looking for bugs. They free range most of the time so I don't get as much poop buildup. Just during those snowy days did they stick to small spots.

I have straw down in the silkie pen. It was my injured pen before and those girls would really move that straw around and get it to decompose quick. I'd just put more straw before putting the silkies in and they discovered that it's worm heaven in there. I was going to scoop it all out last month, but it seemed kind of mean to the birds who don't get to free range. They love digging out those worms. I'll have to get it in the garden at the end of summer. The garden needs it more than they do.