Washingtonians

[Chickielady]

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Hi !
How is the triple-broody-hatch going on ?
It must be crazy with the wet weather too !

they are doing well. the tenative date for all but 3 of the eggs is 6-13-10 the other 3 are 6-14-10
one egg broke. the australorp and the buff orphington are sharing duties well. when one gets up to relieve its self the other horards the eggs. so i am happy these are getting better coverage than the last batch. the silkie has 7 eggs i moved one over there because this one egg kept sticking out a little from the big hens.

i tried candling liek you all do on day 7 but i couldn't tell anything except all were fertile the shells are so thick you can barely see anything. i think one or 2 eggs went bad because i see 2 air sacs in it. at both ends. but i am just too nervous to cull the eggs. i would rather have my bf do that on day 25. the flashlight i use is a led one. the shells are jsut too thick and dark colored.

here is a question. when the eggs hatch (i assume some will, my hatch rate can't get worse from 3 out of 11 in the last try)
i have all 3 broodies in a pen together. the silkie has its own box and the 2 hens share a doghouse. what will happen when they chicks are running around will the hens be as sharing in the duties of overseeing or will they fight. i am thinking when some hatch i will kick the australorp out because i want it laying again and the buff o is molting (no feathers on its neck so i assumed because there are no signs of actual pecking. in actually it is the bossy one. and the buff and silkie can be babysitters in the same pen together (the silkie i got for free as a cheap incubator and is too old to lay)

Wow, I would think they would fight to the death to protect what they feel is their babies. Even if half of them may belong to another hen !

While they are broody, mine are always kind of in a trance, and when the babies hatch the hens 'wake up' and can be very very defensive, attacking anything and eveything and squacking like crazy !
So far as I have seen, the BO's are the more defensive and territorial and great sitters, but will fight if another hen comes close.

That has been my experience, good luck !!

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

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Hi ReiMiraa, from Omak:

I too am tired of the rain....I think my chickens are also.

 

[Chickielady]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/recovery/sharptailed_grouse/ This has had my interest for quite a while now, and you guys in EW should really pay attention here, this could be alot of fun and maybe bring in soem cashola.
The state wants to bring back the sage grouse and the sharp tailed grouse, they are probably going too want ppl to hatch, breed and to set free along with property owners that have good habitat, to release some of these awesome birds on the lands over there.
I have several links so will post them here in more than one posting cuz I cannot go back and forth...

 

[Chickielady]

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

June 4, 2010

Contacts: Derek Stinson, 360-902-2475 or
Robert T. Nelson, 360-902-2262

Public comments sought on draft Columbian
sharp-tailed grouse recovery plan

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public comment on a draft recovery plan for the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse.

In 1998, WDFW wrote a status report on the bird that led to it being listed by the state as a threatened species. This is the state’s first recovery plan for the sharp-tailed grouse. Such plans are required for species listed as threatened or endangered.

The draft plan can be viewed and downloaded from WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/recovery/sharptailed_grouse/ . Copies of the plan are available at WDFW regional offices, or by calling the department’s Wildlife Program at 360-902-2515. A copy can also be requested by sending an email to [email protected] .

The department will take public comments on the plan through Sept. 7 of this year. Comments may be submitted by email to [email protected] or sent by U.S. Mail to:

Endangered Species Section Manager
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capital Way North
Olympia, WA 98501-1091

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse are native to eastern Washington and Oregon, portions of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, and southern British Columbia east of the Cascades. They once resided in large numbers in areas such as the Palouse. Their numbers have been in steady decline, and in Washington now reside in seven small, isolated populations scattered in the northcentral portion of the state. Last year the estimated breeding population was 712 birds, down from approximately 5,000 birds in 1970. Biologists believe the primary reason for their decline is the loss of habitat.

The goal of the draft recovery plan is to restore ample habitat to support a population of approximately 3,200 birds for a 10-year period. WDFW wildlife biologist Derek Stinson said that restoring and sustaining a population of that size would eventually allow the state to remove the birds from its list of threatened species.

One challenge facing recovery is that grouse need a varied habitat in close proximity.

"Good habitat has both grassland for nesting and deciduous trees and shrubs with buds or berries for winter foraging," said Stinson, who co-authored the recovery plan. "Ideally, all of that should be within a few kilometers. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Currently, sharp-tailed grouse have to travel up to 20 kilometers in search of habitat that meets their seasonal needs for cover, protection from predators, brood rearing and food."

Stinson said that private landowners, government and non-government agencies and tribes will need to work together to assemble and restore the contiguous acres of grasslands, shrub steppe and riparian winter habitat the birds need to survive.

One tool the state will rely on is funds provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). A sub-program of CRP, State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement, provides incentive payments to private landowners in Douglas County who establish and maintain perennial vegetation on cropland to provide habitat for sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse.

Currently 800,000 acres in Washington are under contract with funds from the CRP. Many of those contracts are set to expire in the next few years, and biologists fear they won’t be renewed if commodity prices increase.

After reviewing public comments, and making any needed revisions, WDFW expects to finalize the recovery plan by the end of this year.

Photos and videos of sharp-tailed grouse, and examples of their habitat can be viewed at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/recovery/sharptailed_grouse/ .

alrighty ! I figured it out !

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[Chickielady]

wowzers !
would it not be awesome to hatch out gobs and gobs of sage grouse and sharp tailed grouse and get to set them free in EW ????
That would be so cool !

where do we get eggs ????????????????

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

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So very cool....I want to look further into this. Kind of sounds fun.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

I have a question to all and I am not sure what thread to ask on....so all of you are my sounding board.

Do I need to be concerned about the wild birds that come through my yard and if they could be carrying anything that would infect my Girls? By this I mean, quail, pheasant, crows, tweety birds (ie, sparrows, finches, grossbeak, etc), robins? I know that Starlings are dirty birds and have been known to cause problems...but are they truly any worse than these others? My girls were out the other day and they had a small pack of quail hanging out with them. I just want to make sure that there is nothing I need to be worrying about.

 

[RonB]

But what about us that ARE NOT on Facebook

I guess we just sit and worry. That something might have happen to her, or hubby, or one of the boys, or EVEN one of her CHICKENS

How about chicken rustler?????????? anybody heard from him lately???

 

[drunkdog]

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this is a good question..we have a small pack of crows that hang out and eat in the compost pile, considering I have seen hawks within a cityblock of my place I kind of like the crows hanging out

 

[Chickielady]

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Seems like not for a couple or more days...hey, mebbe they are , ya know, incognito ?????