Washingtonians

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Now that DH has finally gone to sleep--I'm heading for bed. I did not want yet another lecture about my chickens or any more questions on which breeds I am going to sell to get down to 10 that he's requesting.

And yes, he's counting the two goose breeds and muscovies as three breeds--which means 7 breeds of chicken.

I need to win Powerball...

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I would say Orps or Brahmas. I've owned both and they are both large, lay well, friendly and hardy. Wyandottes are good too but not as good of layers.

The Doms--I've wanted to add to my flock but haven't...they have a rose comb, rather than a single comb, like the Barred Rocks. This makes them more cold hardy (less prone to frostbite). Both lay a brown egg and have similar patterns. The Doms are much more rare and in need of preservation & development. I have Light Sussex & Coronation Sussex...they are great layers (brown eggs), friendly and pretty hardy. I have had some frostbite issues with their combs & pink legs but I'm much colder over here than you are on the wet westside.

A downside to them is they require a LOT of space and eat a lot of food). Same with Brahmas.

As far as the Speckleds go--I haven't really seen any that are fantastic layers or anything spectacular.

My MIL had white rocks for years and loved them. They laid well, occasionally went broody, they ranged well and didn't need much.

My orp is a nice bird. Her brother, Rainwolf's Fabio, is very gentle and well mannered.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
I would say Orps or Brahmas. I've owned both and they are both large, lay well, friendly and hardy. Wyandottes are good too but not as good of layers.

The Doms--I've wanted to add to my flock but haven't...they have a rose comb, rather than a single comb, like the Barred Rocks. This makes them more cold hardy (less prone to frostbite). Both lay a brown egg and have similar patterns. The Doms are much more rare and in need of preservation & development. I have Light Sussex & Coronation Sussex...they are great layers (brown eggs), friendly and pretty hardy. I have had some frostbite issues with their combs & pink legs but I'm much colder over here than you are on the wet westside.

A downside to them is they require a LOT of space and eat a lot of food). Same with Brahmas.

As far as the Speckleds go--I haven't really seen any that are fantastic layers or anything spectacular.

My MIL had white rocks for years and loved them. They laid well, occasionally went broody, they ranged well and didn't need much.

My orp is a nice bird. Her brother, Rainwolf's Fabio, is very gentle and well mannered.

Yeah I loved mine...I had buffs for a little bit and then blue/black/splash for about a year.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

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Mr H doesn't clean coops. I do.

Yeah...and mine hasn't ever in the 5 years I've owned chickens...he has fed/watered on occasion--if I'm out of town but never is involved, otherwise. Since I'm 33 weeks pregnant, he's finally taking some pity on me after watching me empty out the waterfowl tubs, drag hoses & pack feed. If I wasn't pregnant, he still would have nothing to do with the chickens/ducks/geese and would remain blissfully ignorant of the number of poultry I have.

Mine plays a pretty active role in their husbandry. Much more so with my pregnancy. In fact, all the animals' care. Cleans the litterbox (we have an automatic one- Litter Robot. Best thing ever but that's another story), cleans the coop (the DE dust), does the majority of pulling and washing the eggs as well as doggie doo scooping. Now it tends to be more split in the chores- I just do the majority of the feeding, brushing, washing, walking, etc.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Quote:
Also, if hatchery, the size of all birds are about 4-5# you will not have a 10# brahma.

My first hatchery birds were Brahmas from McMurray. They were 12lb roosters and 9-10lb hens. Massive.

Awesome birds.

That's pretty awesome. Mine are from Privett but I've heard it from other chicken keepers that have had theirs from many hatcheries. Still love our imperfect Brahma. The nice thing about hatchery is that most lay well- more than what the guides tell you.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Quote:
Oh, dear. Does he have any idea how messy babies are? He's in for a shock.

Here's a t-shirt for him. http://www.cafepress.com/+i_have_cdo_dark_tshirt,437328017

I, unfortunately, am plagued by the want & desire for great organization. It soothes my brain. I, jokingly, have asked DH for a pressure washer to hose the baby down so I don't have to be near all that disgusting matter. He said I could look inot marketing a baby bidet. Lol. Sounds like the OCD tendencies subside once kids are in the picture. Life isn't something we can control. I think those type-B's must live a much happier, relaxed life.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Think I'm done running the thread at the moment. I wonder how justbugged is, she used to be a great night crew but hasn't been in for a while.

We had a late dinner- I took a nap & DH was doing some studying. Now I'm horizontal again and Baby is kicking up a storm. He's so active- I wonder if that means he won't be too restful after delivery. I'm planning on working as of 6-8wk after so sure hope he's a good sleeper.

CL, thanks for the catnip again. The girls are loving it!

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
Oh, dear. Does he have any idea how messy babies are? He's in for a shock.

Here's a t-shirt for him. http://www.cafepress.com/+i_have_cdo_dark_tshirt,437328017

I, unfortunately, am plagued by the want & desire for great organization. It soothes my brain. I, jokingly, have asked DH for a pressure washer to hose the baby down so I don't have to be near all that disgusting matter. He said I could look inot marketing a baby bidet. Lol. Sounds like the OCD tendencies subside once kids are in the picture. Life isn't something we can control. I think those type-B's must live a much happier, relaxed life.

Prior to having kids I used to squirt soft-scrub with bleach on all the grout-lines on my kitchen counters and scrub them all witha toothbrush at least once per week, Everything in my house had its spot, and all was too clean. Now I just make sure the bathrooms are clean and there is a decent sized clean spot on the kitchen counter, and maybe I will get around to the rest some time during the year. I would have been disgusted walking into my own house a few years ago, but now I find that most people I know with kids the same ages as mine have homes in similar dissarray, and friends whose kids have moved away are back to having clean (but no longer spotless) homes.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Quote:
You are not that far from me (Moses Lake area, right)....I will have to seriously think about this and may have to take you up on it. May have to remind me.

No, sorry, I'm in Lacey, far from Omak.

Oh, bummer. I was thinking Moses Lake. Dang.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Quote:
Very true. DH only talks anything about the quantity of the chickens when he's cleaning the coop.

Yeah...but I have been bugging mine to FINISH my large coop since 2009...I gave up on that and got something that I thought could be easily converted into a second coop...that was also about 2 years ago...and then I found several options for builders to build me what I need that he won't and he's just now starting to get the second coop done and keeps threatening to stop all construction because he wants me to sell 1/2 my flock and downsize.

He refuses to finish my bantam bins which will house my bantams during the winter. This means I have to sell most of them (to him). To me, it means I have to hire someone else to do the cages. I pay for all of the chickens, chicks, eggs, vaccines, medications, sand, shavings, feed, etc, etc myself through hatching egg sales. Not a dime comes out of our "regular" budget...

He's only b*tching about it because he'll have to actually help out around here with feeding/watering while I'm recovering from the c-section....now that he knows how many birds I have

and he doesn't listen to me as far as the quickest/most time-efficient ways to feed/water--he's griping because it takes him 1/2 hour and it's "disorganized."

In actuality, it is not....but in his OCD brain, it is. He wants everything absolutely perfect and uniform and weird. They are living things!

He has already made me get rid of four of my horses. I told him it's him or the remaining horses--so he backed off. The hatching egg sales pay for my 3 horses' hay (and HIS one horse's hay) every year. I used to raise/breed reptiles before I got into the poultry...he made me stop that because he said the lizards were gross, their heat lamps were a fire hazard and the crickets I had to feed them were "smelly & noisy." Now that I have chickens--it's all he gripes about. He brings it up several times a day/night. Tonight, he said it was really bothering him and that my chicken hobby is "weird & gross."

It is not weird and gross.

Gosh....If I were just a tinsy bit closer I would come and do it for you. How long do you need someone to do it before you are back on your feet? Maybe I will anyway. Well - I would come and feed and water - you wouldn't want me to finish the coop.

Tell him to go clean the house or his work shed and to leave your birds alone. You guys have plenty of property and you are obviously not a hoarder.