Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

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Well of course we all know yer Chickielady !!!!!!

 

[ByN8ureHomstead]

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Are you out of your mind, Texas is more miserable than here. You could not pay me enough money to go to Texas this time of the year.

Hmm, My younger sister live there, I wonder.

You couldn't pay me enough to live in Kansas !!!!!!!!!

I have told the family once we leave we are never coming back.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

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You couldn't pay me enough to live in Kansas !!!!!!!!!

I have told the family once we leave we are never coming back.

Kind of like when I went to Miserey. I saw real fast why it was a good place to be FROM !!!!

 

[broodytood]

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We had 100-110* a lot but it was dry heat. Not like those poor folks in the south who get that and the humidity!
I moved here when my mom died, I was 15. As kids we didn't seem to mind the heat as much.
Now, 80-85* and I'm good.
We had this AWESOME camping spot we used to go to all the time. Somewhere in the Sugar Pine area I think. It had a natural rock water slide area that dumped off into a large pool! As long as you didn't mind algae up your rear end, it was cool and refreshing! It was a clear water spring. So pretty!

There was a natural rock slide like that on the Stanislaus River...is that where you were?
I spent time there fishing.
Alot of time in the Valley at Knight's Lansing, upland game hunting at Gray Lodge.
Most of the summer it was Santa Cruz.........we lived in Los Gatos/Saratoga area.
The ranch was there on Quito Rd (before the Lawrence expressway) and that is where my horses were.
Rail road tracks went east to west, so we could ride forever.
Up to Lexington Reservoir, or through all the old growth apricot orchards, trees were so old they were 2 feet through the butt, all gone years ago....

...all lost to population growth.

Those orchards should have been protected, not bulldozed to build yet more houses of ticky tacky.
Who is going to feed all these breeding masses ?

Don't know? The Stanislaus is possible but it was a fresh water spring so maybe up in the mountains at the source? I was a kid and therefore mostly oblivious! But had a great time on those slimy rocks!
So we were close in San Jose! My Great Aunt was in Gilroy so we used to visit there as well. Lots of memories I had forgotten or buried.
Oh yeah, my mom worked in a machine shop in Oakland for a while, too.

 

[Rainwolf]

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I want them, but I have too many chickens ... 42! I need to get the number down near 30 - 35 before it snows. What do you all do with your cockerals? At this time I'm willing to let them be eaten. Of my 42, 8 are hens, 19 are pullets (I hope), 6 are unknown but looking kinda male, and the other 9 are cockerals

I have 3 beautiful bantam cochin cockerals that I bought as little chicks from CGG in May (and one MF cochin pullet). I'll take photos of them tomorrow. I already have a bantam cochin roo and a hen, but only 1 pullet.

Do all 5 week old Black Copper Marans chicks look like cockerals with their big combs, or are they all 4 male?

I try and sell them first for $10 each
Then if they don't sell I put them in freezer camp unless its a really friendly/show quality bird then I try a few times to sell before camp.
Sometimes I'll sell for $5 each if I have too many and not enough time to cull but again the pretties and SQ's go for 10 or freezer.
Here we have a few people who cull for feathers and make a mint off of that so pretties are $ or meat.

But then my birds have to pay for themselves, feed, coops.
I have a wallet that I keep all bird money in and use to pay for feed and stuff... if its not in the wallet then we don't get it. I also put money in the wallet if I cull for freezer since I don't have to pay the store I pay the wallet.

The chickens just manage to pay for themselves (roosters just pay back for feed cost no extra $..

)
and the quails help me get the extras such as the coops VF made me

 

[Rainwolf]

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CR, thanks for the input. What is the feed you use, is it good for all ages/stages?

It is from http://patriotfarmandbison.com/ . They are local to me BUT they do (last I knew) deliver to Seattle area. I feed the Max Grow 20%

I will be ordering a load as soon as I get back from my trip.
CarolynF depending on where you are located Scott (patriot farms) has 2 drop sites for feed.
1 in auburn/pacific area and 1 at my house by Northgate mall.
If you need feed and can come to one of the sites or the farm in winlock send a email to Scott! might take a couple days to get back to you since farms are busy places but you won't be disappointed!
*be aware the feed is fine ground so is like a mash rather then a crumble or pellet.*

CR I feed grower with ground oyster shells as chicks... they tend to grow stronger bones if they have the calcium. Then at 4 months they go on layer mix with grower (so they get some minerals and calcium) then once they start laying they go on layer in the adult coop.
This is all based on Scott's feed since I know what is in it. commercial feed is another whole ball o wax.

 

[CarolynF]

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It is from http://patriotfarmandbison.com/ . They are local to me BUT they do (last I knew) deliver to Seattle area. I feed the Max Grow 20%

I will be ordering a load as soon as I get back from my trip.
CarolynF depending on where you are located Scott (patriot farms) has 2 drop sites for feed.
1 in auburn/pacific area and 1 at my house by Northgate mall.
If you need feed and can come to one of the sites or the farm in winlock send a email to Scott! might take a couple days to get back to you since farms are busy places but you won't be disappointed!
*be aware the feed is fine ground so is like a mash rather then a crumble or pellet.*

CR I feed grower with ground oyster shells as chicks... they tend to grow stronger bones if they have the calcium. Then at 4 months they go on layer mix with grower (so they get some minerals and calcium) then once they start laying they go on layer in the adult coop.
This is all based on Scott's feed since I know what is in it. commercial feed is another whole ball o wax.

CR and Rainwolf, thanks for the additional info. Sounds like I need to get some grower. Still learning.... Any of those locations are doable at one time or another. I'll have to work on it.

Carolyn

 

[Ogress]

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I want them, but I have too many chickens ... 42! I need to get the number down near 30 - 35 before it snows. What do you all do with your cockerals? At this time I'm willing to let them be eaten. Of my 42, 8 are hens, 19 are pullets (I hope), 6 are unknown but looking kinda male, and the other 9 are cockerals

I have 3 beautiful bantam cochin cockerals that I bought as little chicks from CGG in May (and one MF cochin pullet). I'll take photos of them tomorrow. I already have a bantam cochin roo and a hen, but only 1 pullet.

Do all 5 week old Black Copper Marans chicks look like cockerals with their big combs, or are they all 4 male?

I try and sell them first for $10 each
Then if they don't sell I put them in freezer camp unless its a really friendly/show quality bird then I try a few times to sell before camp.
Sometimes I'll sell for $5 each if I have too many and not enough time to cull but again the pretties and SQ's go for 10 or freezer.
Here we have a few people who cull for feathers and make a mint off of that so pretties are $ or meat.

But then my birds have to pay for themselves, feed, coops.
I have a wallet that I keep all bird money in and use to pay for feed and stuff... if its not in the wallet then we don't get it. I also put money in the wallet if I cull for freezer since I don't have to pay the store I pay the wallet.

The chickens just manage to pay for themselves (roosters just pay back for feed cost no extra $..

)
and the quails help me get the extras such as the coops VF made me

Wow, I'm doing something wrong! Not including the price of the birds or the coops, I'm upside down selling eggs! Between food and wood shavings for bedding, I spend between $20 and $25 per week. Most weeks I sell 2 dozen eggs for $3.50 ea, and my family eats another 2 dozen. Once the pullets start laying, I will have about 8 dozen more per week, and if I can get rid of about 10 cockerals I will shave enough off my food bill to hopefully be under $20 per week. If I can get a little for the cockerals, that would help. I'm too much of a wimp to cull, though I think if it were a group thing, like a big culling party with a bunch of birds, not just mine, I could probably do it. The friendly ones would be a bit tough.

 

[Rainwolf]

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Wow, I'm doing something wrong! Not including the price of the birds or the coops, I'm upside down selling eggs! Between food and wood shavings for bedding, I spend between $20 and $25 per week. Most weeks I sell 2 dozen eggs for $3.50 ea, and my family eats another 2 dozen. Once the pullets start laying, I will have about 8 dozen more per week, and if I can get rid of about 10 cockerals I will shave enough off my food bill to hopefully be under $20 per week. If I can get a little for the cockerals, that would help. I'm too much of a wimp to cull, though I think if it were a group thing, like a big culling party with a bunch of birds, not just mine, I could probably do it. The friendly ones would be a bit tough.

I figured:
My adults eat so many bags of feed per month. (feed cost divided by number of adults = how much each should make a month)
My teens and chicks so many bags of feed per week (feed cost divided by number of teens (figure the monthly then divide to week estimates) + breeding/egg cost/etc = how much each bird sells for)
So my permanent flock must pay their share in either eggs for eating, eggs to hatch or chick sales.
My teens sell for food cost + breeding/egg/sq/etc cost or qualities.
My quails follow the same rules as the chickens.

I do add money to the bird fund when I cull and eat eggs. I think its only fair since I'm making them pay for themselves

If you need help culling just let me know. I'm more then happy to help. Its hard to cull at first but then you get to the point where you just have to and then get used to it. I know my birds are fed and treated well they are cared for and happy so its not as hard to cull them for food.

It is tougher to cull the sweeties or special needs birds. even for me its hard...

I currently have Wobbley the bantam cockerel who falls over and wobbles on his feet, and Owls who is a EE with this super round muff/tufts face. She (I hope its a she) has crocked toes and some walking issues. I don't do anything special for them but I will give them fighting chances rather then cull as tiny chicks. I'd never breed them but I've had special need chicks grow out of the issues and become great egg layers.

 

[Chickielady]

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my 3 buckeyes are fantastic if a bit of a pain.... they will sit on my feet while I try to walk cuz I "might" have food!
I can reach down and pet them anytime as well as pick them up. they are large and getting bigger every day. I've heard they are mousers as well but mine are still babies at 4 months but they do try to eat my toes if I'm in sandals.

Are you still selling your Buckeyes? I am so tempted to buy them, but I really, really, really don't want another cockeral; I have too many to get rid of.

I am not selling my breeding flock, although I do have 2 extra cockerals to re-home.
I will be selling hatching eggs in about 1 month and chicks after that...and will give you a few as I owe you 2.