Washingtonians

[Totalcolour]

Quote:
Those are some gorgeous girls! I never thought "I" would become an addict - but, I have. I have a "sport" - AmeraucnaX that somehow got feathered legs; she was a cross with my BLRW. Also have some funny looking Polish crosses, with the BLRW. Got to find that danged camera!

 

[Illia]

You sure your "Ameraucana X" is an Ameraucana cross?

I see an EE in your avatar, and few Ameraucanas have feathered leg sports, all of which cases are just tiny stubs in one color.



Love those Faverolles though! It is so rare to see some that aren't weird looking with excess black in all the wrong places.

 

[KMHunter]

Quote:
Yes, I did! It's dangerous, this forum. You guys are professional enablers, too! All these pictures of beautiful birds and lovely coops.... it puts dangerous ideas into my chickenless head.

So not only am I in love with Faverolles and Ameraucanas, I discovered the Belgian D'anver. My husband is Belgian, so he is especially enthusiastic about this breed. There really is something about those bearded birdies.

Thanks all for the warm welcome! I hope the meetups went well!

Welcome to the WA thread! I think the South Sounders meetup was nice. Pretty sure those rowdy Northerners had a good time too. Do you have a coop up yet, or are the plans still in your head? I love the birds you mentioned, I currently have 2 Ameraucanas which are sweet girls and dependable layers. In May I hatched a few Salmon Faverolles from eggs I got from Cloverleaf. GORGEOUS girls, (IMO anyway, but of course I'm biased) and so funny and friendly - I only planned on keeping one pullet but am finding myself hard pressed to give either of them up! They are 17 weeks old and I think should be laying before too long. I'm thinking of adding a couple of other breeds to my mixed flock though so may end up selling one of my pretty SF's to make room. If you're interested, and IF I find the strength to give one up I could always PM you and let you know.

Here's a few pics I've been meaning to show off anyway. Whenever I'm out in the yard either with a camera or treats, they are among the first to RUN to me. I do find that they are the biggest camera hogs though. As soon as I take the cap off the lens they are front and center exhibiting that curious tilt of the head. They have the prettiest full beards, and I love their body type!

Love these girls!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0902-edit.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0903-edit.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0911-edit-2.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0912-edit.jpg

I am in love!! Oh Man! Another breed I may have to get my hands on. I guess I will have to get started on a second coop and run. After I get my kitty well that is. But those are beautiful girls! Enablers, every last one of you!

 

[Zgoatlady]

Ok its been awhile since Ive been on here, work is driving me crazy and when I get home all I want to do I curl up in a ball and cry and sleep. Going to be a long month.
But this past Wed my son said hay mom guess what I found outside? Not in a mood for a guessing game kid. What it was , was 4 BCM chicks so hay anyone want 4 chicks. My husband to the auction they go, so anyone Pm me and they are yours just please get them this weekend... Let me know... Oh and no I wont ship them sorry.

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Yay for hallerlake's maturing flock

Rob, drinks are easy to haul & purchase.

Illia, tell me more about your Araucana girls. How can a couple make their way to Edmonds?

 

[PitterPatterPalace]

Kim, hope you're holding up. Very sorry about your sick kitty. I cannot offer advice, just support & hugs. Thinking of you.

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
All of your Icelandics are beautiful! Especially the girl with the crest in the second pic

Did you get many girls with crests? I want them so badly - my heritage is Icelandic and I love how you never know what you'll get and how different they are. However - I don't know that our backyard is the right place for the breed. Someday!

There are 2 hens in the second pic, bottom left that have hardly any comb, a blue (laced) and a black..there is others in the picture that have standard combs, and a few with what appears as a pea-type comb.
They are flighty, and self reliant.
They are also small, though not as small as a bantam.
They are quiet compared to LF breeds.
If you have a contained run (one with a net over the top) it would work great for you!
Fair warning though: They are all different, even bred by the same parents, and each is gorgeous, and you will want them all.
That said, having Icelandics will soothe the savage beast that lies in us all for COLOR!
One breed and you have it all!
It will be great fun watching the APA try to access these birds, as there can be very little standard, except for size, body type & egg color.
You can have 2X as many of these birds in the same size coop as a LF breed, and they fly well, and love to roost high, leaving the coop floor open for nest boxes and walking space, which is also nice.
Anyone with Bantams will tell you, a smaller breed is nice to have, less feed, less poop, and produces just about the same sized egg, AND so many colors!
The dark chocolate colors & blue laced patterns have fascinated me.
The standard comb cockerals with a crest are interesting too!
Almost all of this hatch is crested but one, and it looks to have some crest growing in, but "brushed back" like Mozart.

I was speaking of the blue girl I think

I have a thing for blue!

I thought we'd do well with Icelandics until I read about how they like to go up. We have two huge cedars in our yard that give our free-range girls cover - but I think the Icelandics would like to keep going up & up! Someday when we hvae a covered pen...they are so beautiful!

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
??? the fanny in cold water? tell me more

I've given in and given eggs every time!

This is one way to break broodies, sometimes it works, sometimes it does not:

A big pail of water, take the broody & dip in the water (cold water!)
A few dunks usually brings her out of her stupor.
Also works:
Put the broody in a small cage (transport type) and suspend from a tree limb or clothesline...and let the cage swing, swing it yourself if there is little wind.
The rocking motion will 'wake ' her up.
Hope this helps.

It does, thank you! We tried keeping her out of the coop - but she was just mean to all the other girls

Will try one of these next time (unless we really want chicks!)

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Quote:
Yes, I did! It's dangerous, this forum. You guys are professional enablers, too! All these pictures of beautiful birds and lovely coops.... it puts dangerous ideas into my chickenless head.

So not only am I in love with Faverolles and Ameraucanas, I discovered the Belgian D'anver. My husband is Belgian, so he is especially enthusiastic about this breed. There really is something about those bearded birdies.

Thanks all for the warm welcome! I hope the meetups went well!

Welcome to the WA thread! I think the South Sounders meetup was nice. Pretty sure those rowdy Northerners had a good time too. Do you have a coop up yet, or are the plans still in your head? I love the birds you mentioned, I currently have 2 Ameraucanas which are sweet girls and dependable layers. In May I hatched a few Salmon Faverolles from eggs I got from Cloverleaf. GORGEOUS girls, (IMO anyway, but of course I'm biased) and so funny and friendly - I only planned on keeping one pullet but am finding myself hard pressed to give either of them up! They are 17 weeks old and I think should be laying before too long. I'm thinking of adding a couple of other breeds to my mixed flock though so may end up selling one of my pretty SF's to make room. If you're interested, and IF I find the strength to give one up I could always PM you and let you know.

Here's a few pics I've been meaning to show off anyway. Whenever I'm out in the yard either with a camera or treats, they are among the first to RUN to me. I do find that they are the biggest camera hogs though. As soon as I take the cap off the lens they are front and center exhibiting that curious tilt of the head. They have the prettiest full beards, and I love their body type!

Love these girls!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0902-edit.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0903-edit.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0911-edit-2.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/54793_img_0912-edit.jpg

Ooh!!! Love these pictures

Fuzzy faces are so adorable!

 

[Ogress]

Quote:
how old? What's FeLV/FIV status? Indoor/outdoor?
if it is kidney failure, toxins build up in the body eventually and begin to cause the seizures.... if not especially an old cat, it could be anything else causing the seizures. Tumor? Something toxic?

JBear: She started peeing inappropriately (on any clothes left on the floor--that sure teaches your teens to pick up their clothes!) and drinking a lot of water, almost obsessively. So I took her in and they checked a urine specimen ($140 for that visit). Ruled out diabetes, but urine was dilute, so they suspect kidney failure. But another $160 to be sure. Since there is no cure, what difference does it make? She drinks a lot and pees about 6 times a day, so I think that is what it is.

She was a stray so we don't know her age. They thought she was about 1 to 2 when we found her (2004), so she is probably 8 or 9 now, and has always had cat herpes (almost died from that) and a vomitting issue. Can only eat A/D wet food or she vomits (now up to $1.65 a small can). We just slowly switched her to K/D (less protein) for her kidneys. She also has terrible teeth and has had dental surgery twice ($500 a pop). I just can't afford to spend any more. We decided we would just let nature take it's course, making her as comfortable as possible and showering her with lots of love (hospice care).

She has always had what we thought were small seizures, where her head would shake and then twist sideways. I took her in for that years ago and they just said to watch her and bring her back if they got worse ($150 later) and they would try medication. I do not mean to be callous, because we adore her, but we have just reached a point where we can't keep spending money on her when we think her time is limited. We rescued her and have given her a really good, spoiled rotten life, being the "only child" pet. As I said, we just don't want her to suffer. She is still purring, loving to sit on laps and be brushed, so we are taking it day to day. But now I am afraid to leave her alone or she will have a seizure and fall. And I don't want her to die alone and afraid. In kidney failure, are the seizures end-stage? How do we decide if it is time to put her to sleep? This is so hard...

I lost two of my cats to kidney failure, and it sounds much like you are describing. The first cat was very old, he refused to eat the special food, so I just let him have what he wanted when he wanted. The vet suggested daily injections, but I could not see doing that to a cat that had a good life and it was time to go. I dod not want to subject him to more pain. When he did not eat for 3 days, and had lost considerable weight already before then, I called the vet.

The second cat I lost to kidney disease was quite recent, and only about 7 or 8 years old when we put her down. For her last year or two, she got steroid injections fairly frequently to treat stomatitis. Our vet comes to the house, and it was quite expensive and I know we could not afford to keep her up like that. She also refused all food but a brand that was $4 per can! I was paying more to feed her than I was paying to feed my kids because she'd eat 2 to 3 cans per day! I felt terrible when I called to put her down because she was fairly young and suffered for years, and also felt guilty that I was relieved as her passing lifted a big financial strain. I did not want to put her down because of financial reasons, so I kept her alive probably a week longer than I should have. The last couple days she had a very hard time even walking, but she still was good about using her litter box; she collapsed as she climbed out and I knew I waited too long and called the vet right then; and felt bad again that I let her needlessly suffer.