Washingtonians

[hallerlake]

Ive been busy helping my son move and hope today is the last day to move, than have to help him clean the place. As much as he's gone through he seems to be doing pretty good. Its nice to have him close again, at least my mind cant lead me the wrong way when I wonder what he's up to.With the snow we had this past week some of my girls have stopped laying..
I hope every one has a good day..

Hallerlake, do you have the little brooder or is it the heat thing? If its the heat thing Id love to get it from you.. Let me know.

The incubator and brooder have been spoken for. Thank you for your interest.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

I got a Brinsea Eco Glow brooder because they use less energy than a heat lamp. The disadvantage is the chicks spend most of their time underneath it, which makes it hard to get pictures.

I used that too, in the beginning. But you can yank it out long enough to take a few pics.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

Hi everyone. I don't live in Washington State. I live in Indiana. Don't chase me away!!!

My husband may be getting a job in Seattle. And my biggest reason for being afraid of the move isn't leaving my friends behind. It's leaving my rural lifestyle and not being able to keep chickens anymore.

Are there any rural areas within an hour's drive of Seattle? We would love a home with small acreage (we currently only have 1.5 acres), but I'm wondering if we will be able to afford land in Washington. I have never been to the state, but it seems pretty citified around Seattle. This scares me!

Sorry to bother you all. I was not sure where I could post and I'm feeling panicky about possible life changes.

It depends on how much time he wants to spend commuting. I've been looking into this too. We moved here (from Indiana!) a year and a half ago. We're currently renting in Lake Forest Park, which is one of the first suburbs north of Seattle. Many people have small city lots (or in our case, a relatively large city lot - not many are this big in Seattle proper) and have chickens. But to have an acre or more, you're likely going to pay $400,000+ and/or have a very long commute. Downtown Seattle is only 20 minutes or so for us when it's NOT rush hour, but during heavy traffic times, it could take up to an hour. I would like to go a little further away and have more space, but I don't think my husband is going to go for it. To get anything approaching rural, you're going to have to go considerably farther. On the north end, this might be Snohomish or Woodinville (more east). I didn't look into the south end (of Seattle) much - others live that way, so maybe they will (or have) said something about it. I think there are more rural-ish places on the east side, but everyone told us when we moved here that it was best to live on the side of the lake where you intend to work.

 

[mikeyb]

Are there any tail holds beyond where it is going?

"tail holds" ? I'm not familiar with that term.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

I may have to get rid of my chickens. I may be developing something my sister the doctor called bird dung lung. I got better face mask to try when cleaning the coops next week. If it doesn't help, the chickens will have to go.

That totally stinks!!

I hope you can find something that works and isn't too much hassle.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

The next chapter in the whiny spouse saga has started.

He isn't happy with the amount of chicken poop in our yard, especially on/around the deck (which is level with the ground). He has asked if I will look into some kind of fence to contain them. I am *not* interested in spending a lot of money on a fence. The chickens are usually only outside for maybe a couple of hours, if that, so it doesn't seem like that much mess to me...they get free reign of the back yard (not a huge amount but plenty for five chickens - maybe 6-7,000 sq ft?). But...validity aside, what would be the cheapest way to contain them to a certain section of the yard and still be able to easily get in and out to close them in the coop?

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
Anchor points like trees stumps.

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
I agree - I hope you don't have to get rid of your chickens after you've put so much time and effort into building the flock you wanted, but of course your health is the most important issue.

 

[SadieSue]

The next chapter in the whiny spouse saga has started.

He isn't happy with the amount of chicken poop in our yard, especially on/around the deck (which is level with the ground). He has asked if I will look into some kind of fence to contain them. I am *not* interested in spending a lot of money on a fence. The chickens are usually only outside for maybe a couple of hours, if that, so it doesn't seem like that much mess to me...they get free reign of the back yard (not a huge amount but plenty for five chickens - maybe 6-7,000 sq ft?). But...validity aside, what would be the cheapest way to contain them to a certain section of the yard and still be able to easily get in and out to close them in the coop?

I'm having similar issues, not with DH, but with the total destruction of what used to be my back yard, and is now a big plot of mud. I've considered building a good sized dog run with planted boxes just for the chickens. The boxes would be screened over the top so the greens continue to grow without being pulled up by the root. Then I even thought about building a connecting run from their all in one coop/run to the kennel, then I stopped thinking about it because my head hurt. I'm just not that clever.

I certainly understand the issue of poop in the yard, deck, patio, etc. Which is why I bought my husband a special high powered nozzle for his garden hose last Christmas. You're welcome Dan.

Sorry it's creating issues for you and DH though. That is just never fun.

 

[AriLovesChickens]

I understand not wanting poop on the deck...but it isn't going to be much fun to keep them contained to the back of the yard. We (kids and I) like to see them come up to the house and check things out. They watch DD as she plays in the sandbox. Their antics are part of the reason for having them!