Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

Hello BYC family! Just popping in quickly to say Happy Easter. Have a few minutes before leaving for work. Got a weekend job at our local Garden Nursery. Wanted to see if Cheryl had her babe yet. But I guess not yet. I just browsed a few pages since I am 100's behind but sounds like everyone is doing ok. Julie, checked out your website. It's really nice! You did a great job. Someday I will have one too and you can show me how. So far just a facebook page.

Farm is doing good. Got the early crops in and most are up. Harvesting Spinach, Chard, Kale, Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Broccoli Raab for co op this week. All the starts are up and growing in the greenhouse. Most the remaining beds are ready and waiting for planting. I got some new ground turned over and waiting to disc it. I will be almost tripling my growing area. Lawns are starting to grow so starting up the Landscape maintenance. So, busy busy, busy. But gotta make that money, money, money!

Miss you all. I do check my PM's so PM sometime if you want to contact me or chat. Plus my phone (call or text) and email are on my Facebook farm page. Del Tierra Farm soon to be changed to my original farm name Stoney Earth Farm.

So Nice to see ya. Sounds like you have so positives going your way. Take care and remember where we are.

 

[mikeyb]

I have a question or 2 for the group. Remember I'm a rank novice at this chicken raisin' thingy.
I have 8 RIR all doing very well. I would like them to have full access to the back yard (approx 1 acre) and it is fenced, about 41/2 feet high. Will I have to clip their wings to keep them in the back yard?

I am planning also to obtain about 4 Black Jersey Giants. Anything I should be aware of having these large chickens?

 

[Flaming Chicken]

Sorry about your loss. I feel awful when a chick doesn't make it. She should do ok till tomorrow. I find that chicks raised together tend to bond for life. Even when they join up with the rest of the flock they still hang out. Raised alone, she will be on the bottom of the pecking order. Hope you can find a buddy and hopefully they have another BLRW. They are beautiful.

so I got 2 BLRW chicks on the 4th well one of them died last night... Now I have a singleton... Do you think she will make it on her own?? or should I call around and see if someone is open so I can get another chick today or will she be ok till monday? I took her out of the brooder and sat on the floor and she hopped up on my lap and nuzzled into my sweatshirt and fell asleep... I think she is lonely.

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

If I have to many eggs I take them to the auction, and I cant talk for anyone other than me but my eggs would hatch. Not all eggs are old there, people bring the eggs the morning of the auction most of the time.

Hmm... There was one batch yesterday with four dozen eggs that were "fertilized" eggs. I'm not really in a possition to have them I was just curious

 

[Flaming Chicken]

Put an ad in craigslist!

SadieSue, I was thinking you should put up some 'FOUND NOTICES,"for the pair of schnauzers and give your neighbor's phone no. or address. Just post them away from your home, or tack up in the grocery store, etc. Don't use your handwriting..

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

Me? No, I've never done any hatching. Always just purchased chicks.

Are you aware that the general rule of thumb is that for hatching you save up for as many as 7 days ? I have actually gone a little longer and had hatches but the % starts dropping off.

 

[Flaming Chicken]

I love your big coop. I want to add a second coop for my heritage birds and have been searching for ideas. Did you build it yourself?

I have a little problem...

Today, I decided to move my 6 week old chicks to the mini coop. I put the heat lamp in it, facing the roost (and stairs). They seemed to be having a swell time in their new digs.

Problem: they are sleeping in a heap in the corner of the run (directly under coop), and I can't reach them to put them up on the roost. The run is hardware cloth, but there's no reinforcement about the bottom yet. So these babies are lit up and free to be a good snack for an enthusiastic digger. The side of the coop is too high for me to reach them (or be able to get out, if I climbed in). You can't reach their corner from the little door on the run (it's diagonal from where they are). I put some wood around that corner, but that just doesn't seem adequate. What would you do??

 

[Imp]

I have a question or 2 for the group. Remember I'm a rank novice at this chicken raisin' thingy.
I have 8 RIR all doing very well. I would like them to have full access to the back yard (approx 1 acre) and it is fenced, about 41/2 feet high. Will I have to clip their wings to keep them in the back yard?

I am planning also to obtain about 4 Black Jersey Giants. Anything I should be aware of having these large chickens?

I have rarely had a chicken go over the fences surrounding my yard. 4 1/2 ft to 6 ft. (maybe 3 times in 8 years) In fact I think they wiggled under, not flew over. I'm not suggesting they couldn't, but mine haven't.
I have heard that clipping 1 wing is better than both. Keeps them off balance.
JGs are supposed to be nice birds, they are on my list.

Russ

 

[Rainwolf]

[COLOR=0000CD]so I got 2 BLRW chicks on the 4th well one of them died last night... Now I have a singleton... Do you think she will make it on her own?? or should I call around and see if someone is open so I can get another chick today or will she be ok till monday? I took her out of the brooder and sat on the floor and she hopped up on my lap and nuzzled into my sweatshirt and fell asleep... I think she is lonely.  [/COLOR]

Sorry about your chick
She should be fine for a day or 2 alone.... but best to have a friend.

I have a question or 2 for the group. Remember I'm a rank novice at this chicken raisin' thingy.
I have 8 RIR all doing very well. I would like them to have full access to the back yard (approx 1 acre) and it is fenced, about 41/2 feet high. Will I have to clip their wings to keep them in the back yard?

I am planning also to obtain about 4 Black Jersey Giants. Anything I should be aware of having these large chickens?

They have to "learn" to go over fencing...... I got 2 "rescued" hens that taught my flock how to hop the garden fence :/
Now I have to clip wings to keep them out of the garden..... but before those hens taught everyone, my 4' uneven, holes under it fence kept the flock out just fine.

 

[Totalcolour]

Guess what I got yesterday! Two white broad brested turkeys (now 6 days old), 6 buff orpington (now 6 days old), and three now 2 day old mystery chicks from the enumclaw auction.



Has anyone ever bought "fertilized eggs" from the auction before and had them hatch? From what I've read about having eggs incubating and knowing they sit out for as long as they do during those auctions, I don't see how any of them could hatch. I wasn't expecting the chicks I got to last through the night because they were day olds yesterday but they perked right up and are actually the loudest of the whole bunch.

Hubby bought me some eggs from the Chehalis auction, so I set 4 Marans - and four eggs Hatched! The eggs had been sitting out, and then a long journey home. I'm happy with them, wish I'd set more!