Washingtonians

[Zgoatlady]

Any rare chicken breeders around the seattle area?

What breed are you looking for? There are a lot on this thread..

 

[JennS]

Yeah, I use lawn clippings, leaves etc in the run. When it starts turning to "dirt" I shovel it out into the compost pile; and start anew.(maybe 3 xs a year) In the coop I use shredded newspaper. Poop goes into the compost, soiled paper into the trash, unsoiled paper into recycling.

Russ

Are there likely to be any poisonous weeds in my yard? My "grass" is a mix of grasses, clover and weeds. I haven't ID'ed all my weeds, but the ones that I have aren't toxic for chickens. I would love to just dump my grass clippings in with the chickens so they can munch on it. Do you know of any toxic weeds that I should eliminate from my yard?

Thanks!

Jennifer

 

[Chickielady]

Any rare chicken breeders around the seattle area?

Ha ha , everywhere !

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
You don't need to bury it. Just make an apron of it instead. Animals are too stupid to back up and dig where it ends, instead they'll try to dig at the corner where the hardware cloth bends at the ground and won't get far If you need a pic, let me know I can take one of my run.

 

[Chickielady]

I have found that pea gravel is the best material for a run. We also use sand. The sand tends to track out of the run more than the pea gravel. The next time we buy material for the run, I am planning to go with all pea gravel. The poo tends to wash into the gravel during the rains. I do know from experience that wood shavings get really nasty and stinky in a run. I think that was the worst thing we have tried to use. In the coop I use what I think is wheat straw. There are many types of straw, but some are not as effective as the fluffy wheat straw. I mix the straw with DE and stall dry, and I rarely have mess around with it. Buy drying out the poop fairly quickly the smell is very manageable.

X2...and I use shavings in the coop floors, and compressed straw (it is smashed flat) in the nest boxes.

 

[Breshcandra]

A Silkie Egger? An Easter Silkie? LOL I wouldn't necessarily call her anything yet, until you're sure what color eggs she'll lay; if she ends up laying green/blue/pink eggs, then I'd advertise her as an Easter Egger. If not, Silkie x EE.

If its a girl (and its looking more and more like one) I am keeping her. She turned out to be a solid black color with that green that blacks get. And a little puff of feathers on the top of her head. But she got her mothers skittishness. I was amazed that she turned black as father is a blue and mom is a red EE.

 

[Zgoatlady]

Great info, thanks! I was wondering how many feathers needed to be cut.


That sounds so good! I'm always looking for new creamer flavors to try!


I've been wondering about worming as well. The response you get depends on who you ask. I haven't wormed my chickens yet, not sure if I'm going to do it as a preventative or wait and do it as needed. I looked into it on this forum and wow, a bit overwhelming and confusing! There's so many different worming meds to choose from, some wrk for these worms some work for others, some people like this one, some people say it doesn't work, OMG.....
What do you use? And how do you apply it? I know some are in the water, some you actually hand medicate each individual bird and some you dust.

If you have older birds that have never been wormed you need to start with Wazine than go to the Eprinex, the dust is for mites and lice I belive also. There is also a spray you can use for the mites lice problem. The reason most people wait till fall is when the egg production goes down due to the sun thats a good time and also in the spring so they will be healthy. Hope this helps some. When I only had 10 chickens on 2 acres I never did anything for them and they did fine. Now that I have more I have started will all of it to keep everyone healthy and happy..

 

[Chickielady]

Yeah, I use lawn clippings, leaves etc in the run. When it starts turning to "dirt" I shovel it out into the compost pile; and start anew.(maybe 3 xs a year) In the coop I use shredded newspaper. Poop goes into the compost, soiled paper into the trash, unsoiled paper into recycling.

Russ

Russ, here is an interesting thing a friend in the mid west does to suppliment her feed in winter:
She makes chicken "Silage"
She uses several new garbage cans, adds 2 contractor bags, and fills the cans with lawn clippings, crushed leaves and tosses in a few scoops of scratch in between each layer.
She folds the bags over in between additions and holds them down with 2-3 heavy cinder blocks.
Once full, she ties the inner bag off, then the outter & stacks them in a shady area.
In winter, she opens a bag & scatters the silage in each pen for the birds to enjoy in winter.
The grains will sprout, she says, and the birds just love it !
I have no bagger on my lawn tractor now, but next spring I intend to get one & do this silage thing.

 

[Rural Chicks]

I think that depends on what one calls rare and what breed ya may bee lookin fer.

lookin for polish

 

[Chickielady]

You let your 7 year old dictate what he will or will not eat?

Hmm, guess you must be part of the younger generation then. My kids ate what was put in front of them or went hungry. My daughter (who is 30) does the same with her kids now. They eat pretty much anything because she doesn't cater to "pickiness".

Now, if there is a food allergy, or a child really hates (likes, vomits) something, then that's a different matter.

Must make it a lot harder for families with picky eaters, because then you have to make different foods for different family members.

My sympathies.

X2..My kids ate what was put before them, also.