Washingtonians

[chickenjane82]

I agree. I never, ever moved our heat lamp. I just left it on one side of the brooder and as they grew and feathered out more they just stayed further away from it. No big science there, and they were fully feathered by 5-6 weeks because of it I think!
OK so I have a gross question I need answered about the bloom; does that start juicing out their bums before they lay eggs?! Scarlett squatted for me tonight and I gave her a quick back scratch and as she stood up she squirted something out her bum that wasn't poo! Totally caught me off guard but made me think she's WAY close to laying her first egg!

I never paid that much attention. I just waited until "OOP theres an egg"

I dont remember mine laying their first summer? But again, I really never paid much attention..

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
There's no reason they shouldn't lay I don't think. Seven of my Twelve pullets are now 18.5 weeks old and have begun squatting and checking out the nest boxes. If they *don't* lay, I'll be a bit concerned with their health actually!

 

[drumstick diva]

Farming mama I have no personal experience with predators but, I have been doing 3 years of BYC surfing and remember alot. You mentioned just a bloody spot under one wing - I've read that can be a mink or weasel, they drink the blood but, don't eat the victim. also you said the birds refused to sleep in the coop. Many times this is because "something " is in the coop scaring them.
This could be anything from snakes, rats, weasels etc.

I would go over your coop from top of bottom, inside and out, to see if there are any tunnels dug under or around it. Or any signs of life other than chickens. If it passes the strictest scrutiny then I would put them in the coop despite their wishes - they are after all 'bird brains,' and I mean that in the nicest way. But, I think humans have to do the big decisions. Sleeping outside the coop proved disastrous to them. So sorry for your loss.

Search BYC for predators especially mink, weasels etc. To see how to guard against them and how they attack their prey.

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Check on Mudbay. I know there's one in Federal Way, but call ahead.

There is also one in Burien which might be closer, depending on where in Normandy Park you're at. Hope that helps!

 

[Nikki99]

And NOT to minimize the texting while driving but it is scarry to know that it is NOT against the law to do things like apply make-up, read, eat and a few others as well steer with your knees because you are doing other less than safe things with your hands, like puttying on face paint.

I completely agree with that! I can't tell you how many times I've seen people reading a map or applying their make up and driving all over the place. So not safe!

Ok, so I am beyond ****** right now! Just went out to check on my girls and found four pullets/ unkown cockreals dead. They were completely intact..... Only one of them had a tiny spot of blood under one of her wings. I need help trying to figure out what killed them. I do not know what time of day or night this happend as today I did not go out to give the girls treats this morning. The ones that got killed are 3 of my favorite up and coming Silkies that were 13 weeks old and the one and only baby that I kept out of my personal hatch ( also 13 weeks old) because she was so uniquely colored and the most friendly. Now these girls for some reason would not sleep in the coop, so they were sleeping out in the open last night.
When I found the bodies, two of them were really stiff and covered in fly eggs. The other two were still kinda limp but that could be because they were out in the sun. The only thing I have had killing my chickens, up untill now, was cyotes but they take the whole body and I only find feathers.
Please if you have any ideas at all what this could be let me know. Thanks guys

Oh no!! I'm so sorry for your loss! I don't have any advice for you, I'm new to this chicken thing but I'm very sorry for this. I hope you are able to find out what did this and that your able to do whatever it takes to keep those dang predators out!

and easier to pop them with a bb gun. High enough that my german shepherd can get under to kill them would be even better.

 

[itsren]

IN MY OPINION you are making the heat thing WAY too difficult! See I hang a heat lamp and plug it into a dimmer that I made. I just watch the chicks. if they are all under the light don't turn it down.If they are off away from the light I turn it down a bit. It ain't rocket science!

It's really not that hard to write 90, 85, 80, etc. for 8 weeks on a calendar the day chicks come home. Were my chicks always at that temp? No. But when I needed to quickly remember what temp they should be at approx., I could glance at the calendar and not have to do any math.

I wouldn't know how to make a dimmer switch to plug into an extension cord, and I certainly wouldn't buy one for something as simple as a raising or lowering a heat lamp.

 

[itsren]

Dirt floor.

You would have kept with a dirt floor? What do you have now?

I like my dirt floor... easy, peasy to scoop.

 

[itsren]

I tried that. I didn't like how the paper stuck to the egg. Straw doesn't seem to get glued to the egg by the bloom like a small strip of paper does. I hope it works better for you than it did for I.

Right now I have the same wood chips as those in the coop. Will they stick to an egg?

I have straw, but didn't put it in for fear Drama would eat it and get an impacted crop again.

 

[chickenjane82]

There's no reason they shouldn't lay I don't think. Seven of my Twelve pullets are now 18.5 weeks old and have begun squatting and checking out the nest boxes. If they *don't* lay, I'll be a bit concerned with their health actually!

I was always told they lay around 24 weeks, more or less depending on the breed. But again, no expert here, I have lots of breeds but never paid attention!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Well I'm definitely no expert either, I'm new LOL. I've been told 20 weeks is average; why are all the books so different?! I have about 10 chicken books and most have conflicting information. Due to the fact that even cheap feed for my dozen girls is going to run about $50/mo, we plan to use supplemental lighting this winter and then give the girls next winter off. I don't think I could handle having them all start to lay and then stop less than a month later due to lack of light! eesh, that's some expensive eggs right there!