Washingtonians

[FirewifeJess]

I'm a tad nervous tonight; I raised the lid of the nest boxes for the coop; the girls wouldn't even go near them until I did that today! But now I have a triangular opening that's unprotected for tonight, until I cut some hardware cloth and staple it in tomorrow. Oh well.

 

[chickenjane82]

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!

I dont really even eat eggs! I really just have them for pets. Eggs are just an extra plus. I would have them even if they didnt lay eggs .

but....ugh...my feed bill........

I love my chickens I love my chickens I love my chickens I love MY CHICKENS.....

 

[FirewifeJess]

Holly, you don't eat eggs much?! LOL! That cracks me up. I certainly love my girls and couldn't ever give up chickens now, but the sole reason we are choosing to keep them, and so many of them at that, is that just our family of 5 alone goes through 3-5 dozen eggs a week! Typically more like 4dz

We all have intolerances, mostly dairy, soy, and gluten. Eggs are HUGE for us to supplement all the stuff we can't have. Such a good whole food!

 

[itsren]

Due to the fact that even cheap feed for my dozen girls is going to run about $50/mo, ...

Wow! They eat that much? That's a lot of feed!

Mine are 2 weeks younger than yours... and it's killing me that I can't get through their second bag of feed so I can switch from the medicated chick starter stuff.

I'm hoping they'll fly through the feed while we're at Yellowstone, because I am positive my SIL will not be letting them free-range.

 

[JennS]

We have a rat problem in our neighborhood. We live on a steep cliff. Lots of creatures come up from the cliff. I buried the chicken wire/poured concrete to keep the rats out. My neighbor's believe that my having chickens will increase the rat population - I was making sure I could assure them that my coop would not be a problem. Rats can not get through the hardware cloth on my run. A mouse could, though... but I think the rat population keeps mice at bay. Because I did what I did, I can confidently leave my bird's feeder in the run overnight without fear of rats getting in.

You'd be amazed at what a roof rat can climb.

Being that you're in the city on a .25 acre lot, come up with a solution that works for you and your land. Be aware that most people who are most vocal on this thread do not live on small city lots, and their opinions are expressed as if everyone lives on large parcels of land. Rats would very easily be able to climb up the wire and get into both Chickielady's and FirewifeJess' runs. Both of them have more land that you or I. If their coops attract rats, it would not have the same consequences as it would on a small lot.

Thanks! Yeah, I don't exactly have the ideal acreage for chickens. But I also shouldn't have any problems with bears, mink or weasels. I will probably get visits from the local raccoons, but I don't know of any coyote problems this close to the mall, LOL. (Free roaming cats are another story, grrrr.) I've never seen a wild mouse in or out of my house. But the darn roof rats have been here forever! I've seen them run across the fence and drop into my strawberry beds for a snack. I worked in pest control after college, so I have read a lot about their capabilities. If I can lay down hardware cloth under the run, I will. It depends on what the ground looks like when I start to dig. I may get some snickers for this, but I am basing my coop on Chez Poulet. Minus the cupola, with more ventilation, different hardware, hopefully a window, and painted and shingled to match my house. I want to build it tight as a drum, and nice enough for a front yard in the suburbs.

I finished enough weeding in the back yard today to shift my focus to the front yard tomorrow, yay! I just have about 75 sq ft of overgrown ground cover to rip out, and then I can start digging and placing blocks for the foundation.

Jennifer

 

[JNB]

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

Im so sorry to hear about your birds.. It really sucks when crud like that happens. Years ago I remember that we had a weasel getting into our coop... It didnt tear them up at all just left small puncture wounds, maybe a few missing feathers. I remember my father explaining that they were after the eggs and would kill the chickens in the process. They were small and could slip in and out almost undetected... Not sure if that idea applies to you. but thats what came to mind when I read your post.. I do hope you get answers.

 

[Hinotori]

The rodents we have were here before we got chickens, and before we even moved here. Punishment for living on acreage by a marsh and large pond. What we have an issue with is a species of meadow vole. They don't look like rats (I've had many pet rats). Tails are shorter as is the face. They also aren't as cautious or smart as a rat (glue traps always work in the same spots). They are pretty easy to catch. They don't climb the fence but they tunnel all over and will pop up an opening into a pen. I hate their tunnels running all over the property. You can feel the sponginess when you walk over the tunnel areas.

What methods work for me here would be totally different than what would work for anyone elsewhere. I try not to give out advice for dealing with rodents around chickens because of that.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
Right now, I *think* we're going through about 4lbs/day for my 12 girls, which is completely normal from what I have read. A grown chicken eats about 2lbs/week, putting us at 24lbs/wk, or with math, 104lbs/mo. Renee, if you have a scale, when you get back from Yellowstone if you have too much left over just figure out how much it is and I'll pay you for the rest of it. We'll get through it so much faster, plus I have to stick with the starter/grower for a lot longer because I have all those younger girls. I think medicated is OK even if some are laying??? If I'm wrong and Amprolium in the feed is bad for egg eating, I may have to rescind my offer to buy your feed

 

[itsren]

I dont really even eat eggs! I really just have them for pets. Eggs are just an extra plus. I would have them even if they didnt lay eggs .

but....ugh...my feed bill........

I love my chickens I love my chickens I love my chickens I love MY CHICKENS.....

I don't eat eggs either... ever since I found out I was allergic to them a few weeks after getting chickens.

But, at least my family will.

Ours are pets, too. Well, Drama and Caunnie are. I'm not sure what Rhodie would qualify as. That chickie better put out eggs, or I'd have no problems tossing her in a crockpot.

Funny story... a week or so ago we stopped off at Safeway to buy a chicken. As we got out of the car my youngest son popped off with "We're buying a chicken? Let's hope it's Rhodie!"

Drama, our Light Brahma, is very much like a puppy. She follows me everywhere. She loves to be hugged. If I pick her up and hold her for a bit, she snuggles in and closes her eyes. It's pretty cute. I wouldn't be surprised if I could put a leash on her and take her for a walk!

 

[chickenjane82]

Holly, you don't eat eggs much?! LOL! That cracks me up. I certainly love my girls and couldn't ever give up chickens now, but the sole reason we are choosing to keep them, and so many of them at that, is that just our family of 5 alone goes through 3-5 dozen eggs a week! Typically more like 4dz

We all have intolerances, mostly dairy, soy, and gluten. Eggs are HUGE for us to supplement all the stuff we can't have. Such a good whole food!

My husband and 2 boys eat eggs.and my dogs looove getting them!

It cracks everyone up when I say I dont eat eggs!! Im all things chicken....except the eggs ;P Welll.. I like gathering them (most of the time!) Just not really eating them.