Washingtonians

[itsren]

Thank you, everyone, for the very helpful posts! I will take my time and think about it, but I will probably look for breeders to get specific birds. I'd better not set foot in a feed store though. I can feed the urge to run out and get something to put in a brooder. I even showed a pic of a brooder set up to my husband and he was fine with putting one in the garage. Must... be... patient!

Jennifer

Just another thing to think about. When you are learning about chickens, do you want to learn on expensive birds, or cheap birds. I feel so heartbroken for people who post they have put a lot of money into a flock, and their flock got wiped out. Then they have to figure out what needs to change, so their next flock doesn't get attacked. Owning chickens is a huge learning experience. If you get them through the chick stage, there's other things that can go wrong along the way. My flock has been a huge learning experience. Thankfully, this web site helped me get through it all, but as I was going though each situation, I was very thankful my birds only cost $2.50.

I almost lost Rhodie and Drama to pasty butt when they were really tiny.

Then, Drama hurt her leg and I had to learn how to build a chicken chair, and keep her in it just to get her to walk again.

Then, Drama busted her beak off.

And, now Caunnie has a broken beak... and so it goes - all this in 20 short weeks.

I'm happy to learn all I can on hatchery stock. Some day I may "upgrade" to expensive birds, but, right now, I'm content learning the ropes on hatchery birds. And, I love them dearly - even if they are "just" hatchery birds.

 

[Nikki99]

I remember the challenges involved in being a newbie. I've had my flock for a just about 1 1/2 years, but I was on the forum for 10 months before I got any chickens as I read all the information I could, was perusing coop designs, etc. Everybody who was here at the time was very nice about putting up with my constant barrage of questions as I got closer to coop building and acquiring birds.

But yes, I'll admit, at first it was like playing double dutch jump rope - I would just look for the right opportunity to jump in and hope I didn't mess up everyones game. So much of the time I was watching and waiting. I learned a lot just by lurking!

Many of the Washington BYCer's have also had benefit of meeting face to face - have you heard about our potlucks at the chicken shows? They're legendary!

Lots of food, we all bring our own chairs and find a good spot to gather. That's been a great way to get to know each other and to put faces with the names. Of course, name tags have been necessary! Occasionally we have smaller, more regional meet-ups. Someone will just decide it's time for a group in an area to get together and agree on a place, date and time. Those are always nice too.

A lot of us have our quirks - but intention is much easier to decipher when you're face to face with a potential new friend and can actually see that they're not hiding an ax behind their back.

So my advice would be, YES, hang in there! Chime in when you want, ask questions as you need and if there is ever opportunity to be part of a live meet-up, do it! You'll find that there are some very special, generous, helpful people that just might become very good new friends. It's been a rewarding experience for me.

I love this post!! Your comment about looking and waiting for the right opportunity to jump in, hoping you don't mess up everyones game is oh so true for me!! I don't want to "barge" in on something that may be considered none of my business or "hijack" anyone's post, sometimes, because of those reasons, I just don't post at all.

I'm thinkin I wont worry so much about that anymore and just jump on in.

I have heard about the potlucks and meet ups! I think it's awesome and I can't wait until I'm able to get to one of those! I just hope there's some that are reasonably close by. I have also seen the "freezer camps" that some of the more seasoned chicken peeps have done and I really would like to get to one or two of those as well. My husband works a crazy shift though and I'd really like for him to be able to come along with me, we both need to learn how to do all this chicken stuff!

SadieSue I want you to know that I really appreciate this post! It's been very helpful and a big relief to know that there's other people out there that can relate! Thanks!

 

[KMHunter]

Thank you, everyone, for the very helpful posts! I will take my time and think about it, but I will probably look for breeders to get specific birds. I'd better not set foot in a feed store though. I can feed the urge to run out and get something to put in a brooder. I even showed a pic of a brooder set up to my husband and he was fine with putting one in the garage. Must... be... patient!

Jennifer

The only problem you may find with getting birds from breeders, is that you will most likiely have different age birds to manage and integrate into one flock. That can be tricky, or a piece of cake depending on the birds and the living situation. If you get all your birds from a feed store or one breeder that are the same age then they grow up together and it's easy.
If you have birds of a different age(weeks or months apart) then you have to have a way to seperate them until they are old enough to be put together.
Gets complicated. Not something I would have wanted to do my first go around with chickens.
If you are ok with getting 1 or 2 different breed from one or two breeders that are the same age or very close, you should be fine.
But if you are looking to get 5 different breeds, as I did, I might suggest getting them from the feed store or ordering them through a hatchery.
Personally I love the feed store! I love picking out my own chicks from the brooders!

But that is just me! I do have Favs from Jeanine that are awsome, and also silkies from a breeder, that I just hatched late this spring. But I still intend to add EE's to my flock with day olds from the feed store when I can because I love the roll of the dice with them, feather color and egg color wise.
I still find it hard to resist passing up those cute little fuzzy butts at Monroe. But I have NO more space right now. (at least I keep telling myself that)

Just my thoughts and my experience with feed store birds and integrating different age birds in a limited amount of space.
I have 5 acres, but my DH doesn't want chicken coops all over the place.
I am working on him though. With lots of these..

P.S- I was and still am happy with my hatchery birds, except I decided to narrow down my LF breeds to just two. Favs and EE's, so I wanted to get good quality Favs. Oh and I have Silkies, but they are just for eye candy and natural incubators.

 

[itsren]

LOL I was thinking that it sounds a lot like menopause.

I do know that the chin hairs are a real pain and not attractive

, not too mention a host of other annoying changes. I haven't crossed this happening before. I think it must be fairly uncommon. But then it may be that over the years I haven't had many old chickens.

Oh goodness... sigh - those "lovely" chin hairs. Thank goodness someone invented tweezers.

 

[KMHunter]

Quote:

The cockerels were hatched on Christmas day. In person there it looks like they have some white in their feathering. The eggs were Blue, and Splash. I would be willing to take them back if Shyla can't find another home for them.

Were all the blues, boys? The blue one I got from you turned into a very pretty thing when he molted into his adult feathers about a month ago and figured out he was a boy. Two of the splash are girls and laying, one is broody. The darker splash I still am not sure on. We'll find out eventually.

Here he is a few weeks ago. I need a new one of him. He's almost black up front now and slowly working on the saddle and tail. And he has a ton more feathers making him look thicker. I love him he's so sweet.

Wow he is handsome. I had hoped that the Silkies would have had better combs. The eggs came from a BYC member in Virginia. I think at this point that most of the chicks were boys. I know that I was only able to tell for sure about one of the boys that had been hatched on Dec 11th. I am beginning to think that maybe all the chicks were cockerels. I didn't have a great hatch rate. I am wondering if the bator temp makes a difference on whether or not a person gets boys or girls.

I know that at least a few types of animals can sort of 'select' based on conditions at the time (plentiful food vs. not much), so it would make sense that eggs might respond differently to temperature. That'd make an interesting experiment!
I was talking about this with some Silkie people and in light of how long it can take to determine the sex of a silkie, they kind of laughed at that and said that if it were the case then there would be so many people doing it and we would have fewer boys being hatched.
But my son had heard or learned it from somewhere because he told me that is was true. I am skeptical.
It would be an interesting experiment. Anybody up for hatching out that many batches

babies?

 

[itsren]

Congrats !!!! Its so cool when they finally try and like something new.. Took my girls several weeks of staring at the cabbages before they found out how much fun a cabbage tether ball is

I tried food that wasn't cut up, they won't eat it. Silly birds. Maybe I'll try again. If I cut it up and put it in a suet feeder, they'll go after it. But, after having to deal with 2 broken beaks, I'm shying away from the suet feeder now.

 

[PNWGirl]

Thank you, that cleared it up! I think I would prefer to buy from good breeders. I would love a Cloverleaf salmon Faverolles. I looked through her website a while back and the birds are gorgeous (and I like that they lay bigger eggs). I don't think I will do any showing, but I have learned from the other pets that I keep that when space is limited, I should hold out for what I want. I just hope that I actually know what I want, lol.

If anyone has suggestions for local breeders of Silkies, Barnevelders, Orpingtons, Polish, and Wyandottes I would love to hear them! (And I will write them down so I don't forget.) Is there any recommended reading for how to put together a mixed flock that would get along? Have I chosen any breeds that are bullies?

Jennifer

For Silkies I can recommend Karen, of Catdance Silkies, in Yacolt (http://www.catdancesilkies.com/). Even her "pets" are amazing. She is also a BYC member.

She will be going through her pens, when it gets cool enough to ship birds, to pick out what she is keeping and what she is letting go.

She posts her 'pet quality' birds (that are still beautiful!) on Craig's List but you can contact her directly, before then.

Lot's of people, on BYC, have gotten birds from her, or eggs to hatch. You can do a search to pull up all the photo's that people have posted who have gotten her birds.

Sheila

 

[PNWGirl]

Quote:
Originally Posted by lovinchickypoos

I'm not so sure about that, I am a blond on drugs...............

Sheila

I can laugh because (up until 3yrs ago) I, too, am a blond. You just can't see it under the burgundy!

It's sounds like us girls could start us a club.

Because I am a blond on drugs. My biggest problems happen when the drugs wear off. I can get a lot done if I have enough pain meds in me.

I did burgundy for nearly a decade. I did get some nice complements over the years about the color. Then I tried Black.

That was a bad mistake. I am now natural dark blond again.

Cool, didn't know that there were so many of us!! Should definately start a club with monthly meetings, secret handshakes and a game of who is the most "blonde". LOL!!!

Sheila

 

[PNWGirl]

And since I'm posting pics, here are some more recent photos of my Imported English Orpingtons. The boy, Mr. Darcy, may be available. I've been putting him in the garage each night so he doesn't create any trouble with the neighbors since he started crowing this past week. I think he's very pretty, but he has a lot of filling out to do. He's only 4 months old and I understand the English Orps continue maturing and changing until what - 1 year or more?

Judges4 has expressed interest in him but needs to find a new home for her black orpington first. We're hoping that happens soon - If not, he's available!

Emily and Charlotte in back, Mr. Darcy in front taking good care of his flock. He typically creates a barrier between me and his girls.
I like this photo - it looks like the girls are whispering to each other "Isn't he handsome"?

Ahhh, the light bulb went off!!!

Are you a Jane Austen fan?

Sheila

 

[KMHunter]

Quote: Believe me when I say that although there are squabbles and bickering going on here right now with some, most of the time things get worked out. And we (as in this group) would do the best we could to come to your aid if ever there was a need for it. I started out just reading and asking questions. I took what I could use from the answers and ignored what didn't work for me. I didn't or tried not to get upset if someone was a little abrupt in their reply, I looked at it as information.
AND as you pointed out so wonerfully, we lose tone of voice, facial expressions and emotion through text. I am all for suggesting we use the emoticons whenever we can to express emotions.
Oh wait, Emoticons....Emotions. Huh, what do you know.

This is just a thought and a suggestion.