Washingtonians

[FirewifeJess]

OK well I'm off for the morning at least. We're heading out to the park (I have to push the little ones in the SINGLE stroller while JOhn rides his bike) for our Exploration Day. Every Wednesday we don't do "real" school, just our science experiments for the week, read our science and math books, math activities, and enjoy creation together. Gotta love our curriculum! Have a great day everyone! I'm realllly hoping to find our first egg from the new EE today, she didn't lay yesterday, nor did my blue egg laying EE; our basket was kinda ugly

 

[Nikki99]

You guys are crackin me up today!! Love it, I needed to laugh like this, it's been awhile!

Love the critter castle! I can't wait to finally get started on our coop.. I'm growing impatient. First I need to level the back part of the yard!

Thank you!! We had fun building it but it took much longer then we planned on. Now I just need to go through and tweak it here and there.
I totally know how you feel as far as the impatient part. I am/was the same way! We finally had the space to get all the different critters I have wanted since I was a little girl (I'm now 31) and "waiting" was not on the agenda! April 1st of this year we got 6 chicks, 6 weeks later we got 3 ducklings and 2 banties, the last weekend in May we moved from the house we were renting to the house we bought on 9 acres (notice how I started getting all my critters before we moved...ooops), mid Aug. we got 2 outdoor/garage kitties and this sunday we are bringing home 2 Nigerian Dwarf babies!! So ya, you could say I'm a tad bit impatient! Lol. DH would

hysterically at "tad bit" impatient.

8=6

Sounds like a little chicken math to me.

Oh, btw chicks don't count so you still need to get 6 chickens.

Russ

Russ you are making me

a lot this morning. Lol.

I keep my LF in a different coop than my silkies. I also keep the birds that I about to breed seperate from the others. I have a RIR rooster with 6 girls, a silkie rooster with 7 girls and a black australorp rooster with 4 girls. I also got a black/lav Orpington rooster from Rainwolf which I am going to gave 4 black australorp girls just to see the mix. None of my girls are laying but they will be within a few weeks. I had to have my right knee scoped today so I will be down for a about a week.

I hope your knee is ok! Knee injuries are horrible! My DH had a really bad accident in '05 and has had 2 surgeries on his knee since then, the last being just this summer.

Well see it is natural for birds to want to roost high. With the chickens it will go just as you described. That is why I don't do leaning ladder. I put my roost on the same level so there is less reason to fight over "the best spots". It makes them all as equals.

Ohhh, gotcha!

Short answer YES ! Now the long answer. One nest per 3-4 birds. I have 15 nests and up to 25+ layers at times. But they always seen to favor just a few nests and if one bird is in a favorite nest and taking too long. The bird wanting in will throw a riggin fit waiting rather than just go to another nest.

Yes my nest boxes are old antique metal ones but the girls seem to like them!

IMHO It is less of HOW MANY birds and all about HOW MANY birds IN TOO SMALL of area!!! I have 1 coop of LF mutts with the AWSOME Fudge that are my layers.



One cop that is currently Bantam Faverolle in black and blue. And I have one coop that isin holding waiting for my new top secret come next spring!!! HOPEFULLY !!!!!

I love your nest boxes and I love Fudge too, the boxes are awesome and Fudge is very handsome!!

My builders, (DH and buddy) built the wooden nest boxes specifically to fit small kitty litter boxes I had picked up at either Petsmart or Petco. I wanted something I could remove and clean out easily. I have LOVED using them. So it's a wooden frame work, kitty litter boxes inside that and excelsior pad inside the litter boxes. Ultra cushy and my girls are great about using all three next boxes.

Oh wow!! I love this idea!! I think I might give it a try. Right now I have cardboard lining the bottoms of them, then I put the shavings on top but the litter boxes would be so much easier!

Wow ya'll talked up a storm lastnight! So I will have to go back and read those posts in a minute. Now I have a new problem in with the old one

. This morning I went out to let the girls out and everyone was nice and safe, but my turkeys sleep out side. When I was checking on everyone I noticed that one of my turkey hens was attacked by something

. She is now missing a lot of feathers and she has a few wholes in her. The biggest one is right on her chest about the size of a nickle and a few smaller ones on her back and head. The one on her chest is pretty open though and deep, right down to the fat layer. I am wondering what if anything I should put on it so that she does not get an infection????? I plan on waking up about 5 or so tomorrow and sitting on the roof so that I may catch a look at what is doing this and where on the property it is coming from.

Oh no! Wasn't it you that just had 11 of your girls attacked the other day!?! Man, somethine has your chicken coop programmed into it's GPS. I'm sorry. I hope your able to catch the predator! Good luck!

 

[SadieSue]

Quote:
I think you might want to embroider that and frame it and use it as your mantra everyday until spring next year when you completely forget what you've promised because someone is offering adorable chicks or pullets from their flock or you've got a one year old broody hen now and isn't it nice that one of your BYC friends has offered you fertile eggs for her to sit on?

Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just jaded Jess. You might be just fine and stick with the Baker's Dozen you've got. Yeah, I'm sure of it.

 

[jenreinke]

I think you might want to embroider that and frame it and use it as your mantra everyday until spring next year when you completely forget what you've promised because someone is offering adorable chicks or pullets from their flock or you've got a one year old broody hen now and isn't it nice that one of your BYC friends has offered you fertile eggs for her to sit on?

Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just jaded Jess. You might be just fine and stick with the Baker's Dozen you've got. Yeah, I'm sure of it.

Sure wish I had the guts to sneak a couple more in. Problem is, Edmonds allows for 3 and my coop is in the front-side yard. It is tucked back a ways behind my vegetable garden and a couple of pyramidalis but....

 

[chickenjane82]

OK well I'm off for the morning at least. We're heading out to the park (I have to push the little ones in the SINGLE stroller while JOhn rides his bike) for our Exploration Day. Every Wednesday we don't do "real" school, just our science experiments for the week, read our science and math books, math activities, and enjoy creation together. Gotta love our curriculum! Have a great day everyone! I'm realllly hoping to find our first egg from the new EE today, she didn't lay yesterday, nor did my blue egg laying EE; our basket was kinda ugly

Are you doing MFW for your curriculum?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: You know....pretty soon you aren't going to be able to call your big girl flock a bunch of mutts!!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Wow ya'll talked up a storm lastnight! So I will have to go back and read those posts in a minute. Now I have a new problem in with the old one

. This morning I went out to let the girls out and everyone was nice and safe, but my turkeys sleep out side. When I was checking on everyone I noticed that one of my turkey hens was attacked by something

. She is now missing a lot of feathers and she has a few wholes in her. The biggest one is right on her chest about the size of a nickle and a few smaller ones on her back and head. The one on her chest is pretty open though and deep, right down to the fat layer. I am wondering what if anything I should put on it so that she does not get an infection????? I plan on waking up about 5 or so tomorrow and sitting on the roof so that I may catch a look at what is doing this and where on the property it is coming from.

Put her on the tetracycline powder that you can get at the feed store, 1/4 tsp powder into a pint of water, provide that as her only water source for 10-14 days. Wash out the holes with diluted betadine or iodine twice a day for the first week, once a day after that, and keep her separate from everyone else so they don't pick at her, until she's all healed up & scabs are gone. As those holes close up, keep an eye that one of the spots doesn't become red and swollen, which would be a sign of an abscess....

 

[JNB]

Your husband is saying that out of his love for you.
Now he needs to realize there are different kinds of love.
Meaning the faith in you that the next time you will now realize the seriousness of what happened and the consequences your concentration will be ramped up so much more that the next time you won't fall because you are smarter now.

Being in construction for 30 years I have fallen many times.
I have had scaffolding go through floor vents that the builder used cheap wood or failed to cover them and my got to get the job done go go go attitude cost me a ride over the side.
Since I don't walk my scaffolding anymore due to knee pain from scooting it up on top I always can see where the wheels go now moving it from the floor.
That is one example of many over the course of 30 some years.

As time goes on you get smarter and realize there is a difference between working in high gear and being on the floor.

Just like you now will remember each time you go back up a ladder or what ever it is you climb.

I understand your husbands concerns but he also needs to realize loving you involves having faith in your abilities to adapt to what has happened to you.

Thank You for this post I like it.... You are very right

 

[Farmin Momma]

Thanks so much, I will go get that stuff right now!

I can't remember who just asked if I was the one that just lost the 11 hens, but to your question YES that was me too! I have some of my stuff together already to start building me a huge run for the girls and boys to be in for the first half of the day and then I will let them out for the last half of the day. All this seems to be happening in the morning just before or right as the sun comes up. I may be eatin me some cyote stue some time soon if any one wants to join me LOL (just kidding).

Off I go to the feed store, later everyone.

 

[itsren]

Sure wish I had the guts to sneak a couple more in. Problem is, Edmonds allows for 3 and my coop is in the front-side yard. It is tucked back a ways behind my vegetable garden and a couple of pyramidalis but....

You are not alone! I'm allowed six, but so far have managed to hold to three. I gotta tell ya - three is nice and easy to care for. Not much poo to clean up. They don't eat much in the way of feed. They're happy and two of them are the bestest of friends. My RIR doesn't seem to want friends anyhoo, and when she does, the other two don't mind being a trio.

Granted, the incubator keeps calling my name. And then I find myself wondering, do I really want to clean up more poo? My children need to have a clean backyard to run around in and grass to roll on, and since my girls free-range, I have to stay on top of the poo in the yard. I know when I do increase, I've increased my workload.

Needless to say, chicken math hasn't bitten me in the butt...... yet.