Washingtonians

[Rainwolf]

i have 5 trays of banana chips drying right now in my ronco round brown dehydrator

 

[RainyDayChicken]

This what we do with fresh blackberries where i am from. We make blackberry cobbler than put ice cream on top while still warm.

 

[itsren]

Does the info on this site about the high protein make sense to y'all? I have my flock on flock raiser (20% protein) and now I'm second guessing myself. The little girls are big enough to switch to layer feed now.Toward the bottom of her article she talks about how high protein feeds can cause chickens to convert the extra protein to urates which is passed as excess liquid, making bedding more wet (like I need that here on the wet side!) and I assume it would also cause more condensation inside a coop.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/molting and effect on egg production

Oh man - that's one ugly naked chicken! I don't even want to think about any my girls looking like that in the future.

I couldn't tell you about the high protein diet. I've been pretty laid back about my birds' diet from day one. I don't overthink it. I know a lot of people don't like Purina - but I have used Purina Start and Grow up until 18 weeks, and now Purina Layena. My girls seem to be pretty healthy. I've never messed with their diets, other than letting them choose for themselves while free-ranging or letting them eat left-over veggies/scrambled eggs. They do eat a lot of meal worms, though. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but that's how I get them into their run when I need to round them up. All I have to do is shake a bag of worms and they come flying over as fast as they can.

 

[itsren]

I don't quite understand it either and DH is in no shape to be questioned about it all; he's grumpy

Something to do with they could have done the drilling yesterday, but the specialist was needed (Tuesday) for Isaac's case because it was so deep/bad. So they could have done half of it now to relieve the pain, but we would have had to pay more for the numbing twice, seeing 2 different people, etc. Bummer.

When I had mine done, it was a two-appt. ordeal - and I think that was standard. But, I had to have a crown, too. All of my root canals have been because I cracked my teeth. I'm a grinder.

So is my daughter. Oh, it drives me nuts. I wish I could figure out a way to protect her from a lifetime of teeth-grinding.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:
I know, I'm probably over thinking this. I have actually been considering switching back to Scratch & Peck Layer feed now that they're grown and laying. I know there's other soy free feeds too though, so when I go this weekend to the feed store I'll have to check them all out. Organic would be great but I don't know that we can afford to feed them organic.

 

[FirewifeJess]

I keep forgetting to post this, ugh! I have an unopened 50' roll of 1" chicken wire, 4' high. I would love to trade this for something chicken related or coop related. We paid $43 plus tax new and never used it. I'm looking for: layer feed, 7-8' of rain gutters, shutters (for decorating the coop). Thanks!

 

[VelvettFog]

Just for something to read, while relaxing in my porch chair last eve, I picked up my Excaliber Dehydrator how-to booklet.
Recipes & stuff I had not thought of.
VF:
There is a whole section on squash...slice, then blanche slightly, pat dry & dehydrate.
Then you get squash chips & can store them in a container & use when needed.
You can dice them and do same.
This would be a great way to have them just tossed into a pot of stew or soup.
Love the dehydrator.....works excellent for green onions & herbs.
I love the dehydrated diced yellow onion...dehydrating does intensify flavours.
I toss a handful of dehyd. onion in soups & stews and the flavour is awesome.
Much more than fresh onions.

I am running out of feed, so a nieghbor is picking up a few sacks for me this afternoon.....she lives just down the street here.

DH is just ready to paint the enterior of the house down there...............after a week of fixing holes in the sheetrock, screws, staples, and dings.
Then he primed...now he masks off stuff today.
It could be another week before he gets back.
I have eggs to ship Tuesday, but I am sure either 1 of 2 neighbors can drop the box off for me.

Other than that...all's well here !

Hmm.m.. I have a dehydrator. A round one similar to the one that Greg posted. I've had good luck with it making jerky and dried appricots. I think I'll try it with the squash.

Quote:
Well -- that's what I do. Not sure it's right, but it sure is fun I find that the mild juvie molt does not seem to interrupt the laying process as much as when the older hens moult. I'm in the same boat as CL - with over 40 hens I'm getting only a dozen eggs a day. Time to check vents and see who's slacking.

I have the most beautiful BLRW she's just about done with her moult and the change in her appearence is stunning.

Quote:

They should, but not as drastically as an older hen would. You might not even notice.

Quote:
Not that I'm an old timer or know everything about this, but it is my understanding that they won't molt if you're using supplemental lighting. Recently my 2 16.5 week olds went through a mini molt; they suddenly dropped all their gorgeous tail feathers and the yard looked like they'd been attacked! Those feathers grew back very quickly (I attribute that to always keeping them on a high protein feed) and they're starting to look ready to lay soon. My big girls went through a mini molt around that age too, I think they were somewhere around 12-14 weeks when they molted.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/molting and effect on egg production

Moulting is a natural thing - I know you can force a bird to moult by denying it food and water, but I don't believe there is any way to avoid it. Why would you want to anyway? Moult last only a few weeks, the birds look a lot better after they are done, and they get a slight break from laying.

Well, I think I have it worked out for the geese...my sister & her fiance are going to pick them up for me and then my sister & mom are coming up to visit very soon!

Oh and I think we've got enough interest for an Eastern WA poultry swap/sale...we're still working on the details but it will more than likely be in Wenatchee, in a few weeks...at a park...

I'll go !!

OK so the weird thing about Willow, my non-laying, recently re-homed EE is that she visits the nest boxes daily. I think she wants to lay...but can't? Is it a mental thing with chickens? I want to lay but my body won't do it, type of thing? She's currently sitting in one of the smallest nest boxes on 3 dummy eggs. Nobody has ever gone in that nest box before, they only use the 2 middle boxes. Perhaps she was in dire need of a space and the others were full and she won't fight over them since she's new? IDK. I just hope this little girl lays again soon!

Does the info on this site about the high protein make sense to y'all? I have my flock on flock raiser (20% protein) and now I'm second guessing myself. The little girls are big enough to switch to layer feed now.Toward the bottom of her article she talks about how high protein feeds can cause chickens to convert the extra protein to urates which is passed as excess liquid, making bedding more wet (like I need that here on the wet side!) and I assume it would also cause more condensation inside a coop.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search/label/molting and effect on egg production

Any animal can only use so much protien Any excess will just pass through. Once the birds are adults, 15-17 % is just fine, IMHO.

I keep forgetting to post this, ugh! I have an unopened 50' roll of 1" chicken wire, 4' high. I would love to trade this for something chicken related or coop related. We paid $43 plus tax new and never used it. I'm looking for: layer feed, 7-8' of rain gutters, shutters (for decorating the coop). Thanks!

Wire or hardware cloth?

 

[FirewifeJess]

Dave - it's just chicken wire. Not wire fencing or hardware cloth. Just something somebody could probably use to keep chickens in, not for predator proofing.

 

[FirewifeJess]

And thanks for the info on feed; I'm going to switch to layer, it's cheaper!

 

[VelvettFog]

Dave - it's just chicken wire. Not wire fencing or hardware cloth. Just something somebody could probably use to keep chickens in, not for predator proofing.

It should work ok for for an anti-dig apron. But other than that I agree with you -- it keeps feathers in, not fur out