Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[marchick]

I had my daughter set them so I did not candle them to check the air space. That would have been smart but it is not too late so I can have her check them tonight.

I had hoped the seller knew that I wanted the freshest eggs to hatch but she could have dumped old eggs on me. If these eggs are no good I hope it is due to ignorance and she is not deliberately trying to scam me.

The eggs being dirty could allow bacteria to enter, causing the ring of death, but it is the shapes and sizes of the eggs that concerns me more. I have paid for eggs that were clear in the past and alerted the seller. I knew it was their eggs because I had eggs developing right next to them in the incubator. The sellers I have dealt with were ethical and they replaced eggs if the majority were infertile.

I once got a huge batch of eggs from a reputable seller and every one of them was clear so I think they must have got too cold since they were out in her barn but I will never know for sure. Every one of her eggs was clear while mine were 100% fertile so it was not something I did to the eggs. Those eggs were so clean and the flock was so well taken care of that the storage temperature was the only thing I could guess resulted in not one of them developing.

I looked at the posted pictures of the flock more carefully and there is a chance this seller has too many hens for the rooster to cover effectively. I was not concerned about her having a mix of hens because I only wanted the blue eggs so hopefully the eggs are fertile. One of the Easter Egger hens pictured is missing feathers in the saddle area, which I assume is due to the rooster mounting her.

Barnyard mix eggs have such low value for hatching that she may be trying to get more money by listing them for hatching instead of eating, even though the rest if her eggs are only good for eating. If I can get a batch of chicks I will get my money's worth but the eggs themselves hardly look like they are worth hatching.

I don't ever buy shipped eggs because too much can go wrong but I have bought local eggs with mostly good results. I get people asking me for eggs all the time but I have much better success hatching my own eggs so I would rather hatch them myself. Hatching chicks is not profitable but it does help cover some of the feed costs and it is fun work.

We get clear duck eggs because their nests are sometimes hidden well enough that the eggs can get too old or too cold before we find them. Ducks like to move their nests when their eggs disappear, unlike chickens that will lay in the same nest box repeatedly. I usually candle before setting them in order to pull out the ones that don't have a chance but sometimes I put questionable eggs in the incubator since I have nothing to lose. I will even try cracked eggs by sealing the cracks with fingernail polish with the hope that bacteria has not entered the shell.

I have just never seen so many deformed and odd sized eggs in one dozen before. It makes me worry about the health of the chicks if they do hatch. Will chicks that hatch from deformed eggs have the same problems as the hens that laid the eggs? Is it a feed deficiency issue, a genetic issue, or a disease issue that effects egg shape and size? Maybe I should be asking in the hatching section but I know alot of you hatch eggs too so I am curious to know if any of you have dealt with eggs like these.

I could try to contact the seller to explain to her how to choose her best eggs for hatching and stick to eating any that are deformed, too big, or too small but people don't always like unsolicited advice. I never met the woman so I don't know what kind of person she is, whether she does not know any better or whether she already knows these eggs were not worth selling as hatching eggs. Maybe she already had other buyers hand pick the best eggs and my husband just grabbed the carton of left overs she had ready for me.

What part of Wa are you from?
I have a mixed pen of true Ameraucanas with a couple Black copper hens in there that would give olive eggers!

 

[torrelee]

Does anyone keep bees? I just got my first hive and I have a potentially silly question!
Eta: I searched but the bee thread looks pretty dead.

 

[marchick]

Hiya, are there any (non-feather footed) general breeders in Western Washington? Most places I've found selling birds have been the feed stores (I assume they are from hatcheries?). I've found a few juvenile birds for sale here and there on craigslist, but haven't been able to find actual breeder websites or anything like that. I remember seeing quite a few varieties at the State Fair last year, but maybe they were mail orders? Just trying to get an idea of what local birds are out there.

What are you looking for?

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

PECKING AT PASTY BUTT, PLEASE HELP.

I have five chicks around two weeks old, three Egyptian Fayoumis and two silver spangled Hamburg. When we brought the Hamburgs home from the feed store about a week ago, we quickly realized one of them had a touch of pasty butt, so we took care of that. A couple days later I noticed she had some poop stuck in her fluff just below the cloaca, so I pulled it off, but that was a mistake because it pulled off a tiny bit of skin, and the Fayoumis started pecking at it. So I isolated her for about 20 minutes, and they seemed to stop pecking at that point. I figured it would heal on its own. Only problem is, poop keeps getting stuck to the spot, and it's still getting pecked some. The Fayoumis will bite down on the dried poop and actually pull her backwards! There's no sign of redness or swelling, just a wee bit of scabbing and some stubborn poop embedded in her butt fluff that I can't seem to soak off with warm compresses. Her demeanor seems fine, just as peppy as the rest, though she is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order (the other Hamburg is on top). Should I keep soaking her butt or just see if things resolve on their own? I should clarify that her cloaca looks fine. The problem spot is just below that. It's like a quarter the size of a pencil eraser.

 

[Gatewayto]

Hope you dont mind if I join you?

HI there Marty - Been learning a lot from here - Fun group of people..

 

[Hinotori]

[COLOR=FF0000]PECKING AT PASTY BUTT, PLEASE HELP.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]I have five chicks around two weeks old, three Egyptian Fayoumis and two silver spangled Hamburg. When we brought the Hamburgs home from the feed store about a week ago, we quickly realized one of them had a touch of pasty butt, so we took care of that. A couple days later I noticed she had some poop stuck in her fluff just below the cloaca, so I pulled it off, but that was a mistake because it pulled off a tiny bit of skin, and the Fayoumis started pecking at it. So I isolated her for about 20 minutes, and they seemed to stop pecking at that point. I figured it would heal on its own. Only problem is, poop keeps getting stuck to the spot, and it's still getting pecked some. The Fayoumis will bite down on the dried poop and actually pull her backwards! There's no sign of redness or swelling, just a wee bit of scabbing and some stubborn poop embedded in her butt fluff that I can't seem to soak off with warm compresses. Her demeanor seems fine, just as peppy as the rest, though she is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order (the other Hamburg is on top). Should I keep soaking her butt or just see if things resolve on their own? I should clarify that her cloaca looks fine. The problem spot is just below that. It's like a quarter the size of a pencil eraser.[/COLOR]

I hold them sideways and run just their butts under the faucet and warm water until it softens. Usually leaves the fluff that way. They get a good dry and back to the warmth or under mama after.

If it's being pecked on that spot, Blukote dyes everything purple and stops the pecking as well as promoting healing. Poop would stick to the scab so just keep an eye on that but don't worry much.

Chicks are amazingly resilient.

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome to all those new to the group.

 

[Hinotori]

It seems that there is always a chick every few hatches that just can't get the concept of following mama into the house no matter how much she calls and shows. This hatch has been smart. No lost chicks.

Some just will sit out there and freeze. I've found them just barely breathing and holding on to life. All stiff and unresponsive. Those go off to hot tub it in my little tea cups in 95 degree water trickling in. I've saved several that way. Once they are lively, they get toweled and off to the incubator to dry. Usually they stick to mama like glue after that ordeal.

 

[pennyJo1960]

It seems that there is always a chick every few hatches that just can't get the concept of following mama into the house no matter how much she calls and shows. This hatch has been smart. No lost chicks.

Some just will sit out there and freeze. I've found them just barely breathing and holding on to life. All stiff and unresponsive. Those go off to hot tub it in my little tea cups in 95 degree water trickling in. I've saved several that way. Once they are lively, they get toweled and off to the incubator to dry. Usually they stick to mama like glue after that ordeal.

How are yours handling the heat we have a massive old maple that sheds
the chicken yard nicely so most spend the days outside.
I think what you do is great but it only enforces my lack of wanting to hatch.

 

[Duck Drover]

What part of Wa are you from?
I have a mixed pen of true Ameraucanas with a couple Black copper hens in there that would give olive eggers!

I know alot of people like the olive eggs to increase the colors in their egg baskets but I just like the blue and green pastel eggs from hatchery Ameraucanas. I would actually raise pure Ameraucanas but I like the hatchery ones better (the true Easter Eggers) because I like the variety in the feathering and egg colors. They were my first love, before I ever bred chickens according to the SOP in order to preserve Heritage breeds.

I started with my Easter Eggers (hatchery Ameraucanas) before the Orpingtons and Silkies but I have only raised four with egg colors I like because I thought buying Easter Eggers from a breeder would be better than buying hatchery chicks from the feed store, and then I sold one of my favorites with a beige egg layer because I do not sell single chickens. Another one turned a plastic nest box over on herself and suffocated before I found her so I only have two left.

I would raise Ameraucanas but I am trying to go back to the less "improved" chickens I had in the 1980's by breeding hatchery Ameraucanas (Easter Eggers) to my Quechua rooster. This may be a hopeless endeavor but I am hoping to have more "true" Easter Eggers than I can find anywhere else. The term Easter Egger seems to mean many things to different people. If only I still had my original flock!