Recent content by YankeeRider

In the fall of each year, I make a pile of the leaves raked from our large yard. Once the pile is in place, every week when I clean under the roosts, the manure and shavings get dumped on the pile. Every couple of months, I turn the pile to help with the mixing. I stop dumping the manure on the...

A note in the minutes of the May Zoning & Planning Commission meeting said that the town planner is planning to introduce regulations regarding chickens.I called him to see what the issues and plans were. He said he hadn't drafted anything yet, but his goal was to permit chickens on property...

Any updates on how it's going?

Quote: I don't think there is any question that the light cycling on and off will shorten its life. Still, a new bulb lasted the entire brooding period for my batch of chicks. I think the bulb was about $9 and was 250 watts. Over the period of a month, that's about $25 in electricity in these...

Combs seemed to stand still on my BO pullets from about 6 weeks to 15 weeks. At 16 weeks I am noticing significant growth beginning, with a lot of variability from one bird to the next.

Maybe you are overthinking it, but a thermostat on the heat lamp worked for me. If it's turning off and on every few minutes, the thermostat is seeing too much heat direct from the lamp. When I used a thermostat, it was because I'm a thrifty (cheap?) Yankee that didn't want to spend a penny...

If you're getting chickens you're eventually going to need a coop for them. You don't say where you live, so it's not clear what you'll be doing for a coop. My chickens never had to move to the coop, because that's where they lived from day one. I built a proper coop first, ran an extension...

No license required-no fee in our small Connecticut town.

The first treat my chicks would eat was bread. Now it is still their favorite.

Which Portland? Maine? Oregon? ?

Mine transitioned from starter to grower at about 7 weeks. I had planned to transition them slowly by mixing, but got called away on a business trip. It was my wife's first time of responsibility for feeding them. When the starter feed was gone, she opened the grower and gave that to them...

I did a little more research on this. It looks like the position of animal inspector was created by state law, with the express purpose of controlling disease. Some references cite rabies control as a prime function. Framingham's website describes this a little. You can do an online search of...

Quote: If I were in your position, I would ask to see the provision in the bylaws or town charter that grant the inspect/approve power to the "animal inspector." Not to make trouble, but so you know what your rights are, and that you are not being subject to one person's arbitrary decisions.

Like the others said, 7 weeks is still young. My 9 week-olders (BO's) started going outside at about 5 weeks, but would only do so if I coaxed them out using treats. They had the opportunity to go out earlier than 5 weeks, but wouldn't, except to grab a treat and then they'd go right back...

Look into Poulin. They're based in the notheast.