Maine

[suzMEchicks]

I know I'm late. I couldn't make up my mind about getting new chickens.

 

[Widget]

I know I'm late. I couldn't make up my mind about getting new chickens.

Do not worry about being late. Every breed I wanted this year was already sold out by the end of February. The only one left, Salmon Faverolle is not available until May if I believe Ideals website. The other breeds I was interested in said the same thing but are now unavailable until 2016. I did mange to get 7 straight run Blk Australorps at TSC a couple weeks ago. And I do have some silkies due in at Longhorn this week. And some Delawares that I am raising for a friend. So I am not chickless but it would have been nice to get the breeds I really wanted.

 

[suzMEchicks]

I'm going to try my hand at meat chickens. Just 15. It seems like a short term project. I have a shed I can temporarily convert to housing and I will build a tractor so they can be out during the day. And I have found a guy who will process. Like my husband says it isn't cheaper but you can't get more local than food you raised in your own back yard.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

There's a lot of negative feed back on the chick thread regarding MMc and the fact that they ship on the weekend, with folks feeling that the chicks are left sitting somewhere on a Sunday. I'd look into that before placing an order with them. I'm not sure if the fact that there's no Sunday delivery means that the mail doesn't move on Sunday. Personally, I'd feel better if my chicks were traveling in the middle of the week, and scheduled to arrive on a Thursday or Friday.

I live in Vassalboro and my Murray McMurray chick order from 2010 went through the Waterville distribution center on a Sunday. They called me at 7 am and asked me if I wanted them to continue to ship the chicks to my local PO or if I wanted to come to Waterville and pick up before it got too late. When I got to Waterville they lifted up the roller door and handed me my chick order. There was a ton of Murray McMurray boxes in a stack waiting by the rolly door, they had called on each of them for pick up. The hatchery puts your phone number on the box so if the PO wants to make this local decision, they do. Waterville PO workers were all really really nice and thoughtful. Personally I feel like I got the chicks earlier than I would have due to being able to pick them up at the distribution center on Sunday versus local post office.

Obviously it's not guaranteed that your local DC will do this but you may want to check with your local PO. I usually give mine a heads up when weird things are coming (as they are oft to do in this house) and when I gave them the heads up about the chicks they told me they hardly ever see chicks, that the Waterville DC takes care of it... so I wasn't too shocked when I got the call on Sunday.


I have nothing negative to say about my McMurray birds other than they're hatchery birds - they're bred to look like the breed but they're not show quality birds. They're egg (or meat) making machines. That's what I wanted - I wanted to be able to tell my laying birds apart. Out of the 30 or so birds I ordered the max I got of one type was 4. They threw in an extra leghorn and the "free mystery rooster" and my birds were vaccinated and properly sexed. I did have one damaged in shipment (broken leg) which was not McMurray's fault but that survived and ended up being my favoritest hen of all (she has since died). Most of my heavy layers (the stars and the leghorns) died very early of internal laying issues, which are common among breeds bred for laying ability. The birds were exactly what I was looking for - hatchery quality layers. I still have most of my original McMurray flock and would buy from them again in a heartbeat if I had room for 25 more birds.

 

[lazy gardener]

Glad to hear good feed back.

Today, I potted up 15 trees! I had to do some scrounging to find pots big enough to cram those roots into, but, I got it done. A bit tight, but will have to do until I am able to get them in the ground... and will have to do some soil prep long before then! The smallest ones went into 8" pots, and the largest ones went into 5 gal. buckets. Some of them have buds that are ready to burst all ready. Also started some flowers. 36 dahlias from seed. And calendula and marigold, which will have nasturtium added to each 6 pack in a couple of weeks.

Chicklets are on day 18. Lock down tomorrow, and I have to make a basket so they can go into a double layer... bunk bed style. The hatch with such a crowd should be interesting!

 

[CoopChick719]

LG, Can't wait to see pics of the little fuzzy butts!! No chicks for me this spring. I got 14 from McM last April as well as 15 meat birds. Everyone survived the trip. I gave the Gardiner PO a heads up. The postmaster called me at 6am & met me at the backdoor with my cheeping box. Those girls are laying now. I would order through them again but am hoping to have one of my broodies raise some next spring.

 

[lazy gardener]

Day 20. At least one internal pip. Obviously, I'm excited to see how the hatch progresses. Just boosted humidity up to 65% with a wet washcloth laid across the wire grid that separates the electronics from the hatching compartment. That's definitely not the best way to go about it, but... desperate times call for desperate measures. Tore the incubator apart last night to install a raised floor so I could install a water and sponge reservoir. Have plans for an upgrade to this box as soon as this hatch is completed, then will start a hatch of eggs straight from the nest to do a control group on gender selection.

Last night, before we toddled off to bed, I heard a wild animal calling. So, I decided to go out and check on the birds. Good thing I did. There were 2 Dominiques huddled up on the steps to the coop. Obviously, they missed curfew!

 

[Marcy54]

My ten hens made it through the winter, they are happily ranging all over the property, favorite spots are the wood pile, and along the creek. The mean rooster ended up as a nice tender rooster dish, after simmering with herbs and spices for three hours in a wine broth. We have little Barney the EE Roo, he seems to be doing an okay job with the girls so far. My little 10 week old EE girl, six of them are in a small coop in the yard now and although not pleased with the snow, are seeming to be pretty happy in the run. The older hens keep visiting, checking them out in their run, hanging out chatting about the new girls. Up in the craft room, I have a 110 gallon tub with 2 week old red rangers (33) being raised for meat. I have another 11 egg layers, an assortment, in a smaller bin. Our tractor is coming for the red rangers this week. The red rangers have already figured out how to fly out of the big tub. We need to build a big box in the barn for the rangers to hold them until they are old enough for the tractor. I guess once we move the rangers in their the layers can move into their bin. I ordered the red rangers and a half dozen layers from McM and got a dozen extras added. We lost two red rangers in the first 24 hours. We are also doing meat lambs the end of April. This should be a busy spring.

 

[RobJones]

My ten hens made it through the winter, they are happily ranging all over the property, favorite spots are the wood pile, and along the creek. The mean rooster ended up as a nice tender rooster dish, after simmering with herbs and spices for three hours in a wine broth. We have little Barney the EE Roo, he seems to be doing an okay job with the girls so far. My little 10 week old EE girl, six of them are in a small coop in the yard now and although not pleased with the snow, are seeming to be pretty happy in the run. The older hens keep visiting, checking them out in their run, hanging out chatting about the new girls. Up in the craft room, I have a 110 gallon tub with 2 week old red rangers (33) being raised for meat. I have another 11 egg layers, an assortment, in a smaller bin. Our tractor is coming for the red rangers this week. The red rangers have already figured out how to fly out of the big tub. We need to build a big box in the barn for the rangers to hold them until they are old enough for the tractor. I guess once we move the rangers in their the layers can move into their bin. I ordered the red rangers and a half dozen layers from McM and got a dozen extras added. We lost two red rangers in the first 24 hours. We are also doing meat lambs the end of April. This should be a busy spring.

Congratulations and good luck

 

[islandgirl82]

Trying to be patient but I think I'm coming to terms with not being a rooster person. My boy is 10 months old and I know spring has everyone excited and he's working hard to establish himself in the flock but he has just one girl who reluctantly submits and two more that hang out with him but avoid his advances at all costs...including attacking him. Those he hasn't won the company of he chases away from the girls who do put up with him thus dividing the flock into two.

I watched him this morning as he stood supervising the girls as they filed out of the coop and he grabbed a beak full of hackle feathers from my oldest and top hen as she passed him. It was a rather violent encounter and has left me feeling bitter towards him. He has gotten more aggressive with his treatment of my Hamburg as well. He's always excluded her from the rest of the flock and never lets her eat with them...I'm not sure but I think possibly because the rest of them are rather full bodied and she's very petite and has a completely different body type (though I could be way off base) but now he's pulling her feathers and drawing blood.

His behavior has even gotten the attention of my dogs and when the girl who will fight back starts to go after him, the dogs do to. They know he's the one who starts the disruptions in the flock and luckily for him, they listen to my every word and walk away as soon as I tell them to "leave it".

I'm not sure what to do with him. I know he should settle down once he has matured but I'm not sure I want to keep putting my girls through his shenanigans instead of being the harmonious flock they once were before his hormones started leading him. sigh