Maine

[gracejr]

e Hose and water tanks are thawed out. I was able to fill the two 70 gal water troughs for the horses today. No more lugging bucket after bucket out to them every day.

And the bees are out and about. I gave them a bowl full of sugar water just in case they needed a boost. No idea what their honey stores are like and no flowers yet for them to get nectar from. Saw a butterfly today too. Think it was a Red Admiral.

The four free ranging chickens are still around. One of the girls finally decided to start laying. Or she started laying in a spot that I can reach. No idea where the others are stashing their eggs. The penned girls, duck and chicken, still seem to be on strike. But then again their pen still has about five inches of snow and ice in it. They could be laying in a spot I still can't reach. Maybe by the end of the week that pen will be a bit less icky and I can start fixing it up.

Hooray Widget!! Though, you must get quite the workout in the winter lugging that much water to everyone! Hope the girls start laying in more convenient spots soon.

Hehehe you did notice that Robert didn't  put his foot down today and stick to his insistence we weren't going to have a rooster... Spartacus must be growing on him  

I knew as soon as he said "as long as the neighbors don't mind" he'd signed his own death warrant. So, I assume Spartacus won't be heading for the roasting pan?

It's coming, though. I saw 3 dandelions yesterday.

Assembling the hive today. I think. Those frames are going to kill me.

Our yard is still covered with snow. Or mud. No inbetween! Can't wait for the grass to start growing again.



Put 17 eggs in the bator last night, can't wait to see what I wind up with! Not sure where I'm going to fit everyone though... Including all the chicks and adults, we'll be up to 47 if all the eggs hatch. Any males will head to freezer camp, but that's still a lot of birds!! Plus we're getting 4 turkey poults later this spring. Yikes!

 

[thatsjustducky]

Cute goat clip I found today

Easy to sneak this one home and mix it with your flock

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Our yard is still covered with snow. Or mud. No inbetween! Can't wait for the grass to start growing again.



Put 17 eggs in the bator last night, can't wait to see what I wind up with! Not sure where I'm going to fit everyone though... Including all the chicks and adults, we'll be up to 47 if all the eggs hatch.

Any males will head to freezer camp, but that's still a lot of birds!! Plus we're getting 4 turkey poults later this spring. Yikes!

Our snow is mostly gone, but there is inches upon inches of mud. Hard to imagine that grass will ever grow.

47 biddies isn't that many!

I've got 42 + 2 turkeys + 3 ducks + 21 juvies plus eggs in the bator and more turkey eggs going in in a week. I might have gotten roped into the Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchalong again this year (that's how I ended up with turkeys last year). I promised I'd eat the turkeys I hatched last year... it's obvious they're still very much alive. But I promise to eat the ones from this hatch...

And it only took 8.5 hours for TWO PEOPLE to assemble a hive with 5 medium boxes and 50 frames and prime it. Ignore the mess in the basement, we do.

 

[Paulajon]

Hi Fellow Maine Chicken lovers, I am from Standish, Maine . 7 hens and 1 roo in the coop. 7 chicks in the brooder (Thanks to Grace Jr for feeding my addiction LOL) I am itching to start my first attempt at incubation sometime this week.

Welcome !

 

[CoopChick719]

Which reminds me: I had lost a beautiful, new, Mille Fleur Basque hen last week and was really disappointed. She just disappeared. After about 4 days I found her. She had fallen into the most impossible place that I didn't even know existed till I saw one hen perching above it. When SO threw up pens for me he left about 8 inches between two of them because of a 6x6 support timber. She was in there. I got her out and gave her vitamin water, meal worms and a big hug... and a crate with a lock for now.

Thank goodness you found her!! Glad she's okay, ashandvine!!

I am lucky to have my classroom facing the trash collection area. Not for the view, of course, but for scavenging. The same day that the jail appeared, there was what looked like a ladder roost. It sat there for about a week and I told DH about it. Then suddenly I saw two teachers go pick it up and set it outside their classroom. When I told the janitor I planned to take the jail, I asked him about the ladder roost. It belonged to the OT department, and he was mad that they took it back. He said it has been in storage forever and never gets used. He even went so far as to complain to the administration that he thought it was unsafe and should go back in the trash, but the OT department prevailed, and it is back in storage.

Love this buckabucka! My dad is a scavenger so it's in my blood! DH cringes when I drag stuff home on Spring Clean Up Day!!

He said he's glad our town only does it every other year.

Hose and water tanks are thawed out. I was able to fill the two 70 gal water troughs for the horses today. No more lugging bucket after bucket out to them every day.

And the bees are out and about. I gave them a bowl full of sugar water just in case they needed a boost. No idea what their honey stores are like and no flowers yet for them to get nectar from. Saw a butterfly today too. Think it was a Red Admiral.

Wonderful news Widget! My cousin lost all of his bees to varroa (?) mites. He was NOT happy!!

Hi Fellow Maine Chicken lovers, I am from Standish, Maine . 7 hens and 1 roo in the coop. 7 chicks in the brooder (Thanks to Grace Jr for feeding my addiction LOL) I am itching to start my first attempt at incubation sometime this week.

wabbit1964! Lots of good info from some great people!!

 

[buckabucka]

Welcome Wabbit!

SCG the hive looks great! And so does the basement (ours has wood walls and is full of water, mold, and trash).

gracejr, I was worried about what I would do with all the eggs I am hatching too..... Guess I'll figure that out later.

 

[Mainechick168]

Bucka- I wish I had a visible "trash pile" near by! Maybe it's a Maine thing?? The dump near me is so-s0, but the dump in Eustis is great, they have a whole room dedicated to things that are too good to throw away, and I've found some super neat things in there! Not to mention...there is an old "dump" on my property, which is mostly full of old rusty metal junk, but this weekend, I found the pile of glass....too bad, tons of old milk bottles that were all broken, I did find a few small things that were not broken, and I'll go back as soon as the ground thaws and dig some more

Chickens are loving the lawn without snow...little bits of green grass is coming up, and I see they are finding some worms and grubs..yay spring!

 

[lazy gardener]

Bucka- I wish I had a visible "trash pile" near by! Maybe it's a Maine thing?? The dump near me is so-s0, but the dump in Eustis is great, they have a whole room dedicated to things that are too good to throw away, and I've found some super neat things in there! Not to mention...there is an old "dump" on my property, which is mostly full of old rusty metal junk, but this weekend, I found the pile of glass....too bad, tons of old milk bottles that were all broken, I did find a few small things that were not broken, and I'll go back as soon as the ground thaws and dig some more

Chickens are loving the lawn without snow...little bits of green grass is coming up, and I see they are finding some worms and grubs..yay spring!

Bucka, Maine Chick, and Coop Chick, I agree with you! Dump picking is a fine art. My idea of a hot date is a trip to the dump with a pick up truck to look for abandoned treasures. My hubby cringes when I jump out of the truck. Sometimes I can hardly wait for it to stop moving when I spy something with promise! Last fall I missed out on completed wall panels... complete with paneling on the inside, that would have made a complete coop with minimal re-structuring. All because it was late in the afternoon and I didn't have time to go back home for a saw to cut them into manageable chunks for transport. We call our local dump the "Winterport Mall"! My neighbor came home from the mall 2 years ago with a ride on lawnmower... all it needed was a starter.

 

[Clover Run]

The WILTON TSC Swap/Farmers Market will be the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month starting on April 6th. If you have any questions please let me know!!

PLEASE READ if you plan to bring anything to the swaps. These guidelines must be met by all. Use the links provided to be sure your able to bring and sell your items. It is your responsibility, not that of Wilton Chicken Swap or Tractor Supply Company.

IT WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH VENDOR TO ABIDE BY STATE OF MAINE LAWS AND REGULATIONS; TO PROVIDE ANY REQUIRED LICENSING, ADEQUATE SHELTER, CAGING, WATER AND FOOD FOR THEIR ANIMALS; & TO CLEAN UP THEIR AREAS WHEN LEAVING.

Maine State Laws governing the sale of poultry/waterfowl & goats
...Continue Reading
Maine Department of Agriculture: Animal Health Statutes and Rules
www.maine.gov

 

[ashandvine]

SCG... is now too late to mention that there were assembled boxes on sale at the Swap in your back yard?

Alright. Its April! This is the consensus regarding a get together:
Last weekend of the "April vacation" for public school seems to be best. I am just going on what I have had for feedback so pm me if there are a mass of you who want to meet and swap and sip and what not at a different time. Finding a central location has been a real trick. I think I have a spot but am not going to call it until a I heard that more than two of you are showing up. I will see if maybe we can't have a thread just for our get together but its so small I don't see the point.

Seeds, seats, cups, chicken related stuff and a name tag. THAT is what is on the roster for what should be brought. Other ideas? Please share.