Maine

[The100AcreWood]

Wow! Just looked up tetra tints. They were all from the assorted pullt bin. They don't have any brown markings and look exactly like a leg horn but with red ears. Their eggs are lightly tinted, I guess that's what they are! Thanks for the help!!

 

[gtourtel]

I live in Wilton Maine and have 6 free range chickens 5 hens 1 roo. My question is what do we do in the winter. Do we coop them all winter? What do we feed them through the winter months to supplement what they are not getting from free range? We do have a run for them can we let them out in the run it does not have a roof.

 

[chickiegirlsme]

I'm in New Vineyard. Our chickens have a run that has a peak on top. It has heavier wire on the sides and chicken wire over the top with tarps over that. The chicken wire supports the tarps as well as providing some protection. The snow slides right off the tarps, sometimes to the consternation of the girls, but it does kind of build up around the edges of the run. By the end of the winter this last year, the snow was about 5 feet high on the two sides. The girls could still get light, though, because the snow didn't drop at the end of the run - just at the two sides. Our chickens were out most days in the run. I only kept them in the coop about 3-4 days when it didn't get over zero. They always had the option to go in, if they wanted to. We had water outside, with a heater block under it, and water inside as well, with a heater under that. They came through the winter fine. Our run is a bit bowling-alley-like. It is 19 feet long and 6 feet wide. Some snow did fall inside the run, but it was easy to remove. We did throw down some straw in the run every now and then to cover up the remaining snow, and that was a pig to remove in the spring as it was wet and heavy. We removed it before it could get moldy.
Alternatively, my brother in NH had 5 hens that he kept in his coop all winter long. In a way, it was good as his hens all molted during the coldest part of the winter.
Hope this helps.

Now on another topic: I need to pick up two more chickens sometime soon. I'd prefer pullets, either Orpingtons or Plymouth Rocks. Does anyone know of any available in the area? Thanks.

 

[lazy gardener]

You'll want to allow them the opportunity to get outdoors on all but the nastiest of days. They will make up their own minds whether they go out or not. Everybody does things differently as their housing situation is different. This is what I did: My 5 girls spent the winter in a cattle panel coop which has a 4 x 8 loft with perches and nest boxes. Under the loft and adjacent is a 8 x 12 area, which was covered over with clear plastic, so there was a bit of a green house effect. On sunny days, it got up to 50 degrees in their "sun room" which is deep litter grass clippings and leaves. This was attached to a 15 x 30' run (part of my garden) with a cattle panel green house at the end which was left open for them to access all winter. I tried to keep a path shoveled to the green house, but gave up on that during the deep freeze. I did keep a bit of space shoveled in front of their sun room, and tossed hay over the snow and ice. They felt terribly abused if their feet had to touch the snow! But chickens can, and will come out in the snow... some are not as fussy about that as others. I kept a heated dog bowl for their water, and gave them dry feed during the deep freeze. If the temp got up into the 20's during the day for any stretch of time, I'd start a batch of fermented feed for them.

 

[Heatherschix]

I live in Wilton Maine and have 6 free range chickens 5 hens 1 roo. My question is what do we do in the winter. Do we coop them all winter? What do we feed them through the winter months to supplement what they are not getting from free range? We do have a run for them can we let them out in the run it does not have a roof.

This year I'm going to incorporate a sprouting regimen of wheat grass and alpha for my flock. I will rotate 7 large seed trays for everyday of the week.

I will also incorporate the deep liter method in their coop, which is basically turning the litter and adding fresh on top, and not removing in the springtime. This both creates a heat source for the coop and provides lovely compost for the garden in the springtime.

I have both a roofed pen and a run with only wire over top. I will spread hay out over the snow to help melt it and give them something to scratch...they will want to get out. However, those artic type days of -20...They will just have to entertain themselves indoors.

 

[lazy gardener]

I think sprouts go a long way towards alleviating winter boredom! I think I'll buy a 50# bag of barley or oats for sprouts this year. Any that don't get used for sprouts can be used for scratch in the spring.

 

[mlowen]

I live in Wilton Maine and have 6 free range chickens 5 hens 1 roo. My question is what do we do in the winter. Do we coop them all winter? What do we feed them through the winter months to supplement what they are not getting from free range? We do have a run for them can we let them out in the run it does not have a roof.

You can see my coop and run if you click the "my coop" link. I use deep litter throughout. I had plenty of ventilation, used no heat and took warm water out to them each morning through the winter. They did great. Chickens always need a secure coop to spend the nights safe from predators, year round. My girls range in my yard via tunnels and temp fencing...local ordinance requires it.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Thank you for the advice! My girls look like that but seem to have red ears. There are 3 girls and they are all 17 weeks.

Red earlobes state brown color egg genetics.

Mine go out in the winter, as long as I shovel the run.

 

[lazy gardener]

Any one know the breeding of the TetraTint, and do they bear the leghorn personality???

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

My daughter and her polish. I think we may have gotten lucky and ended up with one rooster and one hen.