Maine

[Poultrylord]

Does anyone in maine have east indie ducks? My mom is kind of interested in them, and I can't locate any! Please help!

 

[MMarieB]

I have a question for my fellow Mainahs. ☺ I am not allowed to have a rooster where I am but I would love to have a broody hatch some eggs to raise. I read conflicting information on bantam chickens and their cold hardiness. Anyone have any experience they would like to share on which are the best breeds for this lovely weather of ours? I was also thinking about a couple of ducks. If you do have bantams/ducks, where did you get them? Thanks in advance!

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely weather. I have to get out there and fix some of the run so that we don't lose another chicken to hawks.

 

[lazy gardener]

I had bantys about 50 years ago, does that count? They were non descript, but did well.

I'm toying with getting some duck hatching eggs, just for grins and giggles. Not sure that I'd actually want to keep them after they are weaned, but that's a decision to make if/when I get them and if/when they hatch, and if/when there are a few hens in the group.

SCG, your rat story cracked me up. I am also dealing with the dreaded beasties, though no sightings since the snows came and the ground froze. How active are they in the winter? I've put out a couple of bait stations. One in the green house has been nibbled (before ground freeze). Other two are buried in snow, all far outside of dog's range.

Is the Warfarin type of bait still available? I'm using the neurotoxin one (starts with B) but would feel safer using the Warfarin type. Other ?'s I've come up with is what is the half life of either of these products, and how long does the chemical persist in the soil from a dead rat/mouse that decomposes. Are these chemicals taken up by plants? Couldn't find any information in the MSDS. SCG, any insight here???

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I have had a few banties in my life here, still have two in the flock. Banties are nice, once they settle down, but when they're juvies, boy do they fly. High, high up in trees. You may not have this problem since you seem more city like and likely have an enclosed shelter, but out here in the woods, those banties are a pain for a few months until they realize they're supposed to sleep in the coop, not in a tree. I even taught guineas that.

I also have ducks. I started with small mallard/call crosses which flew away in fall. They never came back so I assume they didn't make it. Then I got giant pekins, they are way too fat to fly. I got the pekins and some other large ducks from Al's Quackery which I think is down by Saco area. I also have hatched some ducks here, and refilled using TSC ducklings as well. The only pain for ducks in the winter is they splash water all over the place and then it freezes and makes a dangerous mess to walk over. The other months of the year they make lovely mud for you to walk in. Their poop water is loved by my plants. Not to anthropomorphize too much but of all the fowl I have, ducks seem to be the happiest. They just really seem to enjoy life.

I have found that of my chickens, the ones that seem to mind the cold the least are the ones you'd least expect. The banties, the leghorns, the naked necks seem to just accept the cold and move on. Other large fowl non feather footed breeds seem fine with it but less brave coming outdoors in it. The giant wimps have been my large fowl with feathered feet. They refuse to come outside in the snow. They got nasty gross in the mud. I have a few with feathered feet left, including a showgirl that had to get in my kitchen sink last week and then get a blow dry due to the mud from the thaw followed by the deep freeze... all over her heiney.

I guess the point is, that you can pretty much raise most fowl here, as long as you have a good coop that they can get in to get out of the nasty cold. If you have a coop that's drafty or 3 sided, then you're going to need to be careful about what breeds you have.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Yes, coumarins are still available (the blood thinners). It wouldn't be the soil persistence I'd worry about, but rather where the animal dies and whether it gets back into the food chain. If the carcass got eaten, the next animal will get a dose.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I have call ducks
and have had bantam mutts (OEGB/silkies) and pure silkies both did fine, just had toi have wider perches so that their toes didnt curl over and get frostbite

if anyone wants call eggs come spring i dont mind shipping
or if you want ducklings i can hatch some

i am central nh, northern lakes region

 

[buckabucka]

I can't get the rats to eat any of the newer poisons. Of course, the rats hang out by the chicken feed, which may be more appealing to them. The poison I chopped and mixed with peanut butter one year did disappear. Mostly, that helped with mice in the basement, or at least that was the only place we could witness the results.

We discovered a rat hole in the hardware cloth-lined chicken run the other day. On Thursday, DH went exploring, digging down each tunnel with a shovel, trying to figure out how they got in.

He found two empty nests, each lined neatly with leaves and feathers. Then while he was following another hole, a giant rat came up! A chase ensued, with much screaming, chickens running around, DH swinging shovel. I received a photo at work of dead rat on shovel.

So far, no new tunnels have appeared. We think maybe this rat was in the run when we closed off the door to the outside when winter arrived. If this sounds familiar, it is the second time we have killed a bachelor rat in the run (last year). Maybe there is a breach in the hardware cloth, but we think the rats just walk in through the door while it is propped open in the summer. Time will tell.

 

[combatfuzzball]

Hey folks, finally starting to get eggs again. little ticked that some of my roos got frostbite on their combs. Been treating that by bringing them inside. Unfortunately Tolkien decided to beat the ever loving crap out of Vader so now I have a Black Australorp roo that has to stay inside for a few more days. Have several Easter Egger Roo's I need to get rid of. plus I think I want to get rid of the Black AUstralorps where I can concentrate on my Easter Eggers and my Silver Ameraucana.
Chicks I hatched last year and sold or gave away are laying and laying blue and green eggs so I'm happy for the new owners getting those colors. Have a fairly nice Silver Roo I am going to use for breeding my Black and Silver Pullets. Hoping to get some great chicks in a few months.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I like that Tolkien took on Vader.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Have any of you tried borax mixed with pb for the rats?
I know mice love it