Recent content by Dave from Maine

  1. Dave from Maine

    Is it too late in the season?

    I have good luck getting my layer chicks in early fall and raising them through the winter. I developed this method to save on feed. After one winter providing supplemental light to get eggs through the winter I decided it wasn't worth it. Most of the eggs froze before I could gather them and...
  2. Dave from Maine

    Putting a "Property Damage" Price on Layers

    This dog and his owners have been given enough chances. Anyone's dog can get loose once in a while. It's going to happen. This dog's owners have let it happen repeatedly and it has harmed to several neighbors birds and other property. That dog would get what we call the three "S" treatment...
  3. Dave from Maine

    Whats the best chickens for eggs?

    I have kept leghorns through Maine winters with temperatures down to -30F. Now I keep hamburgs. The coop is unheated and well vented but not drafty. The birds usually stay in the coop when the temperature is below 0 but above that they go out into the run and try to scratch the frozen ground...
  4. Dave from Maine

    Comment by 'Dave from Maine' in article 'Chickens & Winter Egg Laying and Lighting'

    I used light the first winter I had chickens. I started with an energy efficient light and I too frozen eggs from the nest boxes. When I switched to a red heat lamp It kept the eggs from freezing but my electric bills went way up. There are other people on my road with chickens who sell eggs...
  5. Dave from Maine

    Help, moving chicks outside

    Reading these posts reminds me why I wait until the middle of May to start chicks. They never go in the house. The brooder is set up in a shed. Wiating for warm weather means I don't have to worry about a power outage and heat lamps. It happened once and they huddled and shivered but none died...
  6. Dave from Maine

    Best chicken for the apocalypse?

    I have been keeping chickens in Maine for 15 years. There is no electricity in my coop so there is no supplemental light or heat in the winter. One year I ran an extension cord for lights and got frozen eggs all winter. The breeds I have experience with are Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Red...
  7. Dave from Maine

    Meaties not really huge

    I have raised both male and female Cornish cross meat birds. The females always need about 3 weeks more growing time than the males. I prefer to raise Kosher King cockerels from Clear View Hatchery. They don't grow quite as fast but because they will forage much of their food they are more...
  8. Dave from Maine

    Straw or pine shavings in coop?

    That might be true in the midwest where a lot of grain is grown but the opposite is true in New England. Straw is about twice the price of hay. I usually use shavings because I can get them for free. I have also used straw, wood chips and sawdust. Not the fine sawdust from a table saw but the...
  9. Dave from Maine

    Ingredients in Blue Seal Feeds?

    I have fed Blue Seal, Poulin Grain, Purina and Shur-Gain over the years and my hens lay bigger eggs when they eat Blue Seal.
  10. Dave from Maine

    Raccoon problem... HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS HORRIBLE CREATURE.

    I would buy a live trap and set it after dark when nosy neighbors are not likely to see it. When a coon is caught the easiest way to dispatch it is with a .22 bullet, point blank range. A single shot with a .22 won't make enough noise to attract attention and the gun can be hiddden in the...
  11. Dave from Maine

    How to stop hens from eating eggs , What are your ideas...

    Someone told me to fill a hollowed egg with mustard and let them peck it. It was a temporary solution. I designed a nest box with a sloped floor and the eggs roll behind a baffle where the hens can't reach them. Whatever you do, act fast because if one hen starts eating eggs the rest of the...
  12. Dave from Maine

    Rabbit Hunting/Trapping

    I kill domestic rabbits with a pellet gun to the head, point blank. I used to break the neck but the pellet is quicker and doesn't bruise any meat. The same thing should work for a wild rabbit in a trap. Skinning and dressing is easy. Cut the head off and hang by the feet to bleed out. Cut...
  13. Dave from Maine

    Greetings from beautiful western Maine

    I'm new here and relatively new at raising chickens. Got a great place for them to free range and grow healthy. Hoping to learn a lot from people here and share my own experiences.
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