BYC members in Massachusetts?

[Powerhour]

Hello fellow Mass members. I'm happy to see a lot of local chicken people. I am a newbie and will follow this thread for local flavor and advice.
In Framingham Ma. Powerhour

 

[jak252]

hi all - new to the forum and to chicken keeping. i am in haverhill, ma and would love to have someone local to talk to in case of any questions that may come up. we pick up our chicks on march 10th, so less than a week.

 

[backyardflock1]

!!!!!! You will find chickens are one of the best pets, they give you eggs too! I am fairly new to chickens (about 1.5 years) but feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I'll get back to you within my best ability!

What are your primary use for the chickens- eggs or them just being pets? Where are you picking up the chicks from, Dodge Grain?

 

[jak252]

hi byf1 - yes, they are for eggs. they will also be pets as my daughters are pretty excited about it. although, i know long term, the responsibility will fall on myself and my wife. and, yes, dodge grain is where we are getting the chicks from. i was in there last weekend asking questions. they were very friendly and knowledgeable.

 

[backyardflock1]

Do you have any certain breeds in mind that you want to get at Dodge Grain? If you want to ensure maximum friendliness, make sure to handle them a lot!

 

[jak252]

yes, we are going to get 2 of the following:

buff orpington
barred plymouth rock
black sex link
golden comet (red sex link)
americaunas (more likely they are easter eggers)


from the info we have gathered the breeds we have chosen should get along ok. obviously there could be an exception or two. my ideal number would be 8, but figured we would get 10 in case we lose any or if one or two end up roosters.

 

[backyardflock1]

good choices from what I can see!

 

[Lambchops1]

Hi Jak, I'm next door in Groveland, MA. I have about 50 bantam cochins and have been raising them for a couple of decades now. Will be a while before the snow is gone and they can go outside. My incubator is running now so hopefully chicks in a couple of weeks, which I will need to brood inside until they feather out and able to go out in the coop. I get my grain from Dodge in Salem and they always have chicks and will order what you want - nice helpful people.

I'm having a problem logging into this site, so my real profile if you want to check is just Lambchops. Hopefully, they can fix my access soon.

Have fun with your chicks - they grow fast :-}

 

[kittykorat]

Thanks for posting about Dodge Grain. They are about an hour away, but it seems they have a good selection, and they actually know what birds they will be getting. I live outside of Worcester. I have called a couple farm stores, and most don't know what they will get.. they say they get "hatchery choice". I used to have good luck with Klems, but when I called this year they had no idea of what they would be getting.

 

[FuzzyHens]

Hi Jak, I'm next door in Groveland, MA. I have about 50 bantam cochins and have been raising them for a couple of decades now. Will be a while before the snow is gone and they can go outside. My incubator is running now so hopefully chicks in a couple of weeks, which I will need to brood inside until they feather out and able to go out in the coop. I get my grain from Dodge in Salem and they always have chicks and will order what you want - nice helpful people.

I'm having a problem logging into this site, so my real profile if you want to check is just Lambchops. Hopefully, they can fix my access soon.

Have fun with your chicks - they grow fast :-}

What color bantam cochins do you have? I have just started with chickens and I'm building my bantam cochin flock. Do you sell chicks or hatching eggs?