Maine

[lazy gardener]

GEN: I've used the electronet. It worked well for me until I had issues with BOP. The chickens would fly over it. And when they were outside the net, the hawks would swoop in. They have gotten increasingly aggressive over the last 3 years, to the point that they will sit in trees outside my run and taunt me. I chased a hawk out of my winter run about a month ago. So, I put a cover over that section (2 x 4 welded wire mesh) and plan to cover the rest of the run this spring. I had left it uncovered in the winter due to snow load. But, the snow load falls through the wire pretty well. I'd love to be able to use just the electronet, but the hawks are on constant watch here now. If I let them out to range, the hawks show up within 10 minutes.

 

[buckabucka]

I have some electric poultry netting that I could give someone a good deal on. We set it up one year, but never electrified it and eventually turned to other fencing. I think it would work well in the right situation, but we wanted the area running through the woods and there was way too much clearing needed. I would have to check on how big it is and what it was originally worth, if someone is interested.

We've seen all kinds of animals on our game cam, but still haven't lost anyone to predators. Perhaps that is why the rats thrive here!

What part of Maine are you in? I am deffinatelg going to give the poultry net a shot and interested in your fence as long as it's big enough!

I am in central Maine (Fairfield) next to Waterville. The fence is 165 feet long, 3.5 feet tall. We have a charger too, but I would have to check this weekend what kind, how powerful, etc. It is still in the original box. There's a spool of wire too (which carries DC current between the charger and the fence).
I see the new fence costs about $150, you could have it for $50. I'd have to look up the charger if you want it.

 

[ChyDez]

I know I've asked this ? before, and been answered before.  But, senior moments being what they are... Has any one on Maine thread ordered chicks from Cackle in the past, and what has been the outcome? When did you order, how long were they in transit, what was the weather, and what was the viability of your chicks?  I have chicks shipping 4/12.  

Got my shipment today! Shipped yesterday, left MO at 8:42p from the post office and I got the call at 11:30a to pick them up. I ordered 15, got 17! All doing good so far!

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote: From Cackle? That's awesome shipping time. Did you order any priority shipping, or just the standard shipping? I hope my shipment does as well. Also, hoping they send a couple of "just in case" extras.

 

[ChyDez]

From Cackle?  That's awesome shipping time.   Did you order any priority shipping, or just the standard shipping?  I hope my shipment does as well.  Also, hoping they send a couple of "just in case" extras.

Yeah from cackle. I didn't pay anything extra for expedited shipping, just their standard priority two day shipping. They gave me two extra barred rocks. Also, oddly enough there was no heat packs. Just a nice little nest and the grow gel stuff, and thermometer. It went from Kansas City, MO to Scarborough, Me. Then was down at my post office in a matter of a couple hours. I'll be getting 3 Easter eggers next week, I'll update you on the packaging with a smaller order.

 

[buckabucka]

I'm 1/3 Irish but I'm not having much luck this St. Patrick's day. Every day I brace myself for removing a dead animal from the coop because I have a rooster that appears to be dying and refuses to entirely give up on life. This morning I was quite surprised to find the rooster standing there and a dead hen at my feet. She was older, but when I picked her up there were missing feathers and a lot of blood on her neck. I thought maybe the rats had snacked on her after she died, until I went in the other half of the coop and found two more dead hens with their heads chewed part-way off. It appears to be a weasel attack.

There are gaps around the door. We are working to fill them with hardware cloth today, but I am wondering, could the weasel come in through a rat tunnel? I read that they eat rodents which is the one optimistic fact here. If the weasel went down in the rats borough for breakfast, it seems he could chase the rats through their tunnel and suddenly find himself in a chicken coop. I also read that they will kill anything that moves, even if they are not hungry. I'm glad (and surprised) that it did not wipe out the whole flock.

I plan to put a sheet of hardware cloth over the rat tunnel, but I can't possibly finish lining the entire floor today. It is too big a space and too frozen. The rats will easily create a new tunnel, creating new access for the weasel, if that is where he came in. I am assuming they come back again and again once they find a food source. We'll see what I find tomorrow...

 

[lazy gardener]

That's the MO of a weasel. Kill for the fun of it, can wipe out a whole flock in a single night. Any hole that you can push a quarter through will allow a weasel to pass. What about putting some type of snare trap down in the rat holes? He's bound to come back, how fitting that you should have a nice welcome wagon available for him. Weasel is my greatest nightmare as a flock owner. So sorry you got hit, and hope you can exterminate him(them.)

 

[buckabucka]

We tried to block holes around the door with hardware cloth, although I don't think it is foolproof. The rat hole we just stomped down, then we put a snap trap inside a small cardboard box, right along the wall where the rats usually come up. We also put a live trap along the wall a little further down, where I often find rat droppings. Both are baited with chicken meat from one of the dead hens. We'll see if we catch anything, or if we find a bunch more dead hens.

When summer comes, I can finish lining the floor with hardware cloth, and we figured we could build a real wall on the end of the hoop coop with a real door. The hoop coop was built to be movable and as light as possible, but now that we've decided to leave it in a permanent place, we could make improvements that involve weight. If the whole flock is killed off, we'll probably convert it to a luxury garden shed (which we've always wanted). We do have another coop, that has so far remained weasel-free.

 

[lazy gardener]

Bucka, so sorry you're being attacked. It's infuriating.

This evening, I heard a commotion. Looked out the back door to see a hawk sitting on the top rail of the covered winter run. It's not totally hawk proof. He could sneak through where the chicken wire is not completely fastened at one gable end, or could sneak under a tarp that is laying over one section of 2 x 4 welded wire roof. I invited him to leave, and asked him not to come back. I don't expect he really listened to me.

The good news is that Jack stayed outside until he had all of his girls escorted into the coop. Good boy!!!

 

[combatfuzzball]

Hey Again,
So I am wondering what everyone has for chickens here in Maine. Not being a native Mainer but living here for past 11 years or so I've went with what turned out to be Easter Eggers. The 8 remaining are going on 3 weeks old and hopefully I can move them outdoors by the first of next month.
What's everyone's thoughts on chickens that do particularly well here during those long cold Maine Winters?
Breeds I'd like to have added to my flock are Maran, Welsummer, Buckeye's but especially TRUE Americauna's.