Maine

[m.kitchengirl]

Quote: Oooh. I am very interested & will drive a good distance to pick them up.
I am also looking for a few other breeds, but I am too much of a worry wart for incubating.
I tried once & failed. I borrowed my 'bator from a teacher friend who loaned them to people regularly but didn't clean them - as I found out when they all died before hatching.
The family sat me down & asked me not to incubate again. I drove them crazy.
My EE hen has been sneaking off & laying in the neighbor's wood pile (I give him a cut of the eggs) but if she goes broody once she is in the new yard I'll probably let her hatch some.

I have had the most trying day here on the property.
Everything has been going wrong since I had lunch.

I tried to move the wood pile - huge nest of angry wasps in there.
No biggie, I thought. I'll just move the coop down to the new yard space so they get used to being there.
The darn thing collapsed into 5 pieces in transit, and I am at a loss as to what to do. The new coop s being built next week, but not til Tuesday.
So, I figured I'd go for a drive to calm down & sort out how to deal with the coop (which I hoped would be the new bunny hutch next week). I needed to pick up soil for my raised beds.
Got halfway there & the truck I borrowed ran out of gas (no one told me the gauge was broken).
So, I sat on the side of the road for an hour, and now have even less time to figure out what to do about the coop.

Do you think the chickens will torment the ducks if I put a roost in there for them for the night? I can move them in after dark, when they are calm.

 

[PollyC]

I can get Black Copper Marans chicks from my friend, she is hatching and selling. She has them from a few days old to 4 weeks. She is asking $4 each if anyone is interested. The original stock came from Greenfire Farms about 3 years ago.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

OOOHHH! OOOHHH! OOOHHH! Raising hand! (for those of you old enough to remember Horshack from Mr Kotter)
I am not that far from Buckfield and would like to try a few of the chicks.
I know they take forever to grow but I am interested in Heritage breeds.

Anyone interested in Black Spanish Turkey Eggs. A friend of mine is hatching some out now to check fertility and it is good. She also has the babies for sale. She is asking $8 each and the eggs are $30 a dozen. We can ship if necessary but that would be extra. These are located in Buckfield.

I'd love 3 of these but that's a 90 minute drive each way from me. Anyone from the Disgusta/Waterville area getting some? Combine orders, and I'll pay for gas/mileage?

 

[buckabucka]

Loved the photos of Pete, annabanana.

And it sounds like m.kitchengirl had quite a day!

I have some hope for my sick hen here. I've been keeping her separate from the others, outside during the day, and hauling her inside into a cage at night. She doesn't open her eyes much, has no appetite, and sometimes shakes her head. She had been taking tiny bites of food each day, if I held them right up by her beak, but usually she would peck at the food and miss. The only ailment we had found was mites, and we thoroughly dusted her.

This morning, she had gone downhill even farther. Would not eat, drink, or open eyes. I started thinking maybe it was gapeworm, or some other parasite in addition to the mites. I read that you should worm them first with a drug that treats roundworm, and then wait 10 days to give something stronger, because a massive kill of worms can block their gut and cause death.

I didn't have 10 days, and since it was clear she was going to die very soon anyway, I decided to take a chance. I treated her with ivomectrin. We force-fed some fluids and yogurt. For a little while this afternnoon, she perked up. She picked up at least 8 cubes of bread off the ground and ate them! Too bad she wouldn't eat the egg, but I was thrilled that she ate anything. She has crashed again now. I'll be curious to see what happens in the morning.

 

[buckabucka]

I can get Black Copper Marans chicks from my friend, she is hatching and selling. She has them from a few days old to 4 weeks. She is asking $4 each if anyone is interested. The original stock came from Greenfire Farms about 3 years ago.

Wow, this is really tempting! I just tried to hatch 10 Marans and 7 Wheaten/BW Ameraucanas (both shipped from the same person), and I only got 1 Marans and 1 Ameraucana. Does she have any that are about 2 weeks old? My chicks in the brooder are approaching that age.
Do you have to quarantine chicks?

 

[blueseal]

my broody has hatched 2 chicks this morning so far out of 5 eggs.

 

[buckabucka]

Quote:

So sweet!

 

[superchemicalgirl]

AWwww! Are those leghorn chicks?

 

[MrsSerfesME]

They are so cute!

 

[buckabucka]

Uh-oh.

Things have gone bad here. Our sick hen that we treated with ivermectin is not dead, but she is not improving yet, either. We just continue with the usual force-feeding tiny amounts, moving her in each night.
Today I noticed another hen, sitting hunched on the ground, eyes closed, head drooping. This one will get up and run away, and occasionally acts normal, but much of the day she is hunched.
I am reading about ulcerative enteritis, cholera, avian flu and other horrible diseases.
If any more start going down, I will be tempted to take one to a vet for a diagnosis so I know if I have to cull the whole flock, or just find the right drug.
It is frustrating not knowing what to do!