Maine

[Mainechick168]

Gah I leave for a while and have 140 new posts to read!

all this garden talk makes me anxious about ours. we have about a full acre we are going to make into gardens and orchards. Just yesterday we picked the fruit trees we are going to put in. I dont know why the garden makes me so nervous!

I think we are going to put off building another coop until next spring but, of course, I still want more chickens this spring. We can fit about 15 in our coop and currently have 7. I would love to make an order from McMurray but I really have no space for 15 more. We really want to raise them from chicks so they will be comfortable around us (the ones we got last year as pullets are still so skittish around us) SO if anyone wants to share an order to arrive around April let me know. I would be more than happy to buy some day old chicks from someone on here when the time comes. We will be looking for EEs and some dual purpose birds for meat (australorps, rocks, orpingtons....) and a couple turkeys. Just throwing that out there.

I am glad the weather is getting warmer. I have been worried about the girls though they seem to have been fine in the cold. no signs of frostbite yet and I still havent had to swap out the litter. I just keep adding to it and so far so good. sometimes it gets a tiny bit damp but I just go in there and stir it up and it seems to take care of the issue. They didnt mind the snow until it got to be 2+ feet deep out there!

MustardTiger- do you know if there is a paris farmers union near you? I believe their min. order is 6...and I'm sure they come from the hatchery- they don't have a huuuge selection, but I'm happy with the ones I got from them as day olds! I am pretty sure there is one in Portland- I ordered from the Winthrop store though.

 

[hoppy]

or you could also get 6+ from any of the other farm stores or chickens swaps if they are under 8 weeks old (agway, tractor supply, aubucon, they all order from hatcheries)

MustardTiger- do you know if there is a paris farmers union near you? I believe their min. order is 6...and I'm sure they come from the hatchery- they don't have a huuuge selection, but I'm happy with the ones I got from them as day olds! I am pretty sure there is one in Portland- I ordered from the Winthrop store though.

 

[buckabucka]

Gah I leave for a while and have 140 new posts to read! all this garden talk makes me anxious about ours. we have about a full acre we are going to make into gardens and orchards. Just yesterday we picked the fruit trees we are going to put in. I dont know why the garden makes me so nervous! I think we are going to put off building another coop until next spring but, of course, I still want more chickens this spring. We can fit about 15 in our coop and currently have 7. I would love to make an order from McMurray but I really have no space for 15 more. We really want to raise them from chicks so they will be comfortable around us (the ones we got last year as pullets are still so skittish around us) SO if anyone wants to share an order to arrive around April let me know. I would be more than happy to buy some day old chicks from someone on here when the time comes. We will be looking for EEs and some dual purpose birds for meat (australorps, rocks, orpingtons....) and a couple turkeys. Just throwing that out there. I am glad the weather is getting warmer. I have been worried about the girls though they seem to have been fine in the cold. no signs of frostbite yet and I still havent had to swap out the litter. I just keep adding to it and so far so good. sometimes it gets a tiny bit damp but I just go in there and stir it up and it seems to take care of the issue. They didnt mind the snow until it got to be 2+ feet deep out there!

MustardTiger- do you know if there is a paris farmers union near you? I believe their min. order is 6...and I'm sure they come from the hatchery- they don't have a huuuge selection, but I'm happy with the ones I got from them as day olds! I am pretty sure there is one in Portland- I ordered from the Winthrop store though.

Good idea, Mainechick. I got a few chicks from Longhorn's in Buxton once. You can order just a few (I got 3 EE's) and they come from Cackle Hatchery. The store says just write down other breeds and they will try to get them for you, but I only think that is true if those breeds are available from Cackle. You have to fill out an order form a month before, but they get chicks in March through July or something. What I liked about their system was that you could select what breed you want and those chicks are reserved for you (as long as you show up to pick them). I don't believe there is a minimum order, they were inexpensive and you don't pay the shipping. It's a funky store, but I enjoyed my visit. Here's a link if you are interested: http://www.longhorn.me/documents/76.html

 

[Widget]

Good idea, Mainechick. I got a few chicks from Longhorn's in Buxton once. You can order just a few (I got 3 EE's) and they come from Cackle Hatchery. The store says just write down other breeds and they will try to get them for you, but I only think that is true if those breeds are available from Cackle.
You have to fill out an order form a month before, but they get chicks in March through July or something.
What I liked about their system was that you could select what breed you want and those chicks are reserved for you (as long as you show up to pick them). I don't believe there is a minimum order, they were inexpensive and you don't pay the shipping. It's a funky store, but I enjoyed my visit.
Here's a link if you are interested: http://www.longhorn.me/documents/76.html

I second Longhorn. And it is definitely on the funky side. While they do order from Cackle they may also be able to get chicks from other sources. So if you want a breed that Cackle doesn't have just ask and see of they can get it in for you. Order as many or as few as you want. Including turkeys, ducks and guineas.

 

[buckabucka]

Does anyone around here have German New Hampshires? I have been intrigued by them ever since someone said my mutt looks like one. I bought this mutt as a chick from someone who said it hatched from a blue Amercauna egg, but it clearly wasn't an Ameraucana. Apparently, the breeder had an accidental cross.

Anyway, I am fond of this mutt, "Brownie", because she is very productive, almost like a leghorn. I can't post photos on my IPad, but her photo is on the olive egger thread, post #4896. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/131131/the-olive-egger-thread/4890#post_10058943

Maybe she's not even related to a German NH, but it made me want one!

 

[ashandvine]

Hoppy, thank you for the explanation. I love splash in general but this paint is beautiful!! Keep me posted on who you have for sale for pullets. My gf wants one.

Mine are locked up too. I also try to provide an occasional treat for their entertainment: a rotting winter squash, apple, table scraps, etc. One thing mine love (and it's free) is small white pine branches. They eat all the pine needles. I can put 5 or 6 small branches in there, and the next morning they are gone. I tried other evergreens, but they don't seem to care for them.
I am growing hard red spring wheat for them for greens. I bought a small packet of it year's ago from a seed catalog calling it "cat grass". My cat did enjoy her winter grass snack, which I planted in a little pot. Once I found out what it was, it was much cheaper to buy from the health food store.
I sprout the wheat in a sprouter (like they sell at Johnny's), and as soon as it gets big enough to form a mat of roots, I transfer it to a "fish tray", which is a flat plastic tray that fish is delivered to restaurants in. Once or twice a day, I flood it with fresh water, and then dump the water out. The roots seem to hold enough water to keep growing, and green up nicely with some sunlight. I think I'm going to try and keep sprouting all winter, as they will devour this first tray I am making in no time.

Thank you so much for this. What do you mean by health store??


Mustard Tiger.... I plan to have Turkeys and meaties....

Does anyone around here have German New Hampshires?

I have a neighbor with a NH Red and the bird is big. I am thinking about crossing him over my hens for meat. Not sure yet.

 

[annabananaandfamily]

Whew! Whirlwind weekend is well underway! I have some happy chickens right now. After reading what everyone does for their birds, i decided to make some little adjustments for mine. Added hay, which i dont usually use, in nest boxes and as sort of insulation in some draftier places and a light layer on the coop floor (on top of the deep layer stuff we had started). Gave them some cracked corn and some pine branches hauled in from around the property. While hunting down the pine we identified fox, turkey and coyote tracks...all nice and close! Ugh!

On a completely unrelated note, i have to share my own personal little adventure. Thursday evening i finally got to play hockey for the first time ever! I have wanted to try for years, but never been able to find a group that would let me join them. This week the girls team from my daugjters organization invited me to join them. Oh my goodness! I had so much fun! I cant wait til next time! And i am surprised at how great these young girls were about letting a woman the same age as their parents join them! SO MUCH FUN!!

 

[hoppy]

Whew! Whirlwind weekend is well underway! I have some happy chickens right now. After reading what everyone does for their birds, i decided to make some little adjustments for mine. Added hay, which i dont usually use, in nest boxes and as sort of insulation in some draftier places and a light layer on the coop floor (on top of the deep layer stuff we had started). Gave them some cracked corn and some pine branches hauled in from around the property. While hunting down the pine we identified fox, turkey and coyote tracks...all nice and close! Ugh!
On a completely unrelated note, i have to share my own personal little adventure. Thursday evening i finally got to play hockey for the first time ever! I have wanted to try for years, but never been able to find a group that would let me join them. This week the girls team from my daugjters organization invited me to join them. Oh my goodness! I had so much fun! I cant wait til next time! And i am surprised at how great these young girls were about letting a woman the same age as their parents join them! SO MUCH FUN!!

 

[buckabucka]

What a great story about your hockey game, annabanana! I only learned to skate as an adult (so I'm bad at it), but I love skating on an outdoor lake that is smooth as glass. It didn't happen this year... My friend in college was captain of the women's ice hockey team, so I used to enjoy going to watch.

Ashandvine, by "health food store" I mean a natural food store, that sell things like beans and wheat in bulk. Or maybe I should say buys those things in bulk, and then repackages them in a variety of different size packages. More variety than the grocery store, usually cheaper, and organic options.

New Hampshires are dual purpose, I think. My "Brownie" isn't huge, but she's solid (and crossed with an Ameraucana), assuming she even has some NH blood.

 

[hoppy]

I found you these for german NH.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732343/new-hampshire-german-line-10-hatching-eggs

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/723185/new-hampshire-reds

Does anyone around here have German New Hampshires? I have been intrigued by them ever since someone said my mutt looks like one. I bought this mutt as a chick from someone who said it hatched from a blue Amercauna egg, but it clearly wasn't an Ameraucana. Apparently, the breeder had an accidental cross.
Anyway, I am fond of this mutt, "Brownie", because she is very productive, almost like a leghorn. I can't post photos on my IPad, but her photo is on the olive egger thread, post #4896. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/131131/the-olive-egger-thread/4890#post_10058943
Maybe she's not even related to a German NH, but it made me want one!