Maine

[ashandvine]

I agree totally about the sun. Wish I could clean the barn. SO has other plans (despite my saying hey, next weekend I need to clean the barn) so maybe tomorrow.

yey to hatching!

Yes, SCG you are predictable when you have already said something similar once before and the situation warrants a repetition. Houdans are difficult to tell for quite a while. Feel free to post pics though The only way I knew was to really look for wattles-- even those were tricky, and then the little V horns. Are they bearded as well?

My seed order is being processed.... spring, wherefore art thou... oh! Right there!

 

[wife2abirdman]

I have a story to share and I hope you are not drinking anything.

Last night I was very lazy. I made breakfast for dinner; scrambled eggs, sausages and oj. SO and I sit at the 'head and foot' of the table per custom. I looked down the table at one point and saw the strangest expression on SO's face. He was nearly wringing his hands over the table and he had this suppressed expression that looked a mix of horror and humor or discomfort. Well of course I asked if he was ill? He was not. He got up shortly afterwards and left the table with his meal unfinished and not another word said. That evening, as is our custom, he came in while I was putting our youngest to bed and he said, he is 'all done eating eggs for a while.' He then explained that whilst sitting over dinner, with fork in hand, he came to the realization that fertilized eggs contained sperm from the rooster, thus his struggle to finish the meal. I could not keep from bursting with laughter but the reality of the situation for him was one I had to try to mollify. So I explained that those particular eggs had not been fertile as there was no rooster in that pen. It made him feel a little better but he stated whole heartedly he was in support of a 'just eggs' house but he still would not be eating eggs for a while as he was still obsessing over how many sperms he might have eaten in his lifetime and claimed he may even resort to buying himself eggs from the store just to be sure they are not fertile.
OMG
You can imagine, I was dying of laughter and still enjoy this story in a very naughty and deeply enjoyful way.

And wanted to mention that our Am eggs are fertile and the duck is now setting a nest.

Also-to anyone who usually gets shipped eggs- do you think it is warm enough to get shipped eggs without a heat pack?

 

[Widget]

Time change tonight

. For what it is worth Benjamin Franklin first proposed it but it didn't go into effect until I think WWI. That was to save resources for the war effort. It went away after the war but came back during WWII. After the war it was up to individual states to set when or if they wanted to participate. It wasn't until the 1970's that it was established the way we know it today except for the recent change in when it starts and ends that took place a couple years ago.

I know people love the extra daylight. Oddly enough the amount of hours in the day don't change just the time on the clock.

My thoughts are why bother to 'fall' back in the fall. If it is cold out I still have the pellet stove running whether it is dark or light out. And I hardly ever have lights on in the house so I'm not saving on electricity usage. Therefore daylight savings time is utterly useless for me.

 

[hoppy]

I have been getting and recieving without heat packs. I don't use them, why start the incubation process and then have it stop when the heat pack cools off???? cool is better and I get my best hatches this time of yr. (although my hatch rate on blr is terrible, choc orps and buff laced brahmas was fantastic!!)

Also-to anyone who usually gets shipped eggs- do you think it is warm enough to get shipped eggs without a heat pack?

 

[hoppy]

will I be seeing your order on my desk??

My seed order is being processed.... spring, wherefore art thou... oh! Right there!

 

[wife2abirdman]

I have been getting and recieving without heat packs. I don't use them, why start the incubation process and then have it stop when the heat pack cools off???? cool is better and I get my best hatches this time of yr. (although my hatch rate on blr is terrible, choc orps and buff laced brahmas was fantastic!!)

Ok thank you. I only started this whole incubating thing this week and so everything is so new. I had talked to a few people and they had said to ship with a heat pack or wait till the nights are above freezing-well we all know that doesn't happen till April anyaway so that's why I had asked well plus the lady I am getting eggs from had said she never used them.

 

[Widget]

Just sent in my deposit for 8 Saxony ducklings

. They are due in sometime towards the end of April. My chick order is expected April 12th. And if all goes well with the egg pick-up tomorrow I will have some Icelandic chicks hatching around the beginning of April. After that I have some Bourbon Red poults coming in early May. Just need my Midget White poults and I will have more than a full house.

Of course that means stocking up on chick starter. And lots of it. Since I have a mixed flock I tend to use Purina Flock Raiser. The birds do well on it and it covers chicks, ducks and poults. Anyone else use something different for a mixed species brooding?

Already have plans for building a cow panel hoop house to attach to an old run-in shed. Just need the snow to melt and the ground to thaw.

If my idea works I will make another as the new horse shelter.

It will be so nice when the snow finally melts so I can once again fill the water buckets and trough using the outside hose. I am tired of lugging buckets of water. And the most important thing is that I will be able to get my septic tank pumped. It is more than due right now so I really have to watch how much water goes down the drain. I know where the tank cover is and have it mostly shoveled off but there is still a foot or so of frozen dirt on top of it.

I will say the closest laundromat to me is open 24/7 and is spotless. But spending $12 a week to wash and dry two loads is a bit on the expensive side.

 

[buckabucka]

They call it day light savings because as the morning sun rises earlier and earlier, people sleep through the early light hours, thereby "wasting" daylight. Of course, SCG is up anyway. I like to sleep in, but on workdays, the sun does not come up early enough for my taste.

Even though chickens are my only animals, I am also looking forward to the hose!

Great turkey story, Mainechick!

I am trying to distract myself so I won't look at the incubator. 10 chicks have hatched now (1 Ameraucana, 1 Barnvelder, 1 cuckoo Marans, 2 blue Marans, 2 wheaten Marans, and 3 olive eggers). I really want to take the chicks out of the incubator, but I have an Ameraucana that pipped, zipped almost half-way around the egg, and then quit. My initial idea was to take out all the chicks and then try to help the Ameraucana, which might be stuck, but after some reading, I am going to wait until morning. I read that as long as the chick can breathe, it can survive just fine sitting in the egg for a while, and the other chicks should be fine until morning too. The first hatchers will be in there 48 hours, but for the majority, it will just be 24. If the Ameraucana dies in the meantime, it probably had other issues.

That will also give the other 5 eggs a little more time without messing with the humidity. I haven't seen pips on any of them, but they are covered with chicks, so it is hard to see. I'm not really expecting my incubated-upside-down egg to hatch, but I wonder what is going on with some of the others. A couple did have wonky air cells. I'll know more tomorrow.

 

[MaineDavie]

I'm a first time chicken raiser...is it ok to just buy a couple chickens - or should I raise them from an egg?

I'm in Windham, Maine

 

[Keric]

Welcome Davie. It is alot easier for someone new with chickens to start with adult or at least started chickens although it is fairly easy to raise them from chick to adulthood. Ask away someone here will give you the answers you need.