Maine

[Branch Chickens]

Looking for hatching eggs- any kinds, but am particularly interested in americaunas, black copper marans, laced wyandottes, and dominques/ or another barred chicken. Let me know what you have- I live in Palermo, but will travel to Augusta, Waterville, Belfast areas.

Hi mckenney! We're neighbors.

 

[CoopChick719]

Yes, my husband LOVED the idea that he had to build a new shed!! And he made sure he put a small tool bench in my coop, too, but it's OK. Nice having a counter top in there for chicken "stuff."

Mine's been upta camp for 5 days wait til he gets home and I hit him with my coop renovation idea. I'm very fortunate to have 3 storage shelves and a small shelf above my nesting boxes (girls can't get to it as it's outside the chicken room). I'm toying with the idea of building a brooder area either by enclosing a storage shelf or modifying the top nesting boxes to accomodate chicks but can turn back into boxes when they're grown.

I'll have to draw him a picture so he can see what I envision. Oh no, those engineers I work with are starting to rub off on me!!

Coop chick, I don't think they're the same thing. As I remember, they're pinkish to yellow translucent, have a fairly large seed, you can see some striping of the tissue under the skin, and the bushes have thorns... of course, this is the best I can recollect from 50 years ago. This is an other heirloom plant that is destined to extinction.

I wasn't sure. My quince is very small and hasn't started blooming yet.

Big rooster fight here today! They actually ripped the chicken wire that separates the two of them, although they didn't break all the way through. The Basque is really bloodied and his eye all swollen. I stuffed the poor guy in our chick brooder in here. He was walking around and snacking in the coop, but the hens are pecking at his feathers and wattles, which are still bleeding, so I thought it would be best to separate him. I wish we had our new basement already!

Sorry to hear about your roo, bucka! I hope his injuries aren't too bad!

With everyone getting all juiced up to incubate eggs and hatch out some chicks, should I be offering up Rockstar Eggs? Two main questions come to mind.

1. Would they even be worth trying to hatch?

2. Does anyone even care?

I don't hold the eggs in any special regard. I also can't guarantee anything would come of them. Might hatch the infamous Rock Star (Barred Rock X Red Star) or it may hatch into some nine-dollar bills. I don't have a clue. Open for discussion. If anyone wants some, I'll give you whatever you'd like to try and hatch.

If not, I'll go sit quietly in the corner until it's my turn to speak.

1. I think they would make an excellent breed!
2. Of course we care!
3. Dagnabbit Jazor! If I hadn't just ordered 8 chicks (and split an order for broilers w/my sister) from Murray McMurray, I would have taken you up on the offer. I have a little cochin who has been broody for several weeks now. I've tried to break her but she's determined. I take her out of the nesting box 2x a day--much to her dismay--to eat, drink & poo in peace away from the big girls. She gulps down some food & water then starts pacing for me to let her back in the chicken room. I'm worried she's getting skinny!

Hoping for some warm weather tomorrow so I can let the girls out to freee range a little.

 

[CoopChick719]

I have chicks due to arrive on March 28th.

Only eight but that is more than enough for now. Hardest part will be having to go to TSC to get dog food next weekend and ignoring any peeping that may be going on there.

Hopefully some of the snow and ice that is my yard right now will have started to melt by then so the bantams that are in the basement brooder can finally get booted outside. I will need the brooder by mid April for the chicks not to mention a place for the ducks and turkeys due to arrive at the end of April.

I've got chicks coming in April too, Widget! I know the feeling about ignoring the peeps at TSC. You have to go past the brooders to get to any chicken feed in the Augusta store.

So, the shuffle begins!

On my list for tomorrow is to clear a spot in the garage to setup the brooder! DH will be so happy that I've cleared up all my junk he probably won't mind me dragging the dog crate, fencing & shavings in there...again!

Really don't want them in the house this year but we'll see how it goes. DD is thinking they'll be in the house. I told her No! She said, "Oh Mum, you know you're going to worry about them if you put them in the garage! You might as well start them in the house!"

We'll see!

 

[mckenney]

Hi mckenney! We're neighbors.

We probably know each other! haha

 

[buckabucka]

Nothing wrong with Rockstar eggs! Maybe I'll be tempted to try a few, although I am still mulling over my own possible crosses. I'm not sure when I'll be hatching, since I'm waiting for some shipped eggs that I don't have a definite date on yet.

My Basque rooster is going to be okay. He is back out with the girls and his eye is less swollen. He looks kind of nasty, since his comb is all black and crusty. I probably should have cleaned him up better but I wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. I'd like to hatch a few Basques, if my two hens cooperate. There are two other Basque hens in a different flock, but they came from my old rooster and are rather small.

 

[IZZYBELLA]

I've had a cold this week, so haven't been on much. I'll be so excited to watch all of your hatches and to see how those Rockstars turn out... love it!

While I was cleaning out the coop today, I shooed the girls out. They immediately found the only dirt available in the yard (melt around the base of a tree). I threw some ash down and oh my did they have a ball dust bathing! At one point all six of them were ringed around the tree. So funny to watch.

 

[quailtrail]

Are these similar to Quince berries?


Thank quailtrail! Not sure DH shares your sentiment but....he'll get over it!    He sent me a picture of 2 baby goats born at a farm in Houlton wanting to know if we got rid of the chickens, could we get those instead. I said I don't see why we can't have both. He said he needed the coop for the goats to live in. I said Honey, you are wicked handy, build a new shed for goats.

lol!!!!

 

[MEMama3]

People with impulse control issues should not go to swaps. I meant to get three hens or three ducks. I came home with two brown leghorn hens, a white leghorn roo as well as a pair of blue swedish ducks and a guinea pig. Darn "I'll throw this in for free". Guess it's time to see how the neighbors accept a rooster. So far he's pretty quiet.

 

[ashandvine]

FInally the taps are dripping and the birds are mounting. I have my last shipment of hatching eggs coming in this month and then its all geese and ducks from here on out. I am only looking forward to this time jump so I can get in bed earlier. Its been an awfully long week here. I managed to squeeze in a few minutes here and there to put down new shavings and muck out or turn some of the pens and the cottage. Phew.

For those who need to reup their NPIP you'll have a little bit of a wait. The antigen for the test and the paperwork still haven't come in as of this last week for all the testers to use. Soon though.

 

[lazy gardener]

One of my girls flew the fence today. My 7 y.o. heard her flap over the fence... when she could have just walked up the snow bank and stepped over the fence... silly bird! needs her wing clipped!