Maine

[TAMMACLEAN]

I was washing up at the kitchen sink and could see Blondie, our Buff Orpington sitting in the snow, and I thought I could see some red on her.   I watched for a while, and she eventually went into the coop, but when she did, one of those darn geese grabbed a hold of her and chased her out.  I went out to check on her, and sure enough, she had no feathers from her wings to under her butt.  She also had one inch pieces of skin missing.  Poor Girl.  I had to put her down.  I can't see how she could have recovered from that, or survived without getting frostbit.  She went down quietly. 


So now I'm going to finish brainstorming on a duck/goose house.  As soon as the ground thaws, they will be separated, and we'll build the waterfowl a separate shed.  I can't decide if I should make one over the old trailer bed we have, so it will have sturdy wheels and we can move it around with the tractor, or make it stationary, allowing them fresh grass often. 
What are your thoughts?  These are the ones I've found which I like so far:

I'm sorry about your chicken. I had one that had a gash in its backside that was about an inch wide by about two inches long. You could see her muscles. I brought her in and gave her a bath every day with Epsom salt and neosporin for a couple of weeks. Her went back out side good as new.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ash, the eggs I am picking up are fresh from the "farm", not being shipped at all. So, the only transport stress they will have is during the 5 mile ride from the home of the donor flock to my house. They have been laid this week. I have an other dozen from the same flock, with the oldest egg to be set being 11 days old tomorrow. I know the recommendation is 7 days or less, but I've heard others have had success up to 2 weeks or so, and I have nothing to loose. They are all EE roo over EE, RIR, PBR, so should be a fun mix to work with. So, how long would you let them set before putting them in the bator? Thanks for your response.

I ordered a replacement thermostat/hygrometer, and to get the coupon discount, I ordered an other thermostat to go with it. So now, I have everything needed to make an other incubator. Such a temptation... one to incubate, and one just for hatching.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

I had only 2 inches of that horrible white stuff here. Give or take and inch.

Had another issue with Lowes the other day over wood pellets. The Scarborough store cancelled my online order due to high demand of pellets. They had received about 1200 bags. When I ordered Tuesday at 1 pm they were down to 550 or so. The message on my phone said that if I came in within a couple hours they would probably still have some. Huh? They would not accept an online order and wanted me to leave work early and hope they still had some? I do not think so. I ended up sending an email to customer service. They responded today and I have so far received two calls from the Scarborough store apologizing for the issue. The last call said that I was right and it should not matter if I order online or just show up. The message went on to say that they had a few bags set aside if I still want them. Great. I tried calling and was not able to reach the person who left the message. I will try again tomorrow. Why? Well the person who answered the phone has zero customer service skills.

After navigating the menu I pressed zero for the operator.
    Employee- Hello? (bored voice)
    Me- May I speak with Shane please?
    Employee- Yeah. Hold on. (very bored)
    On hold for a bit. Employee back in phone.
    Employee- How may I direct your call?
    Me- May I speak with Shane please?
    Employee- Yeah, Please hold.
    I held on for a couple minutes and then gave up. Not blaming Shane for not picking up the call but the person who answered the phone really needs some training, Yeah is not acceptable.

I've heard that both the Scarborough and Portland store have horrible customer service. I usually deal with the Windham one. Never had a problem there.

 

[CoopChick719]

My thoughts exactly!!

I
Had another issue with Lowes the other day over wood pellets. The Scarborough store cancelled my online order due to high demand of pellets. They had received about 1200 bags. When I ordered Tuesday at 1 pm they were down to 550 or so. The message on my phone said that if I came in within a couple hours they would probably still have some. Huh? They would not accept an online order and wanted me to leave work early and hope they still had some? I do not think so. I ended up sending an email to customer service. They responded today and I have so far received two calls from the Scarborough store apologizing for the issue. The last call said that I was right and it should not matter if I order online or just show up. The message went on to say that they had a few bags set aside if I still want them. Great.

Are you kidding me?! Canceling an online order when they clearly had the product?! Not cool, Lowes!! Glad you contacted customer service. That is ridiculous!

 

[suzMEchicks]

My husband is going out looking for pellets tomorrow. Hopefully he will find a few. Did anyone see the news piece on channel 6 the other night? The guy from a pellet company said there are plenty of pellets being made- its a distribution problem.

 

[Widget]

My thoughts exactly!!

Are you kidding me?! Canceling an online order when they clearly had the product?! Not cool, Lowes!! Glad you contacted customer service. That is ridiculous!

Oddly enough they still had 50 bags left today when I checked the website. So yes they are popular but this whole thing was crazy. I rarely complain tp a store but this was ridiculous.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

I was wondering if anyone has any Orpington hatching eggs? I'm in Gray and we just lost our Buff Orpington and she was super sweet. I'm looking for some eggs to hatch. Maybe even some Lavender and or Chocolate?? I don't mind driving up to an hour to get some eggs. Thanks!

 

[buckabucka]

LG, if you are picking up local eggs I do not think you need to let them set at all. Maybe if they feel cool from the ride, then you would want them to sit until they reach room temperature. Good luck with your hatch!

 

[IZZYBELLA]

I was washing up at the kitchen sink and could see Blondie, our Buff Orpington sitting in the snow, and I thought I could see some red on her. I watched for a while, and she eventually went into the coop, but when she did, one of those darn geese grabbed a hold of her and chased her out. I went out to check on her, and sure enough, she had no feathers from her wings to under her butt. She also had one inch pieces of skin missing. Poor Girl. I had to put her down. I can't see how she could have recovered from that, or survived without getting frostbit. She went down quietly.

Sorry to hear about Blondie, yankeehill. Sounds like it was the right decision.

 

[striperon]

I was washing up at the kitchen sink and could see Blondie, our Buff Orpington sitting in the snow, and I thought I could see some red on her. I watched for a while, and she eventually went into the coop, but when she did, one of those darn geese grabbed a hold of her and chased her out. I went out to check on her, and sure enough, she had no feathers from her wings to under her butt. She also had one inch pieces of skin missing. Poor Girl. I had to put her down. I can't see how she could have recovered from that, or survived without getting frostbit. She went down quietly.

Do you eat goose? Do you eat or sell goose eggs? Do the geese perform a service for you that is beneficial? Without a yes to one or more of these questions, I would concentrate my energy and resources on the chickens. No place here for bullies.