Maine

[white01]

Checking in, have been moving and building the coop, so have not been on in awhile, i am so excited to see more mainers, Welcome all, I live near lincoln,
here are some picks of my chickens

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036509&id=1102101947&l=24d440becf

its my public fb photo album, do not need to have facebook to view.....

Just got my new Barred Rock Rooster Saturday, traded with another BYC member I let her have one of my BR hens....

Ann

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

Quote:
how old are you looking for on chicks/chickens? i have a few bantam faverolles pullet chicks that will be 7 weeks old Wednesday.

i also have a 6 mo black bantam cochin (think 1/4 may be silkie) who just started laying last month and i'm thinking of selling her. she has wonderful cochin body type but her earlobes are enameled and slight lacing on her neck. Dad is a cochin, mom looks cochin but i hatched her from eggs that were a mix of cochin/frizzle/sizzle.

depending on how far south in ME you are i can bring them with me to the flea market over in York on Saturday for you to take a look at them if you are interested. just PM me if you would like to look at them!

 

[maine chicks]

Thanks for the offer-I guess I should say mid-coast Maine. I an looking for barred rock, buff orps, or some winter hardy large breed. I have a couple names that I will try. My girls were 11 weeks and just ready to move in the coop with my new keets who will be getting out of lock up in a week. I am putting everybody to bed early and sneaking her in the coop tonight. Wish me luck.

 

[blueseal]

Quote:
i just sold my barred rock chicks yesterday at the augusta swap. wish i had more i would have helped you out.

 

[klf73]

I have some chicks I need to downsize....predator issues and until dh returns from his deployment I am going to downsize. Rather sell them then feed the locals...
1 gold laced polish(st run from Ideal)
2 turken pullets, buff?(sexed from Ideal)
trio of choc oegb (st run but obvious gender from Ideal)
3 russian orloff pullets (sexed from Ideal)
1 blue orp roo? (hatched from eggs from Imogene, awesome lines, huge bird)
3 blue ameraucana (eggs hatched from McSpin, 3 pullets or trio, not sure yet)
all of these are around 8 weeks old, will take any reasonable offer, prefer to have them all go at the same time

I also need to go look but I have some black ameraucana pullets that I am going to be selling, they are around 16 weeks and I also have some more ameraucana that are around 12 weeks.

 

[Ahab]

Searsport, here. Used to keep chickens years ago--bargain broilers from the old Winterport hatchery; escapees from the Penobscot and Maplewood pickup crews--and now, with retirement looming, have time again for some birds. A slug explosion points me toward ducks, and probably some chickens, too, just to balance the decibel level. Currently scratching away at designs for hoop coops using the Johnny's SS/Eliot Coleman tubing bender.

 

[LOVE2FARM]

Hi I am in southern Maine, I have never insulated, but do make sure it is draft free. The winds is what will chill them. I keep an eye on the chickens and make sure they are not getting too cold, if so, I would put heat source in for a short period of time (like getting through those windy, below 0 nights) usually just leaving the light on is good enough. 8X10 coop with 10 or less chickens. I always had mixed breeds, Wyandette (sp?) rooster and crossed hens. I am in the process of changing to Chanticleers, they are nice and hardy for the cold weather and love to forage. My rooster is beginning to crow this week. Can't wait for next spring babies. I also have a pair of Bourbon Red turkeys and 5 poults.

I have 7 Chanticleer cross Wyandette chicks, nice looking hens, may keep some for egg laying.

 

[gstone]

Hey fellow Mainers. I got 6 pullets this past April and have been having so much fun watching them grow. I rent, and can't keep the chickens here long term - but my mother-in-law says I can keep them at her place across town. I have been keeping them in what I call their 'summer home' in my back yard. But I have been working on their coop at my mom-in-laws - I just put up a wall across the back of her garage. There are three windows and lots more space then they have now. I'm so excited for them.

Could I hear it one more time that I don't need to insulate the coop, just to put my mind at ease

We are in southern Maine, on the coast. My breeds are buff orp, cornish X (I think) and one hamburg. Thanks all! Happy chicken keeping!

 

[Ahab]

Quote:
If you're using deep litter (which provides a certain level of heat), and the coop is both reasonably tight and well-ventilated (which sounds like a contradiction, but isn't), then I don't think insulation is positively necessary even in our climate. We kept chickens for six or seven years in an uninsulated coop in which previous generations had kept chickens for more than a century. The litter accumulated all winter, and they got some cracked corn in addition to pellets for a little extra internal fuel. Keeping the water thawed was a chore, which we solved by having two waterers, swapping the thawed one for the frozen one twice a day.

All that being said, in _new_ construction I'd probably insulate, simply because there are no disadvantages to insulation (other than added cost) and many advantages. Your birds are warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Built properly, a foam-sandwich structure can be both easier to build than conventional stick-built construction and much stiffer and stronger and lighter-weight--important if you're building a movable coop. Stick-built (like a full-size house), with fiberglass insulation (and, too often, no vapor barrier), which lots of folks on the board seem to favor, seems to offer too few advantages to bother with, unless you're retrofitting an existing coop with insulation.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
You don't need insulation. I live in southern Maine, but inland, and have never had insulation in my coop, not have I done the deep litter (though it gets cleaned out a lot less frequently in the winter. One rooster got a bit of frostbite on his comb last year, but other than that, I haven't had any cold related problems. You may want to consider a light source if you want to encourage the hens to lay through the winter.

The Cornish Cross is not meant to be kept long term, it's meant to be eaten. I suspect it is not as cold hardy at the other Orpingtons, but do not know for sure, there really aren't many that try to keep them over a winter, so there isn't much experience to draw on to know whether they are cold hardy.