Maine

[kinsey228]

So I was wrong about the date of my eggs, they are actually due tomorrow to hatch, they are all developed with the last stage before they hatch! I cant wait!

!!! Also I just got 8 cochin bantams from Joanie-maine and 4 of them are now broody and are all trying to nest the same layer box!! I tried everything because I love that they are broody just not that they are all fighting over the space, I have nesting boxes that are too small fro them anyways, and there are 3 hens in there and 1 with her head sticking in!!! OMG!!!

I have 11 nesting boxes in my coop for my 24 chickens. They all have to lay in the same 3 boxes AT THE SAME TIME. I will walk in there, and there are 2-3 large chickens trying to lay eggs on top of each other. It is kinda cartoonish !

 

[TayFray!]

yeah its crazy!!! I am going to maybe separate them into their own pens once I get enough eggs for them to hatch!

I have 11 nesting boxes in my coop for my 24 chickens. They all have to lay in the same 3 boxes AT THE SAME TIME. I will walk in there, and there are 2-3 large chickens trying to lay eggs on top of each other. It is kinda cartoonish !

 

[annabananaandfamily]

Egads! i found our thread on pg2! We must all be busy outside getting everything aired out and soaking up some vitamin D!

 

[hoppy]

I cleaned chicken pens this morning,now i'm done and showered. relaxing for a moment.

 

[bwockbwock]

Anyone out there have any coutrnix quail for sale?

 

[Widget]

Today was a busy day for me. I had to pick up my package of bees at 7 this morning. Fortunately the showers held off long enough for me to install them in the hive. This is the third package I installed but the first one in a couple of years. Nothing like having three pounds of bees buzzing and flying around while you pound and shake the box they are in. Of course I managed to drop the tiny box the queen comes in into the bigger box. It was fun retrieving that from the mass of bees. But in the end I managed to get them settled in without getting stung.

Then this afternoon I got a call from Metcalf's that my chicks were in. So I went there to pick them up. Last week when they were due the shipment went to South Carolina. This week I was one of the lucky ones whose order was incomplete. Every breed but the Buff Orpingtons was shipped. So instead of 18 chicks I only was able to get 6. But that's okay. The others will get here when they get here. And with eggs due to hatch next week I will have plenty of room in the brooders for everyone.

 

[kinsey228]

Today was a busy day for me. I had to pick up my package of bees at 7 this morning. Fortunately the showers held off long enough for me to install them in the hive. This is the third package I installed but the first one in a couple of years. Nothing like having three pounds of bees buzzing and flying around while you pound and shake the box they are in. Of course I managed to drop the tiny box the queen comes in into the bigger box. It was fun retrieving that from the mass of bees. But in the end I managed to get them settled in without getting stung. Then this afternoon I got a call from Metcalf's that my chicks were in. So I went there to pick them up. Last week when they were due the shipment went to South Carolina. This week I was one of the lucky ones whose order was incomplete. Every breed but the Buff Orpingtons was shipped. So instead of 18 chicks I only was able to get 6. But that's okay. The others will get here when they get here. And with eggs due to hatch next week I will have plenty of room in the brooders for everyone.

My Mom and I get our bees from a place in Madison. They are unusually tame for bees. You can walk right up to their hives and they won't care. Glad to hear that at least some of your chicks made it in ok, hopefully the others will as well.

 

[Widget]

Bees are so amazing. For all the noise they make they really are gentle. It is fun and relaxing to just sit and watch them. Funny how you don't get interrupted by too many people when you are near the hive.

I think the other chicks were just not available this week instead of being lost in the postal system. At least I hope that is the case. I have tomorrow off from work so I am going to try and finish the Silkie's tractor/coop so they can go outside. Then the chicks and poults from last week can move into the Silkie's indoor pen. That will leave plenty of room for today's chicks and next weeks in the small brooder. Then all I have to do is get the brooder ready for the ducks coming in two weeks. I have a two spare wading pools that will work great as brooders if I can clear a space in the basement to put them.

 

[kinsey228]

Bees are so amazing. For all the noise they make they really are gentle. It is fun and relaxing to just sit and watch them. Funny how you don't get interrupted by too many people when you are near the hive.

I think the other chicks were just not available this week instead of being lost in the postal system. At least I hope that is the case. I have tomorrow off from work so I am going to try and finish the Silkie's tractor/coop so they can go outside. Then the chicks and poults from last week can move into the Silkie's indoor pen. That will leave plenty of room for today's chicks and next weeks in the small brooder. Then all I have to do is get the brooder ready for the ducks coming in two weeks. I have a two spare wading pools that will work great as brooders if I can clear a space in the basement to put them.

I'll probably have to build more brooders too. I have 3 indoors, and 1 big one outdoors for the older chicks.(not using the outdoor one yet) I have 13 BBS Orpington eggs and 14 Black/Copper/Blue/and Splash Marans eggs in the incubator, and need to make sure I have room for them. In the larger brooder, I have 3 GLW's and 3 Partridge Rocks, about 6 weeks old. In the small brooder I have 6 unknown Bantams (probably Silkies, but one of the unknowns has 4 toes on each foot) I just took a broody out of the other brooder, so I can put the chicks in there for a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to hatch out some Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, and maybe some more Orpingtons later this year.

 

[annabananaandfamily]

Hello Fellow Maniacs

We are approaching butchering time for our meaties and are looking for a place to take them. I know there are a couple in the Augusta area, but I cant remember the names. I would really love to find someone a bit closer, in the Windham/Gray are. Any ideas?