Maine

[buckabucka]

Oddly enough, *neither* of them are crowing right now! Spartacus never has crowed, though he is old enough now I'd assume. Sgt Pepper crowed a decent bit when he first arrived, but stopped after a week or two. Now he's as quiet as everyone else.

New Sharon is about 2 hours each way, not sure it would be cheap enough after gas prices! Not that I'd expect GMO free food to be cheap, but you know what I mean. How does a mash compare to pellets or crumbles? Do you need to do anything to it before feeding, or just pour into the feeder as is? Someone on the feed board suggested Countryside Organics, but shipping it costs almost as much as the feed itself!


Though,hmmm..... That'd be about $40-$50 in gas per trip, assuming $4/gallon. I guess that's not *too* bad, compared to shipping stuff anyway! If I went that route, are they a store that is open set hours, or somewhere you would have to order ahead, or how does that work? I'm hoping I can find something closer, but if not it's something I can consider at least.

4 hours of driving is a lot, unless you can find some other purpose for the trip. It is only 1 hour round-trip for me, which is about $4 in gas because I drive a Prius. The feed isn't really that pricey, since the bags are 88 pounds, but not as cheap as Purina. You don't have to do anything to the mash, they just eat it. What I like about it is that I can see the individual grains (it's not uniform like crumbles or pellets). I suppose the chickens could pick out all their favorite grains, though, which might result in less balance.

I'll have to check out the rabbit pellets you mentioned, Hoppy. I agree about the cubes. I soak them, but I'm always breaking them up with my hands and sometimes a knife before they break down.

 

[hoppy]

babies are hatching!! paint silkies.

always hoping for a good hatch.

 

[ashandvine]

I forgot to add, i do also give them rabbit pellets (which is alfalfa in pelleted form) I give it to the big birds as is and for the smaller chicks, I grind it up in a coffee grinder. I did try soaking the alfalfa cubes but didn't like how they came out, sometimes still really stuck together. the bird really like the pellets.

I have read in several places I should not give my birds rabbit food because of the higher amount of salt in them (rabbits need the salt like horses etc but don't get it in a lick, its rolled into the pellets). Has anyone thought of Blue Seal or Poulin as 'safe' feed?

Still recovering from being ill. (This SUCKS) I made a medicated trip to the Cumberland Fair with the family and made sure to visit the poultry house. I had to get something out of it, right? Well, I was a little disappointed. Note: I might hurt someone's feelings here and do not mean to, just stating my opinion; There were several interesting breeds which I had not met in person before. That was very nice but the state of the birds being shown, their quality-- or lack there of, was a real surprise to me. Something I wondered is, why don't farms/owners list their information on the cards identifying the birds? It would be great PR and help those of us interested in a breed to find breeders.

k... one more little complaint. Does no one else know how to clean or pick up after themselves? I mean, really, I get all sick and the house degrades rapidly-- the yard too!! Really? The YARD!? Clearly I am still feeling icky.

 

[hoppy]

mine don't get it everyday. they do make a pelleted alfalfa for horses.that's a thought, but also a much bigger bag.
I have seen some disappointing birds at the fairs as well. here is something someone brought up. if you "show" your bird, your $2 entry, gets you into the fair all the days it's running. you only have to feed/water your bird on the day you bring it. so for $2, isn't that cheap to get into the fair???even if you don't place.
they usually have an exhibitor list. central maine BF shows post theirs but they also have them on a clip board and usually run out fairly quickly. you are right, they are great pr. they are not allowed to list the owner on the tag due to judging but the exhibitor number is how you find the owner.

I hope you are feeling better. I have an injured dog this morning. seems like a pinched nerve in his back. he's resting but was very sad last night, couldn't get up with out help and could barely walk. he out weighs me so it's not easy to get him moving if he can't help some.

I have read in several places I should not give my birds rabbit food because of the higher amount of salt in them (rabbits need the salt like horses etc but don't get it in a lick, its rolled into the pellets). Has anyone thought of Blue Seal or Poulin as 'safe' feed?

Still recovering from being ill. (This SUCKS) I made a medicated trip to the Cumberland Fair with the family and made sure to visit the poultry house. I had to get something out of it, right? Well, I was a little disappointed. Note: I might hurt someone's feelings here and do not mean to, just stating my opinion; There were several interesting breeds which I had not met in person before. That was very nice but the state of the birds being shown, their quality-- or lack there of, was a real surprise to me. Something I wondered is, why don't farms/owners list their information on the cards identifying the birds? It would be great PR and help those of us interested in a breed to find breeders.

k... one more little complaint. Does no one else know how to clean or pick up after themselves? I mean, really, I get all sick and the house degrades rapidly-- the yard too!! Really? The YARD!? Clearly I am still feeling icky.

 

[kinsey228]

I think I'd like a Rooster.....

I've got my 10 ladies, and everything is dandy, they all get along, but I wonder if something is missing...

I'm not 100% on this yet, I'm like 90%. If I decide the girls need a guy, I'd like a really nice guy- I don't want to screw up the harmony that is currently happening in the backyard-

Opinions? please?

I have a Marans/Ameraucana roo that I hatched out of one of Superchemicalgirl's eggs on the 19th of Jan. He's about 7-8 pounds night now. He is really good at protecting his ladies, but he doesn't like me, and I have 3 other roos. (A silkie, a Barred Rock/Buckeye cross, and a Cream Legbar) If you want the Marans cross, you can have him because he's just going to end up in freezer camp if he stays here.

 

[kinsey228]

Only my dominant roo crows. The submissive one has tried, but he keeps a low profile now that the dominant one has put him in his place.
You can buy non-GMO feed at White Water Farm Market in New Sharon. The last time I was there, it was around $30 for an 88 pound bag. They call it "all-natural" layer feed. It is mash, not pellets, and it does contain soy, although the soy is organic. My birds like it.
I go back and forth on this issue. While I try to eat non-GMO, I know that I consume some, just because corn and soy are in so many products. I use "Smart Balance" as a butter substitute, and I assume the soy in there is GMO, although I don't know that. So after I buy the slightly more expensive non-GMO feed, I start thinking that my chickens eat better than I do! Plus, it is so convenient to just stop at Tractor Supply, so that is usually what I end up doing.
Once in a while, I make the trip to New Sharon and get a couple bags there. I find the chickens like it when I switch their food around.
In the winter, I do soak some alfalfa cubes in hot water and mix in some feed and/or other treats, but that only happens on a Saturday. I give them a handful of sunflower seed daily in the winter, too. Sometimes I buy hard red spring wheat at the health food store and sprout it for them.
They really do eat pretty well!

My dominant roo crows the most too. It just seems funny that my little tiny Silkie is the dominant roo, and the huge Barred Rock cross (has never crowed and he's about 5 or 6 months) is the submissive one. The Silkie has the funniest (almost feminine) crow that I have ever heard. Whenever my husband hears it, he just busts out laughing. The Cream Legbar cockerel has an adorable little crow.

 

[annabananaandfamily]

What a busy weekend!! We are packing, cleaning, sorting and prepping like crazy to get ready for the big move in just 12 days!! We are so excited, but I have a feeling I am going to bexhausted until atleast June- between packing for the move, unpacking and settling in there, and the kids school activities starting, I dont envision much down time in the near future.

We have 3 roo's here too (hoping there is a 4th in there from one of the other breeds, but I still cant tell!) and they me up. Our head roo is a greaet big red cochin. Excellent with humans, treat his ladies very well and crows pretty frequently. Next up is a "phoenix" roo (in quotes because he isnt up to breed standards with his very interesting rosecomb, but he is beautiful anyway). He tries to crow and gets chased around the yard by the big guy. He also might be the most.....sexually driven....rooster I have ever seen. Its absolutely ridiculous how much this boy is after!!! And every time he tries, our big guy comes tearing across the yard after him. Yesterday mr phoenix discovered that he can fly, while big fella cant. So now when he comes tearing after him he squacks to high heaven and flies up to the fencing and taunts him from up there. Our 3rd roo is a beautiful splash cochin. He's getting nice and big, has great shape, a nice looking comb and wonderful feathering on his legs (of course I am no expert on any of this, its all just my opinion). He never crows, only tried to mate with the ladies occassionally and totally in secret in the back corner of the coop when the other 2 arent looking. He's so submissive, my maine roo tries to mate him! He is a looker though, and I am very anxious to get my breeder pens set up at the new house and pair him up with my blue cochin hen. I'm actually going to be interested in picking up another hen or 2 if I can find good quality ladies not too far away.

Anyway, all that jabbering is just to get me to the point to say I LOVE having my roosters! When we first got our chickens, we didnt have a roo. The ladies were ok, but it really is a lovely addition to add a roo or 2. They make things safer for the hens, and far more entertaining for the people watching their shenanigans (watching my giant cochin squish himself into a silkie sized nestbox to show it to my little sizzle hen is a riot!).

 

[Paulajon]

babies are hatching!! paint silkies.

always hoping for a good hatch.

Good luck, let us know the outcome....

 

[Paulajon]

Quote: Hope ur dog gets better

 

[Paulajon]

need advise, I have 40-50 hens in one large pen, 25 of them are laying eggs that I sell, the others are pullets about 4-5 months old. I have not wormed the the layers or any of them, layers are about a year old. So I have been researching, My thought was to use ivermectin on the pullets now as i want to also treat for lice etc. too so that I dont have to seperate all of them. the pullets that I treat with ivermectin I could put a little spot of bluecote on them so I would know who was treated. then my thought was once the pullets started laying I could then treat the older laying hens so that I don't leave my egg customers without, although I could shut down for a while if need be. what would be the wait time to eat eggs after being treated with ivermectin? would I need to do the whole flock at the same time in order to make sure of no reinfestation.
I have silkies and sizzles and I have used ivermecten pour on on the older ones and will be doing others when a little older, what is the best age to start with using ivermectin ?
I also have a black copper maran cockeral if anyone wants him he is around 5 months...........