MARYLAND THREAD!

[Organic Gal]

Hi Marylanders,
I just joined yesterday and have not started to raise chickens yet but planning to in the spring of 2020. I am in the Elkton/Rising Sun area of Cecil County. Anyone in that area?

 

[blackoaktammy]

Hi Marylanders,
I just joined yesterday and have not started to raise chickens yet but planning to in the spring of 2020. I am in the Elkton/Rising Sun area of Cecil County. Anyone in that area?

Welcome! I'm in Carroll County, but I think there are some people here close to you.

 

[MROO]

Hi Marylanders,
I just joined yesterday and have not started to raise chickens yet but planning to in the spring of 2020. I am in the Elkton/Rising Sun area of Cecil County. Anyone in that area?

NORTH EAST! Welcome, Neighbor!
I have mostly Nankin Bantams, one of The Livestock Conservancy's critically endangered breeds, but I have a few "pets" in the flock, as well. One is a horribly spoiled hatchery silkie roo, a Cochin bantam "bully hen" who turned out as sweet as honey once she was away from her old flock and two Kindergarten dropouts from last year's classroom hatches. One of those is a New Hampshire Red pullet. The other is a Jersey Moose, errr... I mean Giant, who lives up to the Giant label quite nicely. At just over six months old, she's already five times the size of the tiny bantams - and twenty times sweeter!
Do you know what type/breed you'll be looking for, yet?

 

[Organic Gal]

NORTH EAST! Welcome, Neighbor!
I have mostly Nankin Bantams, one of The Livestock Conservancy's critically endangered breeds, but I have a few "pets" in the flock, as well. One is a horribly spoiled hatchery silkie roo, a Cochin bantam "bully hen" who turned out as sweet as honey once she was away from her old flock and two Kindergarten dropouts from last year's classroom hatches. One of those is a New Hampshire Red pullet. The other is a Jersey Moose, errr... I mean Giant, who lives up to the Giant label quite nicely. At just over six months old, she's already five times the size of the tiny bantams - and twenty times sweeter!
Do you know what type/breed you'll be looking for, yet?

Hi MROO, Thanks for the reply. I didn't know what a Nankin Bantam was so I looked it up. They are very small and cute. Do they fair well during the winter months or do you need to heat the coop? I haven't made a final decision on what chickens to get yet. My coop will hold about 15 full size chickens so I thought I would start with about 8 or so since I have never raised chickens before. I am raising them for eggs only not for eating as I am a vegetarian. The Jersey Giant was one of the chickens I was considering. I definitely want some Silver Laced and Gold Laced Wyandottes. They are just beautiful. I like Dominiques, Australops, Rhode Island reds, and Barred Rock as well. I would also like a chicken that lays blue eggs. My list right now has 15 breeds on it. My problem is that I would like all chicken breeds as they are so diverse in looks. I will have to control myself. Thanks for the reply, Carolyn(Organic Gal)

 

[MROO]

Hi MROO, Thanks for the reply. I didn't know what a Nankin Bantam was so I looked it up. They are very small and cute. Do they fair well during the winter months or do you need to heat the coop? I haven't made a final decision on what chickens to get yet. My coop will hold about 15 full size chickens so I thought I would start with about 8 or so since I have never raised chickens before. I am raising them for eggs only not for eating as I am a vegetarian. The Jersey Giant was one of the chickens I was considering. I definitely want some Silver Laced and Gold Laced Wyandottes. They are just beautiful. I like Dominiques, Australops, Rhode Island reds, and Barred Rock as well. I would also like a chicken that lays blue eggs. My list right now has 15 breeds on it. My problem is that I would like all chicken breeds as they are so diverse in looks. I will have to control myself. Thanks for the reply, Carolyn(Organic Gal)

I don't heat my coop at all. We lose power too frequently, so it would leave them too vulnerable to the cold. Chickens can handle the cold as long as their coop is dry and draft-free. Remember that "draft free" does not mean "wrapped in plastic without a vent." Moisture is what really causes frostbite and closing up completely allows condensation, which leaves warm combs with little pieces of frozen ice on the tips. Voila! Frostbite! If you keep the ventilation above their heads, not at or below roost level, they should be just fine.

Nankins do well, here. I have to watch my two single comb boys for signs of frostbite, but they generally fare pretty well in winter.

My JG is massive, and at only six months, she's not done growing, yet (they're late bloomers.) According to the judge at the MD State Fair, she's going to be huge. She lays a BIG, beautiful, brown egg ... but she takes a lot of coop space and feed to do it.
Still, I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's the sweetest bird in the bunch! They're really endangered, so they would be a really neat bird to concentrate on, if you intend to breed.

Check out The Livestock Conservancy's website to learn more about them - and lots of other endangered livestock. Its's pretty cool!
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list

Oh - and is your coop a prefab or a custom build/conversion? The prefab ones sold commercially are woefully inadequate for the number of birds they claim to hold. If you haven't started yet, I highly recommend starting with a good shed kit or a used child's wooden playset. Both are sturdy and easy to convert. You may even be able to get "You Haul It" for free off of FB or Craigs List.

Good Luck!

 

[Organic Gal]

I don't heat my coop at all. We lose power too frequently, so it would leave them too vulnerable to the cold. Chickens can handle the cold as long as their coop is dry and draft-free. Remember that "draft free" does not mean "wrapped in plastic without a vent." Moisture is what really causes frostbite and closing up completely allows condensation, which leaves warm combs with little pieces of frozen ice on the tips. Voila! Frostbite! If you keep the ventilation above their heads, not at or below roost level, they should be just fine.

Nankins do well, here. I have to watch my two single comb boys for signs of frostbite, but they generally fare pretty well in winter.

My JG is massive, and at only six months, she's not done growing, yet (they're late bloomers.) According to the judge at the MD State Fair, she's going to be huge. She lays a BIG, beautiful, brown egg ... but she takes a lot of coop space and feed to do it.
Still, I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's the sweetest bird in the bunch! They're really endangered, so they would be a really neat bird to concentrate on, if you intend to breed.

Check out The Livestock Conservancy's website to learn more about them - and lots of other endangered livestock. Its's pretty cool!
https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list

Oh - and is your coop a prefab or a custom build/conversion? The prefab ones sold commercially are woefully inadequate for the number of birds they claim to hold. If you haven't started yet, I highly recommend starting with a good shed kit or a used child's wooden playset. Both are sturdy and easy to convert. You may even be able to get "You Haul It" for free off of FB or Craigs List.

Good Luck!

Hi, I had my coop and run build by Lancaster Coops. They actually built it on site as my gate was too small to delivery it. Its 7ft X 12ft including the run. The coop is 7X6. It is very sturdy and draft free. It has a people door on the left of the coop and the chicken door on the right. On the back is a vent that can be opened and on the front is two windows that can open. I may need to had a gable vent above the people door to the coop as the winter wind will hit the back of the coop where the back vent is located. I'll send a picture of it later.

I wasn't planning on breeding chickens; however I would like too. Not sure how the neighbors would feel about a rooster though. Maybe someday. I do like the Jersey Giant. I like large eggs.

How big is your flock? How long have you been raising chickens?

Thanks for the info,
Carolyn

 

[MROO]

Hi, I had my coop and run build by Lancaster Coops. They actually built it on site as my gate was too small to delivery it. Its 7ft X 12ft including the run. The coop is 7X6. It is very sturdy and draft free. It has a people door on the left of the coop and the chicken door on the right. On the back is a vent that can be opened and on the front is two windows that can open. I may need to had a gable vent above the people door to the coop as the winter wind will hit the back of the coop where the back vent is located. I'll send a picture of it later.

I wasn't planning on breeding chickens; however I would like too. Not sure how the neighbors would feel about a rooster though. Maybe someday. I do like the Jersey Giant. I like large eggs.

How big is your flock? How long have you been raising chickens?

Thanks for the info,
Carolyn

Your coop sounds wonderful!
Mine is a converted playhouse - and I love it! My flock is not terribly large - we're currently at 20, including the two peeps. Fourteen of those are Nankins, the others are pets - including two Kindergarten Dropouts and Herman the House Rooster. At the moment, I'm VERY heavy on roosters, so I have a separate Bachelor Flock on my coop's lower level. I have my fingers seriously crossed on the two Silkie/JG peeps. They're only a couple of weeks old (part of the Halloween Hatch-along) so it's way too early to tell, yet ... but hope springs eternal, right? About the only things I know for sure about them so far is that they have Mama's body build and Papa's fuzz and extra toes. They're awfully pretty, though. They look almost blue.
And a word to the wise ... if you haven't planned on breeding, yet, don't! Chicken Math is REAL!

 

[FelixShift]

Hi everyone! My partner and I are moving into a house that comes with a coop! We're really excited about getting started and have a few breed ideas in mind. Is there a breeder near the Baltimore area? Or is there a breeder people have reliably ordered from?

 

[blackoaktammy]

Welcome to the madness! There are lots of people around. If you can narrow down what breed you are looking for, or if you are looking for egg, meat, etc., I'm sure someone here can point you in the right direction.

 

[FelixShift]

We recently got a house with a 3'x3'3:x3' (inside) coop were trying to figure out how many chickens we could comfortable have. We're look for eggs and more for pets for manure. The current breeds we are looking at are Legbar, Cubalaya, Easter Egger, Silkie, and Serama. I hope having a individuals of different breeds in the flock won't be an issue. We're also not sure how many chickens we can have. We want them to be comfortable of course! Here's a few pictures of our coop. Thank you so much for everything ya'll do for this awesome friendship!