MARYLAND THREAD!

[Bradley]

Hey folks!

I volunteer with the Prince George's Hens campaign that is trying to change the law in our county. We just posted our understanding of the current law on our website:

https://sites.google.com/site/pghens/learn-more/current-regulations

Unfortunately, getting a "special exception" is not really an option - the process costs thousands in legal fees, involves massive amounts of paperwork, can take months to years, and involves hiring a lawyer and an engineer. It's a process meant for businesses (mainly developers), not families.

Of course, there are people who keep hens illegally in the county. It depends on how friendly you are with your neighbors, and how visible your property is.

Please let me know if you want to get involved to help change the law - at the least, please sign our petition at www.pghens.com and spread the word! Thanks!

Bradley

 

[HandsomeRyan]

Howdy all.

I'm a brand new chicken keeper living in Mt Airy/Poplar Springs area. My wife and I just got our first chicks at Bowmans yesterday and we are very excited to learn the in's and out's of keeping chickens. We got white leghorns, silver laced wyandottes, americaunas, and rhode island reds.

I'm learning so much from this forum and hope to eventually meet some other local chicken keepers in real life as well.

 

[Anna Lee]

Welcome Ryan and family! I am not too far from you in Western Howard county. My advice is get/ build a coop bigger than you think you need because you'll probably want more chickens before you know it. Also use 1/2 inch hardware cloth instead of chicken wire. I have heard so many horror stories about predators ripping through chicken wire.

 

[SunnySkies]

Howdy all. 

I'm a brand new chicken keeper living in Mt Airy/Poplar Springs area. My wife and I just got our first chicks at Bowmans yesterday and we are very excited to learn the in's and out's of keeping chickens. We got white leghorns, silver laced wyandottes, americaunas, and rhode island reds. 

I'm learning so much from this forum and hope to eventually meet some other local chicken keepers in real life as well. 

I'm probably not far from you either, as I am in Mount Airy, but south of 70 in the Frederick part of the town.

I would second the biggest coop you can get....they have a way of multiplying.

 

[Gardeningmama]

I'm probably not far from you either, as I am in Mount Airy, but south of 70 in the Frederick part of the town.

I would second the biggest coop you can get....they have a way of multiplying.

Ohhh Yeahhh!

 

[HandsomeRyan]

Yeah, they are multiplying already. We talked about "8 hens" and we bought 11 chicks which are all supposed to be girls so even if 1-2 turn out to be roosters we still have more than the 8 we discussed.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the coop was last night. No golden shovels but since my wife is a federal employee I guess I can say I had government officials in attendance.

I am loving watching the chicks in the brooder. The way they will just be standing there and suddenly one of them decides it is time to dart across the room. It also cracks me up when they just flop forward and stretch their necks out to sleep.

I can't believe how much they eat though! I feel like I can sit there and watch them grow.

My impressions so far of the breeds:

The white leghorns which I expected to be super laid back are actually little trouble makers. They are usually the ones who instigate darting around the brooder randomly and they like to peck at everything- the walls, the floor under the shavings, their siblings. They have the most personality of all the chicks. They are also growing the fastest.

The Americaunas are smaller, slower and easier to catch for petting but they seem to be pretty chill about being held. Other than that they don't really have a strong personality that I can pick up on yet.

The RIR's are the sleepiest. I was actually worried at first because they just sort of flop forward and lay there like roadkill and you think certainly they have died but then a few minutes later one of the leghorns will come over and run by them and they hop right up and go grab something to eat or drink.

Initially the Silver laced wyandottes were the loudest but now they have quieted down quite a bit. They seem to be the "me too" chickens who love to participate in whatever the other chickens are doing. If another chick goes over to the feeder you can bet that 2 seconds later the SLW's will be over there eating too. Same thing with drinking or sleeping. They want to be a part of whatever action the other chicks are creating.

This is so much fun my only regret is not starting sooner!

 

[sezjasper]

Hello to Ryan & family and welcome to BYC! I live in Eldersburg, probably not far from you, and we have five new chicks from Bowmans this year. Last year we also got five chicks...one turned out to be a roo and we had to re-home him

but they were all healthy and strong. Our four hens have been laying all through the winter! We have a RIR, a Barred Rock, a Buff Orpington, and a Golden Comet. This year we got two Easter Eggers (one dark brown/black, one cream/buff), one New Hampshire, one Light Brahma, and one Tetra Tint. We like having all of our chickens of different breeds because we don't want to run into the "which chicken is that?" scenario...we name all of our chickens and treat them as pets.

Last year, I bought a coop that was good for up to six chickens and of course now I regret that decision. We are doing a shed conversion this spring (soon! The chicks are growing fast!!) and will move our four hens to the new coop when completed; then can start the chicks outside in the old coop when they are old enough. We're hoping for a smooth transition when we add them to the flock, but I'm not taking any chances. I hope you enjoy your chickens as much as we have!

 

[HandsomeRyan]

Thanks for all the welcomes. The nice weather this weekend has been good for starting the construction on the coop in the backyard. Mrs. HandsomeRyan has proven herself not only beautiful to look at but also quite the construction apprentice. We got the cinderblocks that the coop will rest on set and leveled (well, level enough) and we've got the first two walls completely framed. I didn't bother to buy plans but my neighbor has 2 coops (one bought and one built) and he lets me hop the fence and get measurements off his to give me an idea of what to build for mine.

Now I need to frame out the other two walls and the nest boxes. We already picked up the siding for the coop portion but I haven't gotten the framing or galvanized roofing yet.

We've still got some money to spend before we're done but based on the cost estimates of some of the similar coops I see here I was expecting to spend $1300-1500 but I think we should be closer to $600-750 all said and done. We did score some killer deals on some of the materials at Community Forklift (a window, door, some hinges). If you live in centeral maryland and are building a coop you should certainly stop by and check out their doors/windows/lumber/etc.

I'll try to get some pics posted once we get the walls raised but until then here is a picture of our lady-chickens:

 

[SaltyPaws]

Hello from Calvert county!

Just getting started with this chicken thing. We have 13 teenage birds and now 5 more chicks in the brooder. We buy organic food at a loyal feed store if anyone has trouble finding any.

Anyone else from southern Maryland?

 

[Deb B]

Hello from Calvert county!

Just getting started with this chicken thing. We have 13 teenage birds and now 5 more chicks in the brooder. We buy organic food at a loyal feed store if anyone has trouble finding any.

Anyone else from southern Maryland?

Howdy and welcome. I'm also from Calvert County. I just got my chicks last summer. Bought 6 pullets, ended up with 5 pullets and a roo! All five gals are now laying and I'm starting to look at incubators.....shhh, don't tell my husband!