Newbie From Maine

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SherryHV said:
Hi from Maine!!

I'm so happy to have found this site. I purchased my first laying hens 6 weeks ago and so far I'm having so much fun with my girls. I wanted hens already laying and they were hard to find and more pricey. I found only one farm selling them within an hour drive from my house. In my research, I decided I wanted Barred Plymouth Rocks or Lavender Orpington breed. Well, I couldn't find either that are already laying. I ended up with Red Sex Link, 3 laying and 2 that will be laying by May. The 3 layers have consistantly been laying 3 eggs per day!! Can't wait until I have 4 or 5 per day!! So far my experience has been great. I have been researching - already thinking about Maine winters - to see if we should insulate our coop. This is how I found BackYard Chickens. Looks like insulation isn't needed from what I read and if we do, lots of ventilation will be needed in the roof/rafters.

I have learned so far.... 1) chickens do not like windy days. It isn't real warm here yet and not too may sunny days, yesterday was sunny and windy in the afternoon so I opened up the door to the run and nope, they didn't want to be outside. 2) The 3 older chickens snub the 2 younger chickens (even though they are the same size, they were raised on the farm in different coops). They are not fighting but they will not let the younger ones to the new food until they are done. 3) I'm addicted and looking up chicken everything (lol...) 4) They love the evening Mealworm treat. 5) They love to follow us around outside when we open up the run.

My next step is chicks!! I have found Barred Plymouth Rocks and Lavender Orpington chicks to be hatched in the next 1-2 weeks. I'm on a waiting list. Excited that I can raise these chicks together and they will be use to one another by the time they go to the hen house. I have also claimed a storage shed that my husband is storing our snowblowers in and this will be a new coop. I will move the Red Sex Link's once I get it ready for chickens. When the chicks are ready, they will go in the existing, smaller coop.

This is the beginning of my journey with laying hens. Thanks for listening and I'm sure I will have lots of questions. I will be going to the Q&A section to see what is already out there for info.
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Congrats, it is a fun journey. I’m new too and have been reading here at BYC and watching YouTube videos about raising chickens. Seasoned chick farmers are talking about how to introduce new chicks to the flock. With your upcoming plans for new hatchlings might be a subject to check out.
Happy hens, many eggs they say?!
 
DobieLover said:
You don't need to supplement light to get eggs in winter. Get new pullets in the spring and they will lay through the winter. Hens need a break from laying to molt and rest. Winter is when they do that.
You can use seedling heat mats under the nest box material to keep eggs from freezing. The mats can either be plugged in each morning or plugged into a thermocube that will power them on when the temp drops below 40F. Eggs freeze at 28F.
I would avoid supplemental heat as well. You want the coop DRY and very well ventilated, especially in winter. You just don't want drafts on the birds that can blow open their feathers. Leaky windows that allow air in through the gaps is fine as long as the gaps are less than 1/2" and the drafts don't open feathers.
FOOD prior to roost time is what they need. They should have nice full crops when they go to roost. The thermogenesis from digesting corn isn't significantly higher than digesting a complete chicken feed with the proper amount of protein. Speaking of which, I strongly advise feeding a complete feed that offers 18 -20% protein for life. That means no layer feed as I've yet to find one that offers that level of protein. So to get the calcium that layers need for shell formation, offer several containers of oyster shell for them to pick at.
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Very good information, DobieLover. I need to check my feed.
 
MimiVC said:
Congrats, it is a fun journey. I’m new too and have been reading here at BYC and watching YouTube videos about raising chickens. Seasoned chick farmers are talking about how to introduce new chicks to the flock. With your upcoming plans for new hatchlings might be a subject to check out.
Happy hens, many eggs they say?!
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Yes, I have found some information on this. So excited to get the hatchlings. I will continue researching as well. We will learn together!!
 
We are basically going to take it down to the bones. We are moving it then will re side, shingles, new doors, we may do a secondary entrance into the coop right inside the door. There is some venting where the roof meets the sides. Lots of work to do, but we are stoked. We just had another shed built and painted it red, looks Awesome. Gonna match this one to that one. Will post pic of new one too.
 

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Mama Moose said:
We are basically going to take it down to the bones. We are moving it then will re side, shingles, new doors, we may do a secondary entrance into the coop right inside the door. There is some venting where the roof meets the sides. Lots of work to do, but we are stoked. We just had another shed built and painted it red, looks Awesome. Gonna match this one to that one. Will post pic of new one too.
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Sorry for the overload of pictures, New user error 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

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