Noob in Maine

cattaillady

In the Brooder
Jun 13, 2017
8
7
14
Hi-

I've got 7 layers (well, at the moment, 5 good layers and two slackers), eight layers on their way up, 5 turkeys, and 4 meat birds being grown to live in the freezer.

I'm interested in as natural an approach as possible with the understanding that keeping them in a human environment is not going to be 100% natural. My big girls are being kept in a mobile coop that gets moved once a day (not often enough in their opinion), while the middle set of future layers are about to go on foreign exchange across the street to be tick patrol for a while. The youngest- the meat birds- will be going into a big stationary coop to prep ground for the winter garden and take care of kitchen scraps. I really need to work out a more efficient way to handle the different ages/lives, but I'm working it out!

I got my first chickens last spring, and I feel like I've been building new housing for them about every six months, since I can't seem to get it right- but it is leaving me with back-up housing for all the chicken math that's going on!

One thing I'm struggling with is finding soy-free feed. I tracked down my soy-free layer (Green Mountain) at Longhorns, but I can't find soy-free grower anywhere. I raised a couple of turkeys on regular organic grower last year and they were delicious, but if I'm working this hard at having soy-free eggs, the meat really ought to match. I'm currently devouring the fodder thread and I started my first tray this morning, but it's going to need at least some supplementing. Any ideas for a balanced feed that doesn't cost an arm, a leg, and my first born?

Tons of great info on here- and I can't wait to start asking questions!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC! :frow

You might do some chatting with folks in your state thread on where you can find the feed you are looking for.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/maine.1370/

It can take a while to build a good coop. I really disliked the first coop we built. Even the chickens hated it. LOL However after hanging around here for a while and knowing more about about what my birds need, we were able to build the perfect coop. Have you stopped by our coops pages yet for some ideas? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/

Well, do make yourself at home here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Welcome to our roost! :)
 
Hi and welcome to BYC - you have some great advice and links from TwoCrows already so I'll just say hello!


All the best

CT
 
Hi :welcome

Glad you could join us here! Have lived reading through your intro and TwoCrows has left you some great links to check out. I hope you can find the feed you would like.

Good luck and enjoy your time here on BYC :frow
 
Thank you all for the welcome! I'll be checking out those threads, TwoCrows. I'm still slogging through the fodder one- there's just so much back information to catch up on!
 

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