Northeastern Poultry Congress - Springfield, Mass - Jan 15-16, 2011

[Birch Run Farm]

Hey Spook, I'm staying in the hotel, getting there Friday so I can coop in and let the birds relax. I have a minimum 3 hour drive ahead of me and will leave Vermont around 3:30 PM.

Something you all might want to do is bring a folding chair so you can rest your dogs now and then, enjoy a cup of coffee, tea, hot choc, chat with chicken people, etc... For those of you showing don't forget to bring some sort of container to get water from the bathroom to your coops, it can be a long walk and one trip will be plenty! Bring treats for your peeps.

The Marans are having an egg show too. You can enter 3 eggs for $5 if your girls are laying, bring eggs to the show.

Anyone else have some helpful hints?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

There calling for 14-18" here. This is gonna stink! But they said to expect the same type of snow as last time, the light and fluffy kind. Makes shoveling the coops out alot easier.

 

[Crunchie]

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Just saw the latest update and they are calling for 12-18" by 5pm on Wed. and that it will be falling at a rate of 2-3" per HOUR at some points during the day! She said the road crews will not be able to keep up with it. All I keep thinking about is having to shovel all that out of the run so the birds can still be out. Then making sure it is not going to melt in a way that the run off will make mud! LOL

UGH!!! April!! You stop that!

I just saw the forecast for MA, too. We're getting a bit of snow (2-4") here in MD today/tonight, but it looks baaaad up that way. So you folks up there please get 95 North shoveled out for me so I can make it thru NJ/NY/CT & MA Friday, ok?

Though seriously, do y'all folks who live up that way think the main roads will be cleared by Friday? We're driving the volkswagen (with 8 birds in the back. I'm sure the hubby will think it a most pleasant drive

). I don't want to drive the truck--the diesel v-dub is soooo much better on fuel!

 

[LilPeeps]

Quote:
Just saw the latest update and they are calling for 12-18" by 5pm on Wed. and that it will be falling at a rate of 2-3" per HOUR at some points during the day! She said the road crews will not be able to keep up with it. All I keep thinking about is having to shovel all that out of the run so the birds can still be out. Then making sure it is not going to melt in a way that the run off will make mud! LOL

UGH!!! April!! You stop that!

I just saw the forecast for MA, too. We're getting a bit of snow (2-4") here in MD today/tonight, but it looks baaaad up that way. So you folks up there please get 95 North shoveled out for me so I can make it thru NJ/NY/CT & MA Friday, ok?

Though seriously, do y'all folks who live up that way think the main roads will be cleared by Friday? We're driving the volkswagen (with 8 birds in the back. I'm sure the hubby will think it a most pleasant drive

). I don't want to drive the truck--the diesel v-dub is soooo much better on fuel!

It will definitely be cleared by Friday, no problem

 

[spook]

Birch Run Farm Thank you so much for the tip, that is one of those important things that I do need. So thank you! As for snow, we are expecting 1-3 " up here in Western Maine. I will try to wave my magic wand and POOF - snow will be gone. (please don't shoot me if it doesn't work

)

 

[happyhensny]

Remember, the show is in the Northeast. We KNOW how to handle snow. My SIL lives in NC and they get 2" and the whole state shuts down. We'd need feet of snow before it slowed anyone down here. AND, we love chickens, so take it slow and lets have fun hanging with our peeps!

 

[Crunchie]

Thanks, Julie! That's what I needed to hear.

Yeah, happyhensny, that's how it is here in so. MD. A couple of inches & we don't know what to do! We just don't get big snows very often, so we don't have the resources to keep up with the big storms. It's not worth the budget needed to keep those trucks & employees around for the rare big snowfall. If we got 18" of snow down here, it would be days before all the streets were clear. Last year in Feb we had 3 very large storms--I think we got 20+ inches from the biggest one--it was 10 days before I got off my farm!

And we have a big tractor & 4-wheel drive dually trucks. But when we plowed the drive (1/2 a mile long), there was so much snow we couldn't get it wide enough to fit the duallies through. And our little cars would fit, but there was still so much snow & ice they couldn't make it up and down the hills. It was a mess!! And no one knows how to drive in snow around here.

We're fairly rural so a lot of folks drive trucks, and that makes them think they are invincible on the roads! So I just stay home when the snow starts falling.

 

[Celtic Hill]

What is the best day for sales?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

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[SundownWaterfowl]

I also have a pair of buff silkies available. They are about 3-4 months old. Female Band 18 Male band 74. Asking $40 for the pair.
The cockerels 5th toe on one foot is bent backwards. Guessing he caught it on the brooder wire when he was a chick and it broke and healed like that. None of the chicks hatched with a toe bent backwards.