Vermont

[trumpeting_angel]

Are you folks doing anything special to protect your flocks from the wind? It’s wicked out there today.

 

[Pyxis]

Are you folks doing anything special to protect your flocks from the wind? It’s wicked out there today.

It is really howling out there. I'm not really doing anything special. The coops are free of drafts, so they can go in there to be out of the wind

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

Aside from giving them extra corn as a bedtime snack, I haven't done anything special, either. The coops are draft-free and well insulated. My house, on the other hand...

 

[trumpeting_angel]

The coops are draft-free and well insulated. My house, on the other hand...

I hear you!

My beloved kindly lit a fire. Not thinking, I suppose, about the backdraft. My house seems to be effectively insulated against letting the smoky air out.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Sooooo, I heard Chickadees singing yesterday morning for the first time this year


It may be negative whatever degrees outside, but spring is coming!


Is anyone else still waiting on eggs? I’ve got two almost 9 month old Muscovy girls who are waiting until spring + 1 aging Rouen. Btw, what does waiting until spring mean in Vermont? Does it mean sometime in March or am I going to be waiting until late May when it actually feels like spring?

 

[Pyxis]

Sooooo, I heard Chickadees singing yesterday morning for the first time this year


It may be negative whatever degrees outside, but spring is coming!


Is anyone else still waiting on eggs? I’ve got two almost 9 month old Muscovy girls who are waiting until spring + 1 aging Rouen. Btw, what does waiting until spring mean in Vermont? Does it mean sometime in March or am I going to be waiting until late May when it actually feels like spring?

They usually wait until the days are long enough to trigger laying, so the good news is the temperature doesn't impact laying, lol. I expect my geese are going to start up any time here now. I've also got a couple hens that have started back up for the year, which is nice.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

If anyone is thinking about ordering chicks, and wouldn't mind going in together on an order, do let me know. I just want to order two or three, but don't want to pay the 'small order fees.'

 

[trumpeting_angel]

What a good idea!

Sadly for me, I have to put off getting chickens. DH has many projects that are higher on the priority list, and I’m not sure about my ability to build a coop without him.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

What a good idea!

Sadly for me, I have to put off getting chickens. DH has many projects that are higher on the priority list, and I’m not sure about my ability to build a coop without him.

I hear ya! My girls need a new coop before next winter. They're currently housed in a small, renovated a-frame that was originally designed for a maximum of three bantams. My carpenter aka father was so busy last year we never got around to it. I'm thinking of purchasing a shed from Costco or Home Depot. They're shells so it wouldn't take too much skill or time to insulate it.

Keep your eye on CraigsList and in local papers and feed stores. There's usually someone looking to sell a used, but decent coop at a reasonable price.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

There’s a place in Southern Vermont, I think it’s called the Jamaica Cottage Shop, that makes beautiful sheds and tiny houses, etc. I’m not crazy about any of their coops. But I’ve been thinking of buying their “frame only” package for a shed instead of waiting for everything here to be finished to perfection. They are all timber framed, which is likely overkill. But I bet I could finish it off successfully. I hope.

In Jamaica, VT.

I check Craigslist daily, and Facebook Marketplace. I should look at the last cal feed stores. I drive by 2 unused but quite small coops in the neighborhood - thinking I might ask, but they will need disinfecting and are pretty small anyway. Like maybe 4 chickens.