Maine

[quailtrail]

What a wet blah day!!! During baseball practice my DD wanted to go to the swap in Augusta. She couldn't grasp the hr drive and how practice would be over before we even got there lol!!! I told her we could go after her brother was done. Meanwhile we went shopping to transfer our seedlings. ..well we got even more seeds as she is planning "The Chicken Garden".

I did a lot of transplanting of seedlings that are growing like crazy. Now I have even more pots, trays...every where, along with 2 incubators, broader...DH come home and shakes his head. Peeks in on the chicks and walks away looking relieved the chicks didnt multiply while he was gone lol!!!

So we have the chickens here while our friends are "hosting" pigs. We purchased one each. DH has been th ere daily building the pen. All said and done, picked up 2 cute pigs (they have to be housed there as he knows I would become attached lol) electric fence and a second fence in...they havr escaped twice. 3 hrs later he just got in, drenched and muddy,shared what I ffound to be more than funny stories of pig chasing and wrestling, to have the phone ring again just now...they are gone again. Good grief! !!! I will stick with my chickens...who are drenched and refuse.to go back into the coop!!! They are running around in the rain craxy chickens! !!!

 

[quailtrail]

Forgot a funny "proud" moment story. DD and I stopped in at abourchan (? Sp) and they had chicks. So she asked what kinds and we had already guessed and were right. Not sure they were truly pure breds but seriously over crowded, dirty water, and cold. DD pointed all of this out to the salesman and they were speechless. Not to mention they were all mixed together as they were in totes next to each other amd many were tote hopping! Poor things But proud she pointed out that they were in unsanitary conditions.

 

[Widget]

Picked up a round bale last night so I did not have to deal with it today in the rain. Or should I say I paid for one. Longhorn had just sold the last one they had at the store a few minutes before I came in. So the owner delivered one last night around 7. Best thing is he back the truck into the horse pasture and rolled the bale off for me.

. Of course he arrived just as I was cooking dinner. I had to stick the food in the oven so the dogs would not get it.

And today I stopped at TSC in Scarborough to get some fencing. Chick days are over there. All the tubs were gone and the space where they were is empty. If I had really though things through I would have made TSC my last stop of the day and not the first. I bought two 100 ft rolls of fencing to fence in an area for the dogs and two 200 ft rolls of no-climb horse fence to replace the current horse fence. Never gave a thought as to how heavy the 200 ft rolls are. I got them out of the truck with only a bit of effort but installing the fence is going to be an adventure considering I have no help. Next will be to install new corner posts for better stability. I know I will need more posts for the rest of the fence too but that I can deal with once it warms up a few degrees and it is not raining.

 

[dowgirl71]

Forgot a funny "proud" moment story. DD and I stopped in at abourchan (? Sp) and they had chicks. So she asked what kinds and we had already guessed and were right. Not sure they were truly pure breds but seriously over crowded, dirty water, and cold. DD pointed all of this out to the salesman and they were speechless. Not to mention they were all mixed together as they were in totes next to each other amd many were tote hopping! Poor things

But proud she pointed out that they were in unsanitary conditions.

Just wondering which Aubuchon you were talking about? I had the best experience with the one in Waterville! Caroline is the lady who sold me some of my chicks and she has some of her own. It was so nice to deal with someone who had some knowledge about chickens. When I was in there, the pens were clean and the chicks seemed well taken care of. They had all the chicks separated according to breed and they had other kinds, not just the "stock breeds" (RIRs and BRs). I would definitely purchase from them, again, next year!

 

[lazy gardener]

After my experience with special order chicks from the local hardware store, I swore that I'd never go that route again. I was appalled at the lack of understanding of the basic needs of a chick, and the amount of damage that ignorance can do in such a short amount of time. Not to mention, that once the chicks leave the hardware store there is no policy in place for refund or replacement, even if the chick dies before you get it home. However, the same chicks that are ordered directly, and travel through the USPS have a 48 hour guarantee. The chicks that come in to the hardware stores are at the mercy of the local management. And even if a particular store has knowledgeable management, the chicks are still at the mercy of what ever employees happen to be working that day. Dow girl, I'm very glad that your experience at the Waterville store worked out well for you, especially since I have benefitted directly from your trip! My little SLW is doing very well, and she's (hopefully a she!) standing her ground to some of the big meat birds!

Hubby helped me problem solve the 3rd panel of the new tractor. It's 1/2 finished, and the 4th panel will be super easy, since it will be a mirror image of the 3rd panel. When I have 4 panels finished, and the doors done... and the top figured out, I'll take pics of the construction details and post them. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of time available next week to finish it up. Plan to build a little run to connect it to the tractor that's in the garage so the chicks can move freely between the 2 units until they are no longer needing the lamps.

 

[new2chickes]

So my power just went out and I freaked!! My chickens need the heat!! So I packed them all up and brought them downstairs and made a makeshift brooder by the wood stove out of a shopping cart. Fingers crossed they all make it!!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

I lost mine for 3 hours 2 days ago. I had to run power from the truck battery through converter to keep the brooder light running, but it would only run a 100W bulb. I did not want to bring 26 chicks up stairs and find a box or 2 big enough to hold them all! Thankfully, they are 3 weeks old now... getting closer and closer to being ready to exit the brooder. The cockrels are doing a lot of sparring now.

 

[new2chickes]

It just came back on so it was a short stay but everyone faired well and they're all back in their separate brooders I just moved 37 chicks twice.

. I'm traumatized but now I can go to bed knowing they're good to go!

 

[quailtrail]

Just wondering which Aubuchon you were talking about?  I had the best experience with the one in Waterville!  Caroline is the lady who sold me some of my chicks and she has some of her own.  It was so nice to deal with someone who had some knowledge about chickens.  When I was in there, the pens were clean and the chicks seemed well taken care of.  They had all the chicks separated according to breed and they had other kinds, not just the "stock breeds" (RIRs and BRs).  I would definitely purchase from them, again, next year!

S.Paris/Norway right on the line. Like @lazy gardener said it can be hard depends on who is on that day. I'm glad its not always like I experienced.

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

I have a quick question, what types of rare breed chickens would do well here in Maine? I'm thinking of starting a breeding program for one or two different kinds but I want to make sure I get some that will do well in our cold winters.