Farm Day - Tractor Supply Co., Sanford, Maine

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

MomOfDrew, it was good to finally meet you! i was sooo tempted to take that sweet little gray cockerel with me. he was so content to snooze in my arms while i was holding him after you left! but i eventually had to give him up to Stano's wife and kept saying to myself that i don't need any more roos in my flock!

 

[momofdrew]

Deb I was wondering if you kept him or not... he really is a sweety...if you know anyone who has some silkie hens I am interested and I have a friend who is looking for ee's or any large breed hens...

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i have one more EE pullet that is not laying yet and a barred rock the same age. i am keeping the last ee for awhile but i'm still deciding if i'll be keeping the barred rock, she has a little attitude and was the 'gang' leader of the 3 ee pullets i had. with the bantams i'm keeping she is trying to rule the roost except my 4 year old frizzled cochin hen and the oldest bantam faverolles hen keep her in her place.

i put the word in on both the NH Swap thread on BYC and Shay's swap down in MA to see if someone down there may have some silkie girls for you! i am sure there will be a few when i go next month!

have you ever thought about going to the Poultry Congress in January? it is during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend and usually draws a huge crowd and lots of nice looking birds from what i've heard from others on the boards. i really want to get down that direction but it is almost 3 hours down to the south western part of Mass.

 

[momofdrew]

I have never heard of a Poultry Congress...what is that about?? let me know if you want to sell your 2 girls and I will tell my friend...

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i also have a Marans hen i may eventually sell but she is going through her 18 month molt and she looks like a pin cushion at the moment! she lays very large eggs but they are not the chocolate brown you would expect. i was told when i got her last year that she was hatchery and the golden cuckoo coloring in her feathers. i had her and my flock NPIP tested last February so she is banded. those other 2 girls have been too young to get tested and are not yet banded but if i keep them they will get tested after all the fairs are done.

as for the Poultry Congress it is a big competition for poultry of all kinds and there are some top breeders from Mass that go to this. http://www.poultrycongress.com/

there is also the NH Poultry Fanciers that i think they will have a show at the Deerfield Fairgrounds on Oct 9th (weekend after the actual fair) http://www.newhampshirepoultryfanciers.com/

one of the breeders to look out for at the shows is Hat Trick Silkies. she has some beautiful birds! http://www.hattricksilkies.com/

 

[momofdrew]

How do you get your birds tested and how much does it cost???

Just keep my friend in mind if you want to sell a few girls...

edited to add that I checked out hattricks site and I have a white, a buff, a blue, 3 splashes, and a partridge... wow...

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i just call the NH Dept of Agriculture and speak with the lady who usually answers the phone, she'll get you set up with the appointment and answer most questions for you. they usually set up an appointment with either the state vet Stephen Crawford or one of his assistants, they send the blood to UNH for testing so it should only take a week or two to get results back.

it has been free to test the last couple of years since there is grant funding for it. the last day to test if they still have funding is usually March 31st. i heard this year they were able to get it again but it sounds like money will still be tight in the budget. birds should be over 4 months old or it could affect the results and give a false positive which rarely happens. if they are charging to test the birds they would charge to travel from Concord to Rochester and then the cost for each bird being tested. we could always go in and split the costs to have them travel out this way if they were to charge. as long as your parent birds are tested and AI/Pullorum/Typhoid clean your chicks should be fine to sell and any hatching eggs too!

make sure to ask about getting the papers to file for your NPIP # if you plan to sell hatching eggs to other states. once your blood work papers (and your card) come back from the state you will have to file for the NPIP# and send that back to them. i didn't know about the extra paperwork last year so i only got mine tested so i don't have a number for them. next time i plan on getting it all done so i can send out hatching eggs to those who keep asking me for my faverolles.

since i have a small mixed flock of about 30 birds it usually takes about an hour or 2 to get all the birds bled for samples. i think they will charge if you have something like 300 but don't quote me on it!

i think that young cockerel was a partridge after all!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Pam, i just got word back that someone will have silkies at the Tilton swap on Saturday. it would be about and hours drive to get to the Tractor Supply over there if you are willing to check them out. it is from 9am to 1pm.

did you ask the guy that usually has silkies at Sanford if he'll have any pullets or hens available?

 

[momofdrew]

I cant make Sat have previous engagement and no I didnt ask dummy me...his black cockerels were nice looking...

thanks for the information...none of my birds have been tested...I guess if I want to sell any I will have to get em done....

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you're selling them from your own property don't worry about it. if you are planning on taking them to shows or over state lines i would have it done.

Stano, are you fine if they are not tested and just bringing excess roos to re-home?