Why not check the maine gardening forum?

I was hoping to find other small hobby farm people in my area.We moved to Maine 5 years ago. We do garden but animals are our thing. Would like to met other like minded people.We have two mini's but we are getting goats chickens, in the spring. Thanks Jenny

Jenny, I'm not in Maine, but I love your name: "Out of my gourd Farm"! Grreaat name!

Duane

Thank you duane.

Well, I'm from Brunswick, and my mother still has a house there, but I live near Bangor now. I'd call you Southern Maine, by the way (smile). Bar Harbor is mid-coast Maine.

Want to start your chickens early? I'm probably partly kidding, but I have a rooster who's showing early signs of needing to live somewhere else, like wing dragging, human eye pecking, etc. He's also kind of sweet and follows me around all day long, hoping I'll bend down, I think, for some eye contact. He followed my neighbor on his bicycle the other day and he almost caught up with him, too. What a riot that must have been!
Roland comes when he's called. He really does (at about 75 miles an hour with a weird glint in his eye).

I don't want to brag him up too much, because I'm not sure if I can do that to the poor innocent. I feel bad for Roland whose sad youth I can only imagine. An ex-friend of mine came home one night to see a box on his back steps. Not from UPS, this package contained a black sex link cockerel. My former friend told me that the bird had now been living under his porch for the past week, and was needing to be with a kind-hearted woman. He said, "He looks friendly. He seems to want to make contact with human beings. I'll tell you this. The one good thing you can say about this bird. He sure is a good crower."

I hope it was worth our friendship, Leroy.

Idiot I agreed to foster Roland until Leroy could find another home for him before summer. (Leroy told me later, that he left my house singing, "I got rid of the cat and he's not coming back." Whatever that means.)

Last weekend, I called Leroy to point out that he hadn't called to inquire about Roland's well-being. I said, "You know, whatever cruel bastid had that bird before you poured beer on that poor bird. He reeks of it. Still. After two weeks. I could smell it when he tried to tear at my nostril the other day. And speaking of that, old friend, Roland isn't as friendly as you said he was."
"I didn't say he was friendly. I said he looked friendly. He's a nice looking bird, don't you think? But, no, he's bad tempered. I had to dump my beer on him when he went after my leg."

I said, "Well, before I recognized the wing-dragging for what it is, I thought he'd got drunk, fell down and broke his wing."

"No, I dumped my beer on him. I had to. My hands were full."

"One of your hands was full of a beer, which in a minute was going to be empty anyway."

I offered him to a friend of mine who lives in New Jersey and I told her that the one good thing you can say about Roland is that he comes with 12 pullets just coming into lay. She accepted my offer and is quite excited about raising her own chicks. She wants Roland for a breeder.

I am rethinking my generosity, though, after finding Roland having sex with my gold croc the other day. I don't think I could do that to a friend. Are you listening, Leroy?

But jenny, you're not a friend. I hardly know you.
(smile)

annpat, it sounds like Roland has a yeast infection in his crop. Beer would not smell beyond 2-3 days. Just feed him some plain unsweetened yogurt each day for 7-10 days. That will adjust the PH in his crop and stop the beer smell.

Like your name-Jenny Out of My Gourd Farm.

Ann, you have a wonderful gift of story telling. Do you have blog? If not you should. I really enjoyed your story and would like to hear more from your adventures. Roland sounds like a typical Roo!

Duane

Duane, that was a nice thing to say! I don't dare blog, though, because sometimes when I think I'm funny, I'm not.

Roland isn't quite as violent (yet) as I described him, jenny, and he really is available to a good home (a good home meaning you have to agree never to kill him or give him to anyone who'd kill him). I'm ashamed that I didn't mention---like everyone else did---what a clever name you came up with for your farm. You don't really want my rooster. You don't want any rooster if you can help it, but if you do get a rooster, there are breeds that are less aggressive than say a Barred Rock/NH offspring like Roland. He's my second, so I feel I speak from some experience. I ordered 25 chicks from McMurray this spring and when they offered me a free "exotic" chick, I politely declined, being suspicious that "exotic" chick meant "male". And I've done that before---with Roland's predecessor, Orlando may he rest---unlike he lived---in peace. McMurray sent me 26 chicks---all girls. I missed the bullet with McMurray, only to be taken down by Leroy.

seramas, I'm impressed that you would think of that---the yeast infection. It really was beer, but a yeast infection would have smelled just like that. I gave my new bird a bowl of just turned cream last week and now he reeks like sour milk. Odor seems to hang onto Roland for a long time.

jenny, you sure are in a beautiful part of Maine. Were you new to my state in 2004? In other words, are you "come from away"?

Hello, everyone, I checked back and there were peeps out there chatting away.. I am orginally from western New York. My husband retired two years ago from the Army. He was stationed here. We fell in Love and bought a Farm house.We have been fixing it up and starting a small hobby farm. My husband passion is Gourds thus the name of the farm.

Hi Jenny
You posted this so long ago, but we are new to Brunswick although not new to Maine. I love the name of your farm too :)
We bought 7 acres originally a horse farm but we're raising geese and ducks and chickens now. We want to get sheep and goats eventually
Take care,
Michelle

Hi Michelle,
It is GREAT hearing from others in the area. I would love to chat with you about your geese. I have mini donkey's, goats, chickens, and ducks. We wanted to get geese but everyone tells us how mean they are. What is your ideas?
Jenny