New to the Forum

[Kevin1962]

Hello,

I wanted to introduce myself to your forum. My name is Kevin. My wife Krys and I live in Minnesota here in the states. Collectively, we've bred poultry for nearly 30 years.
I am an American, though my wife is originally from Britain. She was born and raised in England, (Surrey), but lived on the west coast of Wales for nearly 15 years prior to our meeting, owning and operating a rare breed poultry farm. Since then, we've primarily raised Orpingtons, Marans, and will this Spring, add Dorkings, Delawares and perhaps a few commercial layers to our flock. I sell eggs at my place of employment, so the commercial layers come in handy, as they tend to lay good numbers of quality eggs, regardless of the weather conditions here in Minnesota.
We are also in the early stages of planning a move to Britain, and will most likely settle back in Wales within the next few years. My wife being a British National, apparently conveys little benefit in this regard, as the newer immigration rules and regulations make it extremely difficult, (still trying to sort out how we can do this). At any rate, that is our goal, and we will, quite likely continue to keep fowls.
I hope to learn much from this forum, and hope that I too, from time to time, can be a source of tips or helpful hints.

Kind regards,
Kevin and Krys

 

[Marigold]

Hi Kevin and Krystal, and a big welcome to the Forum. Its always good to greet new people, especially those from other countries than the U.K, as its so interesting to discuss various ways of keeping our flocks in different climates. What's it like in Minnesota? If and when you move to Wales, you'll know what to expect - rain! Although we have had many happy holidays in Wales, both in the hilly North and more recently,when the mountains seemed to have grown a lot taller and steeper somehow, at St. David's in Pembrokeshire.
You've certainly got an interesting flock, and a lot of valuable experience to offer here. We would love to see some pics if your setup and your birds, if possible.

 

[chrismahon]

Hello Kevin1962 and welcome to the forum. Your considerable experience will be a great asset. Bit surprised you would want to move over to Wales though as it has changed a lot recently. I have had holidays in New England and Carolina and thought the areas lovely, but that was a long time ago as well. Good luck with immigration. Perhaps the problem is not coming from an EU Country as it is easy to move about for us, even with our chickens.

 

[Kevin1962]

Hello Marigold,

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Minnesota is, by and large, a very nice state, with a rolling landscape, over 10,000 lakes, and numerous rivers and streams. The northern part of the state is heavily wooded, whilst the southern half in primarily farm land. We live in the south central portion of the state, just 35 miles south of Minneapolis. We found our farm, oddly enough, along the Minnesota river corridor, which is to say, that unlike the immediate surroundings, it is a very heavily forested valley within easy walking distance to a major river, (the Minnesota). Our farm is comprised of twenty acres, of which only two are sloping pasture grass. Everything else in our valley is sharply inclined hills. Summers here can be rather hot at times, though more often than not, its around 23-28C. We receive what I would gauge to be "average" rainfall, with Springs and Autumns having adequate showers. Summers have the occasional thunder storms but otherwise are somewhat dry. Where things get rather unpleasant is during the winter. Our winters can be rather brutal and unforgiving. Our first snowfall is normally mid November, but usually starts in earnest by early December. This year has been a particularly snowy winter, with over 65" of snow having already been recorded. Average annual snowfall is around 48". Temperatures can be rather extreme too. January and the first part of February were particularly cold with daily highs around -17C, and some night time temperatures of -32C. That makes keeping poultry rather challenging, as waterers quickly freeze, as do combs and wattles. Condensation forms from having any level of warmth inside the houses, contrary to such extreme external temperatures, makes the bedding rather nasty and wet, and this can, and often does lead to winter losses.
My goal this year is to build a new hen house, complete with insulated walls, indoor spigots for water, lights and a heat source. Maintaining dry bedding will always be a chore, but I think I can devise a bedding regimen to combat that problem. Once I become more familiar with how photos are posted, I'll try to do so, so you can see our farm and flock.
Again, thank you for your kind welcome!

Warm regards,
Kevin

 

[Marigold]

Hi Kevin, that's all very interesting. Minnesota sounds a beautiful though challenging place to live. I just can't imagine what it would be like to live through those winter temperatures and that depth of snowfall. Here in the UK a national emergency seems to occur on the rare occasions when we get more than a few inches of snow, and temps down below -10 provoke much panic!
There are some notes on how to posts pics on here if you go to the Photos of Chickens section on the Board Index page. See http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=77
And also http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5624

 

[Kevin1962]

Hello Chrismahon!

Thank you for your kind welcome to the forum! I'm very happy to be a part of it, and hope that we can all have a lot of interesting conversations.
I've found through the years that my "considerable experience" only helps with poultry when things are going well. When something goes wrong, I usually think to myself, "what a fool I've been"! At any rate, it's those experiences that make the hobby so much fun, even with the occasional disappointments.
To be honest, the move to Wales is for my wife's happiness more than mine. I've never been outside of my own Country, and only rarely outside of what we call the Midwest. Conversely, my wife has lived in England, Scotland, Germany, Wales, and now the U.S.
To her, nothing compares with Wales. She loved living within a mile or two of Cardigan Bay, and she especially loved the people of Wales and its culture. She frequently gets rather teary eyed when discussing the hills and streams and people of Wales, but I believe it is the sea that she misses the most. Minnesota is flush with lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. Our state even has one lake, (Superior) along its eastern border that is so large, so deep, and at times so treacherous, that many seasoned captains who've traversed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have stated that they'd not be caught dead on it. Many, many shipwrecks lie at the bottom of it's extremely cold and clear waters, some of which are quite famous in the annals of U.S. maritime history. In short, it gives every appearance of being a land locked ocean. Still, to my lovely wife, it isn't the same, and in an odd way, makes worse her feeling of separation from Wales.
I remember when we were dating, she could be rather dismal regarding the "interminable rains of Wales" and how it was just "tipping down". I guess absence truly does make the "heart grow fonder".
At any rate, to Wales we shall go if we can but find a way to do so through the UK immigration services. I would need to find a job over there, and frankly, I'm not sure how to go about that. Perhaps I could offer my services as a "mucking out specialist"!
How, may I ask, has Wales "changed a lot recently"? I know my own Country has changed quite a bit in the past 10 years, and not for the better. I shan't go in to the various ways, as they tend to be more political, and I'd prefer to stay mostly on topic, but suffice it to say that the move to Wales doesn't bother me half as much as it might have at one time.
I've never been to New England, but I have been to North Carolina, and it is indeed, very nice and pleasant. In fact, North Carolina would be a nice place to live, I think, if I could convince my wife that the body of water on it's eastern shores really is the same one that crashes upon the western shores of Cardigan Bay. Plus, it would be a whole lot warmer in the winter than Minnesota!
I look forward to hearing more from you, and getting to know you and the other forum members better!

Kind regards,
Kevin

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Kevin1962. Wales has become more populated and industrial of late although development will always be limited by the terrain. We collected a cockerel from central Wales in the middle of no-where and they had a big problem of theft, so they couldn't leave the farm empty, even for a few hours. It still rains a lot though! My sister-in law lived in Corwen for years. We holidayed in Tenby 4 years ago. Based on your description of the climate in Minnesota though you would be far better moving to Wales I think. Work is in very short supply in the UK, as it is in the EU overall, so I don't know what to suggest in that regard. That's one reason why we ended up taking early retirement and moving to France, like thousands of other Brits -it's cheap to live here so you can live on a small pension.

 

[tygrysek75]

Hi Kevin
Your farm sounds like really nice place.
Having a British wife should help a lot with imigration issue,so I would't worry to much about it at all.Planning such a big move on the other hand I would recommend to come first on holiday and have a good look around.As face of UK had changed dramaticly in the last years and maybe romantic idea you wife has about living in this country is in the past.The decision is huge so make sure you know egsackly what you puting you self inn.
As imigrant my self I know that after awhile you forget abut all innoing things that going on in your contry of orgin and this can have a big implications in your life.
Having said that I.m sure that both of you will think about it anyway and here on the forum we would love to hear how your preparations will go and support you in your decision.

 

[chrismahon]

Good points from Tygrysek there. One thing I need to add is the increasing problem of poultry theft (mention before referred to farm equipment). We used to spend a lot of time locking and unlocking coops and sheds. Constantly worried about losing our breeding stock and we kept a low profile with regard to what we had and where it was housed. Even had a neighbour stealing the eggs while we were out and I had to padlock the nest boxes!

 

[Nitram]

How are you doing Kevin? I see you way north of me, I am in Va. Looking forward to your sharing all the experience you have, and wish you and yours we'll in your quest to move to Wales.