BigBlueHen53: Just BukbukbuKAAWS

[BigBlueHen53]

I tried brown leghorns once. Great survivors but like you, never again. Rather try to raise cardinals, lol.

 

[Kung_pao]

I tried brown leghorns once. Great survivors but like you, never again. Rather try to raise cardinals, lol.

Those things are one step behind guineas lol

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Those things are one step behind guineas lol

Oh guineas! Been there, done that, too! That's another hard pass, lol!

 

[Kung_pao]

I was so glad when mine ran away and terrorized my neighbors for years lol.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I was so glad when mine ran away and terrorized my neighbors for years lol.

Lol. We ended up butchering ours. There was as much sweet feed in each of their crops as what I usually fed to my half-Arab horses. I was never so happy to see anything dead as I was those bloomin', squawkin' guineas. Watchdogs indeed!

 

[SourRoses]

If my previous hens were worth ten times their chick price, then that means my Ams are now worth $300 each!

Well, normally the calculation for POL is:
Chick Price (+ divided Shipping)
+ Feed (at least 4 months, varies by breed so it could be 10 months)
+ Electricity (for heating)
Which is where the $25 for a typical layer comes in. But that is not adjusted for this years price increases.

With a purebred Am, since they often take longer to reach POL, you have a larger feed cost to factor in.
A typical price I've seen is $60-80 per hen, $20 - $40 roo.

However, when individuals better fit the SOP, it increases their sale price. That's where some of the housing and labor would be accounted for. But in reality that price is based on their breeding value in the future rather than their expense in the past. But since there are no guarantees on prepotence (the heritability factor of some genetic traits... aside from the simple recessive or dominant ones. Think of the way some families have bunches of twins.) due to that variable, one cannot assign the full value of potential breeding success, so quality accounts for 25% - 100% markup from expense... influenced by rarity of the breed, desirability, and
buyers market tolerance.
A nice Am hen at POL would probably fetch around $100, this year. Rare colors or exceptional show worthy form would increase that.

Generally, market tolerance works against the higher prices. But sometimes not, and it depends what method one is using to advertise.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks, Roses! Me and math are like oil and water, lol. I appreciate that breakdown. The bottom line is any chicken is worth "what the market will bear." Around here I'm guessing I couldn't give these lovely pullets away unless I included a year's worth of steaks. But I don't care. They are sweet and beautiful and I love them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry I have let this thread go dormant! Some of you may already know that I am temporarily laid up. As in, completely off my feet, ugh! Had another spontaneous break in the bone at the top of my tibia - left one this time - and at dr's orders I am to be completely "non-weight bearing" on that leg for eight weeks. EIGHT WEEKS, I ask you! At this point I am at least a couple of weeks in. But it still seems like a long dang time.

So, once again, I am confined to recliner or wheelchair. This means that I can't get out to visit my chickens or clean the hen house. Can you believe it, I cried today because I miss cleaning the poop trays! I could cry right now thinking about it, so I won't. I just really miss them.

Meanwhile I have the baby chicken monitor next to me so I can turn it on in the morning and hear the boys crowing and the girls fussing and gossipping and bragging, as they do.

We're getting 13 to 15 eggs a day. Two girls are not laying in the nests. One is laying under a bush in the front yard and one is laying in the carport. There may be other sneaky nesters, but these are all we've found. All the Australorp pullets are laying, their eggs are still smallish, dark brown, almost like a Maran's, and very round! And I think all or most of the Ameraucanas are laying now, too, based on the smallish size and the beautiful color. My OG EE hens are laying huge eggs of light blue, greenish-blue, mint green, or olive.

Opossums have been visiting the no-waste (so-called!) feeders. I don't know if they are getting eggs or not, they are mostly young. We set a trap last night using marshmallows and unsalted peanuts for bait, and caught one. My nephew came and got it this morning and disposed of it. We set the trap again tonight and will continue to do so until we catch the producer of the problems - the mother. Hate doing it, but I know it's necessary. Part of animal husbandry. These cute little critters will grow up in just a few weeks and start feasting on my chickens. Can't have that.

Anyway, that's pretty much all the news from around here for now. When I have more to add, I will, but since I'm off my feet it may be a while. Oh. Hold on. I will post a pic of the bread I made yesterday, mostly from my wheelchair. Please forgive typos. Maybe I'll come fix them tomorrow.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So this is the bread I made. Oops, not yesterday, the day before. Monday I guess. Because I spent most of yesterday sleeping, recovering, lol! I could not believe how much it took out of me to do that! I can stand on my right foot, but if you remember, my right knee had a spontaneous break last year and I've been recovering from that. It's still pretty weak and it's not crazy about having to support my entire weight! So what I do is, I do as much as I can in the wheelchair, then I stand up for just a minute or two to do what I can't do in the chair. Up, down, up, down. Wheel around the kitchen. Rest while the dough rises, etc. I really didn't think I was working that hard, but later - whew! I really felt it. So here is the result of all that effort. This bread is about 30% whole wheat. Was it worth it? Absolutely YES!