Consolidated Kansas

[TaraBellaBirds]

I plan to look at the egg prices in my store tomorrow! I stopped selling eggs when I started breeding and getting the pricier birds. Plus I cut my flock by more than half last year. People just won't pay what fresh eggs are worth. I will sell or often trade some if I have extras but actively selling just wasn't worth it to me.
What I find irratating is the people that want you to sell a show quality bird for what they pay in a feed store. I have seriously had people complain about $10 a hen (I just needed rid of some problimatic Leghorns). I have even told a freind to look up the price of the same breed on MM, they shut-up pretty quick!
On the other hand I got asking price for some capons with an Oklahoma man who actually knew what he is getting!

As far as mosquitos go, they are among the only lifeforms that I would willingly eradicate from the planet!

Eveerything is growing beautifully with all of the moisture. Too bad I didn't do much of a garden this year. Just some Tomatoes, corn, soybeans, pumpkins, and melons. Oh well more time for the chickens this year.

I should have my Dumpy's in a month or so, I can't stand the wait!

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@coleco , I have a love-hate relationship with bats. When we lived in Louisiana--pretty much in the Manchac Swamp--bats lived in our carport between the brick columns and the bottom of the roof. Most people had carports instead of garages in Louisiana, simply because it gets too hot to have your car in an enclosure...unless you were rich and willing to pump AC to the garage. I had a come-apart the first night we were sitting in the backyard enjoying the kids and swamp sounds. Suddenly, something buzzed me REALLY CLOSE. I stood up and, consequently, was about broadsided by about 3 bats that were bringing up the rear. Right at dusk they would always come, flying real low, out of the space between the bricks and the roof. They would circle and circle, making the creepy bat noises. I could feel their wind on my neck and it gave me the willies. I finally figured out the bats and I could live in peace if I simply changed the location of where we situated our lawn chairs. With all this rain and swampy weather, I am just sure I will see a gator swimming under the bridge by our house.

@KsKingBee , do you raise bees? I am just throwing out a wild guess because of your handle. I would like to raise bees, but I've got to get the chicken thing somewhat figured out first before adding another hobby. My uncle, who lives near Haviland, KS, used to raise honeybees and sell the honey. I'm terrified of being stung, but I love that bees pollinate and make yummy liquid gold. I feel that raising honeybees could serve a two-fold purpose: pollinating my precious perennials and veggie garden AND providing honey. My husband has been eating local honey for over 6 months to see if it helps his allergies. The real test will be if the ragweed bugs him after it replaces the wheat that is on the front few acres of our property!

@chicken danz and @Trish44 , I read somewhere right when I was starting to research chicken-keeping, that I would never come out ahead (and probably not even break even) with raising chickens for eggs. I am thankful that some realist was brave enough to put that out there so that I didn't have unrealistic expectations...because I probably would have and been frustrated by this point. I haven't had the need for multiple enclosures yet. We were very blessed to have the empty grain silo and all the scrap wood we needed for stairs, doors, and roosts already available. Though we are still using a tarp inside the silo to keep the birds dry, we were able to secure a perfectly-good used silo roof from a farmer for $100. I think, in all, we spent $300 converting the silo to a coop. 'Course feeders and waterers are fairly expensive, as is feed. My in-laws just wanted hens for eggs, so they purchased started pullets from a lady we know in Haven, KS. This cut out the feed cost of getting the birds to laying point, which I thought was good economics in their case. We wanted the learning and experience of raising the hens and roos from chicks, so I guess you could say we paid for that experience with the up-front cost of the chicks and their food. Because I stay home with the kids and provide no income to our family, I am convicted about keeping extra spending down, so I've tried to be as practical and creative as possible with our chicken hobby. So far, hubby is happy with our costs. That's what matters most to me, along with good chicken health and happy hens.

I was, thankfully, able to find buyers for my 5 dozen extra eggs today. I put an add on one of the Wichita re-sale sites. They were all claimed, plus a waiting list, within 30 minutes. I am supposed to meet them all at a neutral location tomorrow and do the exchange. One buyer asked me if the eggs were organic. What? I have no idea. I told her I'd ask y'all what qualified as organic and then let her know if mine are organic. I think the fact that I had the full-sized hens (not the bantams) all vaccinated for coccidiosis, and the fact that I gave them medicated starter feed, may have negated the whole organic qualification? What do y'all know about this?

Here are some random pics that my oldest daughter and I got of some of our chickens today.

This is our Cream Legbar. I love her funny top fluff. I haven't named her yet. I just call her Funky Chicken right now.



These are a sampling of the eggs we've been getting. I love our little Cochin Bantam, Tina's, little eggs...Hers is the one in the bottom right of the carton.


This is Millie, our little Mille Fleur d'Uccle. She likes to hang with the Silkies and is NEVER on the roost at night (!!??). You can kinda see in this picture how they have to hop from the roost that Millie is standing on over to the pop door to access the run. One of the Spice Girls is out there waiting for Millie to finish posing so she can get in. LOL!



This is one of our EEs, the Silkie pair and Millie.



This is Speedy, our Double Laced Barnevelder and one of the littlest hens, a Silver-Spangled Hamburg.

 

[chicken danz]

Graingypsy, organic is a long drawn out thing and it actually takes records over about three years showing where the crop that feeds them came from and that it hasn't been treated with chemicals during that time. Also they can have no immunizations, medications, or chemicals of any kind. If you claim to be organic you need the paper work to back you up. You technically have to have a certified organic farm that provides your feed and your chicks. If you feed any store bought feed at all or don't know in fact your grain came from an organic farm they aren't organic. You might get by saying as much unless someone would ask to see your government certification. Now cage free or free range chickens are a whole 'nother matter. Each of those meanings are entirely different and very misleading but most people are happy with either one of those titles.
Cage free usually means that the hens are confined to a building with thousands of others but not in an area of a .67 Sq feet like a caged bird is. It's still crowded and inhumane except that they can move around.
Free range chickens means that they have access to the outside, which simply means an open door for as little as 5 minutes a day.
I just found this on organic which probably explains it a little better than I can.

Significant differences cover feed, medication, and animal welfare. Organic hens are fed organic feed; it is prohibited to feed animal byproducts or GMO crops - which is not disallowed in free range environments; no antibiotics allowed except in emergencies (in free range, it is up to the farmer, but the same levels of antibiotics as conventional farming is allowed); required animal welfare standards in organic farms, which can improve the quality of both the eggs and the meat - low stress levels, which are not necessarily guaranteed by organic production nor unique to it, may lead to superior quality of animal products.
Organic feed

Organic feed is grown by certified organic farmers. To become a certified organic farmer, the crop must be free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The crop must be free of GMOs and synthetic fertilization for three years before it can be certified for organic usage. If the crop is contaminated by cross-fertilization, the crop is rendered useless for organic grading. Finally, there can be no animal by-products fed to the poultry.

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@chicken danz , thank you for the thorough response to the organic question. I respect people who go organic for their flock, but I can tell that's just not something I'll be into with my chickens. They are happy and healthy just as they are, and I feel like I might spend a small fortune and drive myself batty in the process if I tried going organic! I will pass the basics on to my curious egg-purchaser. I don't even think she was really sure what she was looking for in an organic egg.

 

[coleco]

I grow my garden without use of chemicals however i start plants in commercial seed starter and therefore they will never let me become certified because of a tiny bit of vermiculite. I considered baking my own soil to make starter soil (i design and build ovens large enough) or steaming it like my grandfather did for his flowers but at around 40$ to start everything i go to walmart and buy jiffy starter.

I have a top bar hive that i built 2 years ago but the local bees love their homes over at anthonys beehives, i havent had luck after various efforts to get occupancy.

I pulled a carrot the other day of a black variety from baker creek and my hands are still a shade of willy wonka purple after peeling it.

 

[ashncarson]

This is Millie, our little Mille Fleur d'Uccle. She likes to hang with the Silkies and is NEVER on the roost at night (!!??). You can kinda see in this picture how they have to hop from the roost that Millie is standing on over to the pop door to access the run.

we have 2 hens that are supposed to be silkie d'uccle crosses. They have extra toes, and the white one has blue ear lobes. They both have dark skin...They both roost on the roost at night and will fight to get a spot!

 

[KsKingBee]

@Grain Gypsy , when you are ready to get bees I can help you out. In the meantime if you want to start reading and learning about honey bees you can join our SCKHPA yahoo group (South Central Kansas Honey Producers Assn.) and start coming to our meetings.

I recommend that you take our beginning beekeepers class next spring and in until then start looking for equipment while you are researching honey bees.

 

[coleco]

I knew that i'd be interested in what the other kansans are up to. My non chicken friends needed me to join so they can stop hearing me haha

 

[chicken danz]

I used to start all my flowers and veggies in a green house. As the years go by I just don't seem to find the time. Plus the last two years I have used my greenhouse to raise goslings in until they are big enough to go out with the group. Last fall I said I'd finally get to use it as a green house. Well not so much. It's still full of two legged critters.
I gave up on the flowers with the exception of things the birds don't really like that much. And I can't get out and pull weeds like I used to anyway. I sure wish I could still have impressive flower beds. My veggie garden is going to be hit with roundup soon and I am going to start over. Most of it is 3 foot tall weeds right now.
I do have tomato plants in my flower bed that are still doing okay.
We can talk about chickens or listen to you talk about chickens all day every day. I have a really diverse group of birds here. I should really sell off the game birds and ornamentals but I like them even better than the chickens...other than most of them can't free range.

 

[Trish44]

I agree on the not coming out even on just having birds for eggs. You can never come out that way because as someone said previously people just don't want to pay what the eggs are worth. The feed & other needs for the birds always come out to more than you can make selling eggs but it does help offset it a bit. I have way more laying hens than I need for just two of us just because I had decided about 3 years ago to increase my flock enough to sell the extra eggs. As I got more customers wanting eggs I have had to increase more. I usually can keep up with demand in the warmer months but can't in the winter.

Danz I used to have beautiful flower beds until I got chickens again. Now they just dig up almost everything I plant or eat it to the ground. I have found only a few things they won't bother & those are stronger smelling things that they don't like. I'm just trying now to fill my beds with those things to have something green & growing. They did dig out all of the grass roots from my flower bed this year & eat them, that was a plus but I hate the digging & dust bathing in those places. They also have dug holes in my yard, destructive little things they are. I do like them to eat the bugs & grubs though, those big grubs from the Japanese beetles are just candy to them.

Yesterday I had to go out & put chicken wire all around the inside of my pen where the baby ducks are residing right now. They figured out how to escape through the netting I had on the sides of the pen & the cats were really looking them over, ack! I have 7 of those sold & they're leaving Thurs. so I sure don't want to lose any of them at this point. It took me quite awhile to get all of the chicken wire attached & I was just soaked in sweat by the time I finished, ugh. The humidity is so awful right now with all of this rain. Some of my pens are just muck again out there. I wouldn't mind if we just got some rain once a week or so to keep things watered but raining for days is just too much.