First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JessicaThistle]

Jessica,

Would you be buying the property and buildings?

Getting his customers is a bonus.

No buildings or property. It is all constructed on his own property. Getting his customers is a huge bonus since he currently sells 600-800 dozen eggs to them. That's a heck of a good start.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I almost lost a hen to a hawk today!! He was huge and had her pinned down ripping feathers out of her neck. Luckily my husband happened to go out to the yard when he did because he scared the hawk away! Oh my gosh, he was sure she was dead and then she hopped up and took off running.

When I got my hands on her she was gasping for breath. I took her in the house to assess the damage. Luckily she was only bleeding from spots where the feathers were pulled out on her neck. She had one gash that wasn't deep enough to bleed. Oh and she was bleeding a bit from a spot near her eye. I saw out the back window while I had her in the house that the hawk actually returned to finish the job if she was still there.

So, wow, I did not like this experience. I am immediately going to erect some scare crows, whirly gigs and cd's hanging from the trees. Plus, my dogs better not expect to see the inside of the house when the chickens are out of their coops for awhile. Time to look up my flock protection laws in my area. Ugh!

 

[duluthralphie]

I almost lost a hen to a hawk today!! He was huge and had her pinned down ripping feathers out of her neck. Luckily my husband happened to go out to the yard when he did because he scared the hawk away! Oh my gosh, he was sure she was dead and then she hopped up and took off running.

When I got my hands on her she was gasping for breath. I took her in the house to assess the damage. Luckily she was only bleeding from spots where the feathers were pulled out on her neck. She had one gash that wasn't deep enough to bleed. Oh and she was bleeding a bit from a spot near her eye. I saw out the back window while I had her in the house that the hawk actually returned to finish the job if she was still there.

So, wow, I did not like this experience. I am immediately going to erect some scare crows, whirly gigs and cd's hanging from the trees. Plus, my dogs better not expect to see the inside of the house when the chickens are out of their coops for awhile. Time to look up my flock protection laws in my area. Ugh!

I know the feeling! I HATE birds of prey..

I am going to try the scare crow thing this year, also. I am also buying game bird netting and plan to erect nets over larger areas.

I hate the idea of lots of nets hanging, and the expense of nets and post to hang them from, but I want to discourage the birds of prey.


I wish I had access to ICBMs with auto aiming to take down the incoming birds! ( of course they would have to be self aiming as I would not want the blood of a dead hawk on my hands!)

 

[duluthralphie]

Jessica,

I have been thinking of your potential purchase.

600-800 dozen eggs is that a month?

Will you be wholesaling them?

If you go organic or GMO your production costs rise dramatically.

With that many birds, disease becomes a larger more real problem. How will you address disease without meds? It can be done but at what cost.

I hate to sound negative, but when investing I always go negative first, it protects your bank account. I would ask the most negative people I knew what they thought. They always came up with far out ways a deal can fail.

If you are looking at 800 dozen what is your highest potential monthly income? if you get 4 bucks a dozen, a really high guess, it is only $3,200 a month.

Taking away expenses is that enough for either of you to sell your businesses or quit your day job? It sounds like it would be great hobby income, but the amount seems low for a livelihood.

I know I am being negative, do not think too badly of me.... However, I have found when you buy an existing business you always lose a percentage of the old customers. I always was happy if I could retain 80% long term.

Now on the positive side. Are there many depreciable assets with the purchase? I love depreciable assets. Especially if they are something I can convert to private use after they are nearly zeroed out. ( this could account for some of the reasons I have been audited 18 times) BTW Audits no longer scare me, as I follow the rules to the tee, now.


What is the cost of competing versus the cost of purchasing the existing business? I liked your attitude about a start up. Competition is never anything to be afraid of. Why do you think Walmart and Target exist in the same markets?

I am sure you have thought of all these things, I am just having my first cup of coffee and rambling.

Now to Neal....

I cannot find your post on my chicken? Was it on this thread? I wanted to read your writings on my BSL when I had more time to devote to it.


Lazy Gardener I had something for you too, but I forgot what it was. A squirrel disrupted my chain of thought by daring to eat at my wild bird feeders and interrupting my coffee time.

 

[duluthralphie]

Hi guys and gals,
I'm with Lazy Gardener on this one. I think your bird is a product of sex linkage known more properly and accurately as a Black Star. The red infusion around the hackles (neck region) is a dead give away. You are likely in for a long siege of egg production. They don't always start out as large but with time and maturity they will likely get there and possibly as extra large. And laugh if you will, if you pet and spoil her by degree that seems to hasten the process. The only problem I have perceived from this cross is that they are often produced by the commercial folks with a somewhat inferior genetic parental stock known in the business as production birds. I'm working on that problem now with using superior stock as the parentals to see if these birds might better live up to the hype to be exhibited by their future babies. It stands to reason by this retired geneticist, better parentals = better hybrids. In time I shall share the results of the breeding experiment.
Stay well all,
Neal, the Zooman

I found the post...

The red around the hackles makes her a BSL? This is good to know. I was going to try breeding her to my Black Australorp just because of her coloring. I think I will still do that. I know the babies will not be Sex linked, but that does not bother me. I will just eat the boys, it will mean skinning them instead of plucking.

She was a slower growing bird as is her "sisters" They have actually gained weighed since they started laying.


Speaking of breeding, I have found Hoover Hatchery handles both Rainbows and Red Rangers, so I guess they are not the same bird. I am thinking of buying some of both this year, and keeping a rooster of each for breeding next year.

I wish Minnesota did not have such overly protective laws regarding eggs sales and bird sales. It seems the laws here favor the rich, and hinder the small producer. Oh well, life is what it is. I am limited to the number of egg s and birds I can sell a year, and all sales must be done on the farm, no farmer markets and no selling to a retailer.

 

[LindaB220]

Linda: I'm sorry too that you are having family issues. We are a blended family and I came into it with two pre-teens. Man did we have some doozies! I thought we'd never make it. My dh and I were fine but the teens were out to get him any chance they could get. Now, my son has moved on to work in Alaska and my daughter is turning 18 in 2 weeks! My hubby even bought her a car for her birthday, which she doesn't know yet. I NEVER thought that would happen after all of the ahem..entertainment...like the WWF kind. But anyway, I know this is different than what you are dealing with but no one has a perfect family and we really just have to take it a day at a time.

I would definitely go with brown egg layers as well as EEs too. I LOVE my EEs. I have read that people are squeamish about colored eggs but I think it is just because they have never seen them before except for Easter. They don't taste different and they add a beautiful touch to the egg carton. I just smile when I open the carton and see a beautiful blue-green egg or two. I think once people get used to them, they will feel the same like Ralph says.

Mountain Mom: No rabbits for me! I have never eaten rabbit and I don't really care to. I have guinea pigs, adore them and couldn't eat them either. There is something about those adorable fuzzy faces that just makes me lose interest in having them for dinner.

Ralph: Those babies are adorable! Of course, all baby chicks are. Isn't that really how we all got sucked into this in the first place? Chickens are like a drug or something.

Thank God it has settled down now. We are ALL doing our part to make sure that this doesn't happen again. I've eased up on my requirements of what I want to save or "hoard as AJ would say". Not going to worry about the dog hair and such. There is plenty of other stuff available for composting. Urine for one, and I have plenty of that.

A little squeamish about that. But chicken manure works fine also. AND I have plenty of that.
This is such an exciting time of the year. Getting set up for hatching and selling. If the slackers will cooperate. The rooster is doing his part I'm sure. Still getting one little blue egg every 2 days or so. I do plan on ordering some EE's and make the carton even prettier. Aimee texted me this morning at 5:30 asking if there is a reason for having a rooster. He started crowing at 3am. Other than fertilizing my fancy Blosl white rock eggs and making a lot of money I can't think of a reason.

She did say that she forgot to turn on her fan at bedtime and that's why she heard him.

 

[LindaB220]

Linda,

I'd go around and knock on doors ... No sense investing six months in to find out that eggs are WHITE!

Ask what they would be interested in ... What quantity ... Do they care if they are organic, or do they need to be "Certified Organic"?
Jessica,

Would you be buying the property and buildings?

Getting his customers is a bonus.

No I definitely can't afford to pay the certification fees on this. BYC buddy in south La feeds her birds organic feed and advertises that they are fed organic and farm fresh. Getting $4 doz. I don't knock doors. Too old. I'll give them the option of brown or EE's. I don't think I'm going to offer white because the birds are so irratic and loud. I like a quiet bird. These 6 new subdivisions are upscale. They will pay it or go to the grocery store. I think they will pay it. Clean coops, fermented feed, healthy birds, open for inspection. Yeah, they'll pay it. Marketing is key. And the idea of being able to buy veggies at the same time.

 

[mountain mom]

So many exciting things going on here lately!

Jessica- SO, are you getting into the egg business?! I agree with a lot of what Ralph said, better to be cautiously negative at the start. Just to be sure you think of all the potential downfalls and how you would handle them. But, what an exciting prospect!!
So glad your hen is okay! We had one hawk swoop down towards my precious Clyde. Luckily, my daughter was outside and saw it happening and got to Clyde before the hawk. That was the only time the hawk was so brave.

Linda- Glad things are better in your world! 3 am huh... no thank you! We had one rooster who tried to crow a few times before he was butchered. It was painful to listen to. Funny, but painful.

Ralph- I must have bought the same timer. I can't figure the dang thing out. Of course, I tossed the directions because I was positive I could figure it out. Wrong.

We had our first egg in about 3 weeks yesterday!! I think I may preserve it for all time.

 

[duluthralphie]

I, being a virtual genius in my own mind, kept the instructions. It was working this morning, but I only had 5 eggs this morning and one of them was on the floor, by the feeder.

My birds are stupid! I cleaned the tray on the water fount and they all came running to drink water, as if they had been out for a week. There was water in it, I simply cleaned their mess out of it.

Then I filled the feeder in the coop, and they all came running to it. It was not empty either had a good 4 inches left in it.

I went out of the coop and filled the outside feeder they came running to it, like I had starved them. It had a good 8 inches of feed left in it.

When I filled that feeder I set a buck full of feed on the ground, the taller birds started eating out of the bucket. I picked up that bucket and an empty bucket and walked to the water hydrant, a few followed me and ate out of the bucket again, when I set it down. When I picked it back up and headed to the CX/Guinea Gulag with the buckets 2 chickens ran ahead of me to get in with the CX's. Again when I filled the cx feeder they were there to eat.

I took some of the feed into the Guinea's cell my little white rock tried to follow me in there, When I gently pushed her out, she told me off, I think she even called me a name that would get me a nasty gram on BYC.

What is it with these birds? Why do that have to act like I am starving them? I am getting ready to take them the table scraps and I am afraid of getting mugged doing that!


I am guessing your chickens are all the same way, I have to do a chicken shuffle around them because I am afraid if I actually pick up one of my size 13s and set it down again I will step on a chicken.



BTW I think I figured out what is wrong with Rick. He has lost power and is no longer the head rooster. It is the Production red or RIR or whatever he is that ha assumed command. He walks with a new sense of pride in every step, He checks out everything and even makes rounds to the CX coop. He was one that followed me everywhere today. He is nameless, I suppose I need to name him if he is going to be the boss.

Rick is depressed over this turn of events, But it is not surprising as Rick really only got his power from Brutus. With Brutus gone Rick does not have the moxy to hold onto power. He has not left the coop in several days but I did see him eating and drinking. I may have to move him to the cx coop, but I worry he would not allow Bert to have any fun with the CX girls... what to do,,, what to do..

 

[JessicaThistle]

We are still doing our research and working through the logistics of buying the business. The eggs are no corn/soy and cage free. They sell for $4.50 dozen direct, stores charge a couple dollars more. Remember I live in the land of Granola. There really is only one depreciable asset and we actually may choose to not purchase it for 1. To save money. 2. The way we are planning our operation we shouldn't need it and 3. We would need to build a building big enough to house the asset, thus costing more money. No worries Ralph. We are smart people and will certainly have all of our ducks in a row before making a move. Thanks for looking out for us.