Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[Ravynscroft]

Very sorry for those losses, Oz... unfortunately with animals, as with all life, no things are ever 'sure'... hope the scale back and current pregos works out for you...

 

[ozexpat]

Very sorry for those losses, Oz... unfortunately with animals, as with all life, no things are ever 'sure'... hope the scale back and current pregos works out for you...

its Ok

One of the things about this thread it that it exposes both our successes and failures.

Scaling back is really the wrong word as I have always said I dont want more than 9-12 breeder pigs. This will bring us back to 4 sows and 5 gilts.

I dont want to feed animals that dont have a clear purpose in our plan.

I also am interviewing a new guy to manage operations with 4 years on a poultry farm and a BS in animal science.

Dodong is trying his best and he will stay with us but i need more than lillian to communicate with and oversee issues

 

[ozexpat]

please take a minute to answer this informal survey on chicken feeding

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...y-what-do-you-feed-and-why/0_50#post_14983877

 

[Ravynscroft]

Failures make us stronger, and sharing them helps others to learn... successes shared are successes doubled...

Dodong sounds like an amazing and brilliant worker, from what I've gathered... my observations are that his heart and will know no bounds, but there is just too much sometimes for him to do alone... I admire his spirit and attitude that he can do it all, but it does not lower his worth that things have grown beyond his capacities...
And it does not sound like Lillian is anywhere near his level...

Thus, I sincerely hope the guy you are going to interview works out for you and all involved...

 

[ozexpat]

Failures make us stronger, and sharing them helps others to learn... successes shared are successes doubled...

Dodong sounds like an amazing and brilliant worker, from what I've gathered... my observations are that his heart and will know no bounds, but there is just too much sometimes for him to do alone... I admire his spirit and attitude that he can do it all, but it does not lower his worth that things have grown beyond his capacities...
And it does not sound like Lillian is anywhere near his level...

Thus, I sincerely hope the guy you are going to interview works out for you and all involved...

It really is not too much as far as work load goes. He has help and he actually has free time each day for projects.

For big things like the coop rennovation or fence building, I bring in help.

Currently I am paying 3.6 FTEs a week on the farm without us in residence.

I am not criticizing Dodong. He is doing great with the tasks he is assigned. I am also paying him a very good wage and he has several hundred dollars in accrued bonuses.

His wife however is an incompetent air head. After 4 months she still cannot grasp what is important to report.Her lack of common sense drives my wife baresque. So much so that she would rather endure 6 hrs in the car to visit the farm for a day rather than stay the night.

Delays in reporting cause delays in treatment. We lost 20 chicks with some sort of dysentry in a week. The first day it looked like cocci and we lost 2, Day 2 we lost 3 I did not find out until the end of the day that we lost 9. A change in treament ebbed the losses but those some of the chicks were already sold. Dodong had informed Lillian of losses in the morning and luch time but she forgot to tell me.

Egg counts fall 50% and I could not figure it out. Diet did not change, All birds were dewormed 2 weeks earlier. Lillian forgot to tell me the timer for the lights stopped working and threw half the birds into molt.

It takes 30 minutes morning and night to feed and wash pigs and another 20 minutes at lunch time. Every pig gets hosed down and should be evaluated.. With issues/treatments thats 2 hrs on pigs

To feed all 19 coops and check watering nipples takes an hour. Add 2x 15 minutes to collect eggs from the 8 breeder coops and the adult chickens are 90 minutes - 2 hrs av if issues.

Chicks are another 1 hour. thats a total of 5 hours. it gives three hours to deal with issues/projects. Lillian helps with egg setting and chick legbanding. If there are major issues such as a pig farrowing, Ariel takes over morning and evening chores. Lillian can handle the goats and water buffalo.

Dodong will even say he can cope. He insists he does not need more full time help - and he doesnt.He just needs smarter help.

An extra 30 birds to sell per week will cover the costs of the salary for the new guy. Its worth it.

We dont want to fire lillian, just move her to a position that requires minimal thinking like chief hose holder in summer and head garden weeder in the wet season. Though the garden is wiped out because she left the gate open and mozza cleaned it out overnight last week.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

She killed the garden?! What a shame. No common sense at all.

 

[piglett]

It really is not too much as far as work load goes. He has help and he actually has free time each day for projects.

For big things like the coop rennovation or fence building, I bring in help.

Currently I am paying 3.6 FTEs a week on the farm without us in residence.

I am not criticizing Dodong. He is doing great with the tasks he is assigned. I am also paying him a very good wage and he has several hundred dollars in accrued bonuses.

His wife however is an incompetent air head. After 4 months she still cannot grasp what is important to report.Her lack of common sense drives my wife baresque. So much so that she would rather endure 6 hrs in the car to visit the farm for a day rather than stay the night.

Delays in reporting cause delays in treatment. We lost 20 chicks with some sort of dysentry in a week. The first day it looked like cocci and we lost 2, Day 2 we lost 3 I did not find out until the end of the day that we lost 9. A change in treament ebbed the losses but those some of the chicks were already sold. Dodong had informed Lillian of losses in the morning and luch time but she forgot to tell me.

Egg counts fall 50% and I could not figure it out. Diet did not change, All birds were dewormed 2 weeks earlier. Lillian forgot to tell me the timer for the lights stopped working and threw half the birds into molt.

It takes 30 minutes morning and night to feed and wash pigs and another 20 minutes at lunch time. Every pig gets hosed down and should be evaluated.. With issues/treatments thats 2 hrs on pigs

To feed all 19 coops and check watering nipples takes an hour. Add 2x 15 minutes to collect eggs from the 8 breeder coops and the adult chickens are 90 minutes - 2 hrs av if issues.

Chicks are another 1 hour. thats a total of 5 hours. it gives three hours to deal with issues/projects. Lillian helps with egg setting and chick legbanding. If there are major issues such as a pig farrowing, Ariel takes over morning and evening chores. Lillian can handle the goats and water buffalo.

Dodong will even say he can cope. He insists he does not need more full time help - and he doesnt.He just needs smarter help.

An extra 30 birds to sell per week will cover the costs of the salary for the new guy. Its worth it.

We dont want to fire lillian, just move her to a position that requires minimal thinking like chief hose holder in summer and head garden weeder in the wet season. Though the garden is wiped out because she left the gate open and mozza cleaned it out overnight last week.

OZ i started putting a spring on our coop doors i bet you could set up a gate with one also

but really you shouldn't have to

 

[piglett]

double post

 

[Ravynscroft]

Ahhhh.... the joys of incompetence and willful ignorance impeding the competent...

I commend your wife in her restraint in her dealings with Lillian.... I do not think I could do the same...

 

[ozexpat]

Ahhhh.... the joys of incompetence and willful ignorance impeding the competent...

I commend your wife in her restraint in her dealings with Lillian.... I do not think I could do the

it will be interesting for the three weeks I am there.

Ariel is off school so he will do the extra outside work of Lillian while she will work in the house.

I can see Mrs Oz hiding a lot lol