Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

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Bunnylady said:
Meaningless trivia moment - Flipper's signature call wasn't a dolphin sound; it was a sped up recording of a kookaburra.

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry merry king of the Bush is he
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh kookaburra
Gay your life must be"
Click to expand...

Well, there ya go, I did not know that .. thank you
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Thanks, gunna being singing that one in my head all day
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Apropos on Australia Day!
 
More pointless trivia - didja know that there are hundreds of thousands of feral camels in Australia? Mostly dromedaries, but apparently there are a few Bactrian camels as well.

Or that there used to be a lot of confusion about the related-ness of the South American camelids? Many years ago, I can remember hearing speculation that the Llama and Alpaca might be two breeds of the same species, with the ancestral species having become extinct in the wild. Now, though, modern genetic testing seems to indicate that the Llama is a domesticated version of the Guanaco, and the Alpaca seems to be descended from the Vicuña - which pretty much disproves the legend that Vicuñas were never domesticated. While the adults may not look that similar, the crias sure do:



Vicuna /\ /\ Alpaca \/\/

 
Bunnylady said:
More pointless trivia - didja know that there are hundreds of thousands of feral camels in Australia? Mostly dromedaries, but apparently there are a few Bactrian camels as well. Or that there used to be a lot of confusion about the related-ness of the South American camelids? Many years ago, I can remember hearing speculation that the Llama and Alpaca might be two breeds of the same species, with the ancestral species having become extinct in the wild. Now, though, modern genetic testing seems to indicate that the Llama is a domesticated version of the Guanaco, and the Alpaca seems to be descended from the V[COLOR=222222]icuña - which pretty much disproves the legend that Vicuñas were never domesticated. While the adults may not look that similar, the crias sure do:[/COLOR] Vicuna /\ /\ Alpaca \/\/
Click to expand...
I knew that :lol:
 
Bunnylady said:
More pointless trivia - didja know that there are hundreds of thousands of feral camels in Australia? Mostly dromedaries, but apparently there are a few Bactrian camels as well.

Or that there used to be a lot of confusion about the related-ness of the South American camelids? Many years ago, I can remember hearing speculation that the Llama and Alpaca might be two breeds of the same species, with the ancestral species having become extinct in the wild. Now, though, modern genetic testing seems to indicate that the Llama is a domesticated version of the Guanaco, and the Alpaca seems to be descended from the Vicuña - which pretty much disproves the legend that Vicuñas were never domesticated. While the adults may not look that similar, the crias sure do:



Vicuna /\ /\ Alpaca \/\/

Click to expand...

When I find my fiber binder...I will then add some more trivia (love it!) by clicking some photos and posting them of the fiber...lovely stuff...stuff of legends, eh!
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Nothing on this planet, well OK, maybe a few fuzz butts and lambies...on yes and puppies...oh no, stop on the babies...hee hee...but noting cuter than crias...silly gangly, cutesters!


Akrnaf2 said:
Its a biff osobuko?
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Do I dare mention the lamb shoulder chop is for the dogs? Tomatoes in a recipe for dogs, not too fond of it.


Lamb shoulder chop...about to be boiled for a bone broth
Cooked and the hot broth used to cook
the four tiger shrimps for the dogs... ​

OH the shame of it..."I cook for DOGS!"
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Cut into tidbit size...little choice morsels to add interest and goodness to their dinners!​

I use a dog food kibble as a base, then we add all sorts of nifty tidbits.

I like to add dairy, natural yoghurt or as in today, cottage cheese...keep the calcium up in their diet as this breed of dog keeps growing, as in bone density and teeth health.


Before I mix this all up...dog dinner!

​
Frozen peas will cool the broth down...in winter here, the dogs can't chew on grass (COW dogs) to get their greens, so I feed snap peas, sugar peas, they get romaine lettuce...GREENS...

OK...some human food...last night...Chinese food...
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​

Honey garlic shrimp with green onions, red pepper, sugar peas to start off the meal.


Plate for Rick, plate for me!
​

​


Ham fried rice, using up the extra rice I made and put in the fridge to use up later...later was last night!


Chicken wings

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There...last nights final plate of the evening...
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Akrnaf2 said:
We have cosins of the Kukabaras




Click to expand...

Ohh...OHH...I love BLUE coloured BIRDS!!
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Male bluebird bringing his nestlings LUNCH!



June 15, 2015 - Here's the Mom not so BLUE bird...looking very ragged...
She's produced & hatched out eggs, and now she's gone straight to feeding the brood too!
Love them eating up all the bugs that would otherwise threaten my veg garden...EAT, EAT, EAT!
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Love this photo I took...
He's looking to see if I have moved away from the nest so he can deliver the prize to the babies in the Bluebird box.​



Here's another BLUE bird...a Barn Swallow...
We get them in shades of red too




This one is a baby swallow I found on the ground and picked up and placed on one of our walls of wood...
I think this baby KNOWS I done good for it...LOL ​



The resulting birds are not blue, but their eggs are...



Baby robins that were raised in our orchard one year.​

Even ones that are not my fav colour for feathers...


This common Wren is colourful in song!
House we have on the Man Porch​

We put up lots of bird houses for the wild ones and Rick dotes constantly on providing food, shelter and water for the wilds...if you do that, they come in droves to appreciate it....colour up your every day too....love them.

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​
We have kingfishers here too...though I have no photos I have taken of them.

The Kookaburra reminds me alot of our jays...we had Steller Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) on the WEsT Coast and have Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) here along with Grey Jays (Perisoreus canadensis). I like the Grey Jays best.

The Stellers use to nest in the backyard ... Rick made this awesome six foot fence and it was a great nursery for them...we kept the local cat population at bay. I do love how they mimic noises they have heard...like parrots can. I use to think a Bald Eagle was in the backyard...nope, the Jays were listening to the eagle family that was nesting down the street...we could see the eagle next from our front door. Wish I had taken photos back then of it...pretty neat. Thanks for the walk down memory lane...that's some 30+ years back now...not old...I'm NOT old for a tree!
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OK...my brain likes these exercises, not sure others do...whatever
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45 pound 55 pound Price per pound Amount Cost as per 2017
Layer diet 17% $ 16.99 $ 0.31 5,808 $ 1,794.14
Oyster shell $ 24.99 $ 0.45 450 $ 204.46
No. 1 grit $ 16.50 $ 0.30 150 $ 45.00
Cracked corn $ 11.49 $ 0.21 1,688 $ 352.64
Whole oats $ 12.75 $ 0.23 1,688 $ 391.31
Whole wheat $ 10.49 $ 0.19 2,375 $ 452.98

$ 3,240.53

wally world
doz eggs
Number of eggs produced
38,651
$ 2.88 $ 9,276.24 $ 9,276.24
specialty egg doz 2017
$ 6.35 $20,452.82

2014 price list doz eggs
$ 3.30 $10,629.03

doz in 1913
0.36 $ 1,159.53



So comparing the data of the Canuck Campiner of 1913...I want to see what some of his costs were compared to 2017. Called up the local feed store...could not get thru...called up another and got some bagged prices...FOB at the store...you go get...

I can't seem to roust up a legitimate price on several items...like sugar beets as food, we here use cases of human grade romaine for winter time...so not a fair example. I decided to do the 600 pounds of grit and shell as 450 in oyster shell and 150 in grit. Good enough...do keep in mind, in Canada, we have to provide grit to the birds to efficiently grind their food (not toothy grins, eh)...if the birds are confined inside, not grit to get AND for like nine months of the year, ice and snow buries girt sources...best to provide both insoulable grit and soluable grit.

We have premade 17% layer diet ration, so I will use that instead of his costs to make the diet up (besides, we feed an all veg diet...so no meat scraps...).

One thing that has bothered me in his costings, Fred does not take into account some rather important aspects...my bean counter head won't shake it. What is his cost for the other very important input in any animal husbandry...WATER! In the city you can turn a tap on, in the country same thing but if the water well pump craters...that's usually YOUR problem to fix.

I spend a great amount of my day dealing with water requirements...hauling it, smashing it out in winter, using equipment to hold it, etc. If one wanted to compare costs of what having layers means compared to the cost of the money received on the sale of the eggs...there are many factors like, how are you getting the eggs to market...never mind the fact that as a commercial operation, you have just a ton of aspects required in cleaning eggs, what area those clean and uncleaned eggs are stored (dairy grade concrete requirements...coolers, candling systems and grading for size and contents...yikes!). There is a whole other reason why commercial factory farmed eggs are huge operations. Now granted, here in Alberta we have been allowed to do the farm gate eggs...so long as I mark the carton (ah ha...there's another cost you have to cover...egg cartons and don't go figuring all those ones you get given to recycle will last or even be acceptable in some cases!) NON-GRADED FARM EGGS...I be good to go.

Labour...you are doing a job and if you get sick you do have to know what covering for your hobby will cost you. I will think in terms of getting paid minimum wage which is round about $12, at minimum hours which is 4 hours per day...EVERY DAY...no holiday for the wicked ones that keep chooks eh. I love Teila's, there is no "snooze button" on chickens. So labour alone at $12 x 4 hours = $48 (double it as a cost to do the accounting, cover employment insurance, WCB, etc. costs as an employer) means your worker costs roughly $100 per day times 365 days in a year...but in Fred's case to keep it correct, he was talking about nine months...so 30 days x 9 months x $100 per day = $27,000 for minimum labour on nine months.

Even if you could get what the grocery stores charge on premium Omega 3 grain fed, yada yada in a see thru plastic carton...the twenty grand would not even begin to cover the labour cost at $27,000! What you do as a hobby is one thing, but knowing what your labours of love are worth...you hafta kinda know that.

To me, costs have to include replacement values on your barn, all the wear & tear on your equipment (if only to replace it once used up--no going to the feed store, hat in hand and begging them to replace what you busted or got worn out! NO charity, eh)...if you get your feed delivered (the cost I used above was not hauling it home)...we found out this year when we went to insure the 1989 one ton...simply because it is a ONE ton truck, it has to be reg as a commercial vehicle...there's a thousand bucks on a vehicle we use maybe six times a year...then the trailers we use to haul them...sure we own them all outright, but again, replacement value has to be costed against their use. Stuff does not magically show up and used bedding does not magically disappear...you load, haul, scrape, toss...remove it and replace it... What about the tractor we own and have paid for...there's another cost I cannot even fathom. Thank frig this is all about "no expectations of profit" or I would be near tears by now.
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​
So with all the costs I have written about, so many I have not said much about...why do we keep chooks? For the benefits, sure, the premium eggs and meat and utter enjoyment. I like to say, what else would I be doing with my life if not pouring resources down some BLACK hole to live the life...the life style that "I" have grown accustom to.

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So the long and short of it...who cares if Campines make money...who cares if Chanteclers do...we already know the factory farmed swill eggs and mush meaters...do the profits on such a slim to almost none base. Heck, they feed just enough oyster shell to get shells on the eggs to the customers in their kitchens... fine lines indeed.

Not fine for me and mine. So I will look upon Fred's bottom line at making money with a knowing grin. I win...we all win...so long as we continue to keep heritage birds, the heart throbs, apples of our eyes, the reason we get up every morn and don the gear, tote the loads, buy the necessary items and GRIN...because we all win!
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Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada
 

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