Aussie-Chookmum
Obeying her avian masters
It’s lovely to hear from you Kris.Hi everyone! This is going to be a bit of a long update, but I’ll try to keep it reasonable. I should be back fully now, though I expect things to get crazy-busy again anytime. I might not be on everyday. Egg sales are now booming, at least for me. I’ve been doing contactless deliveries to peoples homes and accepting prepayments as most people get charged for e-transfers per transaction, upselling the sausage at every opportunity as well.
I am finally finished the painting and cleanup on my latest job, and I have bartered for garden space and water access this summer!I’m getting 60 Meat birds in between April 20-25 of a slow broiler type. The guy I’ve been painting for (one of the people involved in the last meat bird exploits) is bearing the upfront chick costs. I will cover the feed and raise them all. He wants about 12 birds for personal use. We will calculate the feed and processing costs once they are harvested and settle up the difference then. He gets his birds at cost, without the work of raising them and the normal “losses” (he usually gets 15 chicks hoping for 12 survivors). I know he doesn’t have the space or time to raise them this year. When asked how much I would “want” for raising them, I said access to potable water for us and our livestock, and garden space. He thought I wanted to run the chickens in his garden! “No, garden beds... for veggies!”
I’ve got four 4x8’ bedsone inside the giant greenhouse and three outside. We will see how things evolve.
I have 20 new chicks, and more in the incubator due on the 20th and 27th, then I am shutting down the hatching for now. Really. So far Chickie Hawk’s girls have had awful fertility rates, and poor hatch rates, but Mr Marans has been doing very well in that department. Things are looking pretty good this year for the most part.
We did have one huge negative on April 1st. I am just glad it happened to be me that found her and not someone else, and there were many ways it could have been much worse. A neighbor and Friend of the family who has dual citizenship and often uses our farm for water/internet/electronics charging got here right before Canada closed her borders from Seattle. Two days after her 14 day Covid self isolation quarantine was over she passed on in our garage of a probable heart attack, stroke, or similar (non Covid) condition. I was looking for her as she had parked her van blocking our driveway, and we couldn’t get into the farm from work. I am just glad it wasn’t the kiddo who found her, and that it was here, where she could be attended to promptly, as during these times no one gets concerned if they haven’t seen someone else for a few days/weeks. Our volunteer Amublance crew worked on her for the hour it took to get a helicopter (mechanical difficulties) here with a dr to pronounce the death, but she was definitely already gone when I found her. I spoke with her Partner the next day on the phone, and she intends on finishing the home they were building here, and once this Pandemic has eased up we will have a good wake for her.
Here are some Random recent pictures for a happier note. The pretty White MaransxSapphire boy is named Dean, and the other cockerel living with him and Sammy is named Castiel, anyone watch “Supernatural” lol (no spoilers for the final season please!)
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What a amazing update. So sorry about your neighbour. Such a shock for you too.
So glad you are getting on so well with your other neighbours and the bartering. Sounds like you have a great community around you.
Love the Supernatural reference
. Have you seen the ”Hillywood” Supernatural parodies? I think you’d enjoy them.
