***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[michaeldaugherty]

A pic from the fleamarket in OKC 2week's ago. Lot's of peep saling bird's this was just on one side they wer full up down both side's

 

[Kassaundra]

I think you mean BuckGuy.

Yes, sure did thanks.

 

[MacGuyver]

Not to start, but some day. Right now selling directly to customers is keeping me as busy as I want to be.

We have a work around for the MPU. We will have several options. I can't butcher your birds for you. But I can run my MPU over to your place so you can do them yourself. People can just rent it and do their own birds, or they can hire me to train them, which would of course take the whole day and many birds to do because it is so, [ahem], complicated. Or they could butcher them themselves, and they are legally allowed helpers, and the USDA prefers those helpers be trained. I'm trained and my wife is better trained, so folks can hire us to "help" them process. There is nothing in the regs that says how much of the actual processing the owner of the birds need to do. It just needs to be on farm and needs to be done by them.

With helpers.

Our goal is to promote the sustainable raising of meat birds around the state. We can also train people how to work within the regulations and with farmers market managers to process and sell their birds legally.

Someday, when all avenues are exhausted, we will look into USDA inspected processing. But I'm leery of government oversight. The less I have of it, the better. I'll work within the law, but I don't like Big Brother looking over my shoulder.

Gives me the heebyjeebies.

ETA
All I need to complete the supplies for my MPU is a good trailer, and you can bet I will be attending many auctions in the coming weeks scoping for trailers.

We have processed our own birds a couple of times. I'm nowhere near fast enough to do it commercially yet though. You'll be posting here when you're ready to rent it out or get hired as trainers, helpers, etc. right?

 

[MacGuyver]

PlayBull or Heiferhouse?

 

[cathiesue]

Doctor Who of course!!!! lol lol

Good, me too! I'm loving Matt Smith as the most recent Dr. Who. We just started watching season 5. We don't have tv hook up or anything so we watch a lot of dvds.

 

[Kassaundra]

Good, me too! I'm loving Matt Smith as the most recent Dr. Who. We just started watching season 5. We don't have tv hook up or anything so we watch a lot of dvds.

Matt Smith is still growing on my I LOVED David Tennent. I am a huge Whovian, well I don't dress up or anything, but it is one of the few shows I will watch the reruns repeatedly.

Robin is a whovian too.

 

[Buster52]

We have processed our own birds a couple of times. I'm nowhere near fast enough to do it commercially yet though. You'll be posting here when you're ready to rent it out or get hired as trainers, helpers, etc. right?

Most certainly, if others don't mind. We could also do regional workshops and invite folks for some hands on learning. All we would need for each one is a flock to process and a willing host. Maybe get the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture involved somehow.

Lots of potential!

 

[MacGuyver]

Anybody want this cute pair of cochin bantams? Boy and a girl. They're brother and sister.



Three weeks old.




They're five and a half weeks in this picture. You can see them, they're the lightest ones. That's their mama in with them.

Message me. We'll talk.

 

[nnbreeder]

Darn, back from a long fair meeting. They still didn't understand what I was saying, but at least I got to get my protest on the record. Too bad, I really liked that fair. Maybe someday they'll see the light.


Thanks Les. My favorites are almost all mixes. Heck, most of my birds are mixes, except for the purebreds I pick up specifically to make a mix.

I love being able to point out the different traits and say where it came from and why I chose the parents. I'm partial to blue laced, pea combs, beardless, and feather legged. Anybody have blue-laced Brahmas?

I also know there are always a few in everything that are not...well... "people persons" and/or when it's hot out and it's coop in or out time, probably should wait to ask me anything. It gets frustrating to always be explaining. If the crosses were labelled and sold by the hatcheries as Ameraucana Hybrids or EEs it would help a lot.


I did know about the colored diesel, but only because I heard my husband talking about someone being caught with it by the DOT and how stupid that was because they check all the time. Was at a way station or something. Being curious I asked after he got off the phone what was so wrong/stupid since I had never even heard of the stuff.


We really needed you all at our poultry meeting. One gal alone had 10 birds there for testing and no idea what any of them were. Another gal kept telling me she had banties. When I said what kind, she said "banties". It was like Who's on first. The state wants me to list breed, variety and leg band number on the VS-9-2 for each bird. It took forever and a lot of kids didn't have what they thought they did. If it had been cooler and not so late, it might have been more fun. At one point I told crazyhorse it would go a lot faster if we had some of the Okies here. At least I think they all learned something.


We've had no losses so far this year to heat.

I'm attributing it to the open kennel/pens. We go out and hose the roofs and tarps a couple times a day and refresh the waterers with cooler water on the 100+ days. All have at least partial shading from trees during the heat of the day as well. The birds dig in around the concrete base of the building. I bought a mister system for when we're done with the roofs.

Years ago when we serviced out a truck we would put automatic transmission fluid in the fuel filters before we put them on. It is very high detergant and burns at a higher temp and cleaner then diesel does and it kept the injectors clean and in good shape. Due to the fact it had red dye in it and a diesel engine has return lines for a time it would tint the fuel in the tanks. Guess now I would have to use #1 Kerosene.

Next time hollar at me and give me about a week's lead time. I will do my best to be there. Did you get a book on all of the codes? There are a few generalized codes in there that are handy to use but I don't remember what they are.

 

[nnbreeder]

My understanding (with my limited experience) is that they like to roost HIGH. Our coop is designed so two of the nest boxes are higher than the roost, and until I blocked them with cardboard boxes everyone slept in the nest boxes. Now that they are blocked they mostly sleep on the roost except for one or two stubborn ones.

I'm with you about the tax exemption, we were just told last week that under 5 acres would not qualify but I guess that's not true, Rogers County is who we are fighting. I wonder where we go from here, OTC?

One of my customers came in this morning and I asked him about all of this confusion about tax exemption. Figgered he would know since he farms quite a few acres.


What he told me is that the requirements are set at the federal levels and the state levels, the county has no say over what is required. Asked him about the schedule "F" and like he said, how would someone just starting to farm be able to afford to get equipment and supplies? Without the tax break you could go broke before getting in your first crop.