***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Matt in Okla]

Just makes me sick!

I hauled chickens in college for extra money from cage barns twice a year and they had it better than this!!
It ain't no wonder bird flu wiped'em out

 

[NanaKat]

This has been a rough week beyond contending with all the wet pens. In the cold, I've lost three of my older hens. They were 6 and 7 years old and lived in the main hen house. The 8 and 10 week olds also suffered losses in the brooder room in the barn. Ended up adding a red heat lamp in there three feet off the floor for them. Decided to use Denegard in the water for those on the floor too...no more losses.
Doctor changed my diabetes meds earlier this week and it's been like fighting a woolly booger to get used to the new regimen with two new forms of insulin and all the sugar level testing before and after each meal. Trying to test two hours after eating is getting side tracked by tending cattle and the flocks. Numbers are still too high. I return to the doc in two weeks.
Then the central heater quit Friday when the igniter part went out. Roger was able to get the part from a repairman we know and changed it out..but it still wouldn't start. The repairman came out Saturday and has to order additional parts. Fortunately we have a heater in the den that works nicely until then. The two week old Seramas in the back room are not complaining.

One has to just learn to take challenges one step at a time and keep plodding along the path. Life gets easier.

 

[Kassaundra]

NanaK, so sorry for your bad week. Sounds like your older girls had a long good chicken life. At least you put a stop to the young ones dying. I hope they find the right combo of meds soon.

 

[bardies]

NanaK... Thoughts with you, and hoping you get into the new routine quickly.

 

[Okla-doodle-doo]

sorry for all the troubles NaNa. It sure seems like wshen it rains it pours,no reference to the rain! It seems to pour now days too! My wife and are both trying to straighten out our sugar counts too. .A the holiday foods didn't help any!'' lol It seems our late summer temps are finally going away. Down in the twentys at nite and thirtys during the day. Knock on wood I was lucky I didn't loose any baby pigeons so far. I was holding my breath they would feather out quick enough. There is a critical point when they don't have feathers but are to big for the parents to sit on them all the time. Hope everyone has a great day and stay safe.

 

[GaryDean26]

Went to the evil empire of wallieworld this morning and walked by to see this

"Cage free" not even "free range" WOW

So...being that I recently returned to Oklahoma what are the local egg laws?

In Texas we could sell ungraded and unlabled farm eggs directly to the consumer at farmer's markets and other public venues with out an egg licence and since there is not state tax on food we didn't have to pay taxes either. I looked into the McAlester Farmers market a few months back and they said that no one can sell farm eggs at a farmers market with out an egg licence and they required the licence to be visible at your booth when selling eggs. They also said that sale records had to be kept and taxes paid on all Farmers Markets sales. I searched for information on this required egg licence but I am not sure if it even exists for hobby farmers. No one I have contacted knows about anything except commercial egg licences that have regulations for storage, washing, grading, labeling transportation, etc. of eggs for distribution through a grocery store.

We never sold more than 7 dozen eggs at a Farmers market and never grade or label our eggs. Do they have any non-commercial licences or exemptions for flocks under 100 chickens? I did make a trip to the McAlester Farmer's market to ask the locals about egg sells. A few people there said they sell eggs from their home but didn't know how to legally do it through a public venue. One man said that he had a flock of 100 hens and wished that he could sell his surplus eggs at the farmers market but had just been scrambling them and feeding them back to his flock. I have sent inquires to 3-4 different agencies asking how to sell farm eggs to the public. I haven't made much head way. Sales of Farm eggs seems like a new concept to all the people I have contacted. They keep sending me information that I already found on my own for commercial flocks selling graded and labeled eggs to grocers. I never went to a single Farmers Market in Texas what didn't have Farm Eggs being sold. It is really weird to go to Farmers Markets in Oklahoma and not have anyone selling eggs. With egg prices so high right now I have to ask, How does one go about finding local farm eggs? How does one go about selling local farm eggs legally?

 

[lonnyandrinda]

So...being that I recently returned to Oklahoma what are the local egg laws?

In Texas we could sell ungraded and unlabled farm eggs directly to the consumer at farmer's markets and other public venues with out an egg licence and since there is not state tax on food we didn't have to pay taxes either. I looked into the McAlester Farmers market a few months back and they said that no one can sell farm eggs at a farmers market with out an egg licence and they required the licence to be visible at your booth when selling eggs. They also said that sale records had to be kept and taxes paid on all Farmers Markets sales. I searched for information on this required egg licence but I am not sure if it even exists for hobby farmers. No one I have contacted knows about anything except commercial egg licences that have regulations for storage, washing, grading, labeling transportation, etc. of eggs for distribution through a grocery store.

We never sold more than 7 dozen eggs at a Farmers market and never grade or label our eggs. Do they have any non-commercial licences or exemptions for flocks under 100 chickens? I did make a trip to the McAlester Farmer's market to ask the locals about egg sells. A few people there said they sell eggs from their home but didn't know how to legally do it through a public venue. One man said that he had a flock of 100 hens and wished that he could sell his surplus eggs at the farmers market but had just been scrambling them and feeding them back to his flock. I have sent inquires to 3-4 different agencies asking how to sell farm eggs to the public. I haven't made much head way. Sales of Farm eggs seems like a new concept to all the people I have contacted. They keep sending me information that I already found on my own for commercial flocks selling graded and labeled eggs to grocers. I never went to a single Farmers Market in Texas what didn't have Farm Eggs being sold. It is really weird to go to Farmers Markets in Oklahoma and not have anyone selling eggs. With egg prices so high right now I have to ask, How does one go about finding local farm eggs? How does one go about selling local farm eggs legally?

Eggs/milk sold from the farm are exempt from regulation and taxes. If you go to a farmer's market, whatever rules they require apply. And you are supposed to track and pay taxes. Some require a food handler's permit, some allow egg sales if sold "not for human consumption/hatching eggs only" others require a whole gamut like the one you looked at. There is no hobby egg license in Oklahoma. They do not know what they are talking about. That would by why no one sells eggs there.

If you were to sell and deliver to a restaurant or something like that, yes there are other requirements.

 

[oldcampcook]

They sell a lot of "cold" eggs at an auction which I attend and as far as I know, no one has a license. I looked up an old court case and the gist was that unless you apply for a license, there is no requirement to be licensed. That said, as Rinda made reference, all farmers' markets run their own show and have different requirements. And, as usual, city and town ordinances prevail.

I live in the boondocks and sell from my place or give them away or the dogs and chickens get them scrambled.

 

[GaryDean26]

They sell a lot of "cold" eggs at an auction which I attend and as far as I know, no one has a license. I looked up an old court case and the gist was that unless you apply for a license, there is no requirement to be licensed. That said, as Rinda made reference, all farmers' markets run their own show and have different requirements. And, as usual, city and town ordinances prevail.

I live in the boondocks and sell from my place or give them away or the dogs and chickens get them scrambled.

Welcome to Oklahoma...Right?

Scrambling eggs to give to dogs and chickens is a shame.

Ya...living in McAlester I have noticed that City and Town ordinances prevail. I know people here (loads of them) that do 90% of there Grocery shopping in Sherman, Texas. That is also a shame that you can save money and find better products by driving out of state once a month than you can find in a city/town ordinance economy. The prices are 10% higher here than in at the same chains in Sherman, and Sherman doesn't tax your food so you have people driving 2-1/2 hours to buy five and half dollar a dozen cage free eggs when local farm eggs are being feed to pets.

 

[Matt in Okla]

GaryDean26 I'm glad they could answer cause I had no idea

Nana I hope it gets better for you