***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Kimbroe1981]

Quote: My guineas are about 5-6 months and have quit foraging and seem to only eat the chicken feed. Very aggravating!

 

[Ksane]

He used to be on the thread till he got himself in trouble, He isn't in the system for DOC yet I guess that will take a while, I looked him up since I work for them I was curious where he was going to be

Finally a day to spend working outside. Started the day out with someone buying 15 roos.

We got great news in Omaha with Nathanael. While his WBC is still very low and his some of his liver numbers are really high, his spleen is actually not as enlarged as it was this time last year! Plus he can go off the Pediasure for 3 months and see how his weight and growth go without it.

I'm so happy for you for the good news on your son

I can't even imagine having to deal with something like that with one of my kids.
And HOW did you sell 15 roos??? I've got purebred Araucana and purebred Bantam Ameraucana roos I'd love to place and will even GIVE them away. Did you put an ad on Craig's list? I'm trying to sort the birds I "won't part with for anything" from the birds "I only feel obligated to because I hatched them". Turns out I don't get overly attached to each and every bird after all when I've had several hatches, that's great news for me. The bad news is I don't know how to get them placed except for Craigs List.

 

[MacGuyver]

He used to be on the thread till he got himself in trouble, He isn't in the system for DOC yet I guess that will take a while, I looked him up since I work for them I was curious where he was going to be

Oh, I was unaware. Sounds like I'm better off not having gotten to know him.

 

[Ksane]

MacGuyver, it makes me almost sick to my stomach that I was too scared to take the Fav pullet. I've lost quite a few birds because last year I mixed them with other birds I'd gotten elsewhere, it's killed me to lose some of them knowing it was my fault. But that's why I just can't force myself to mix birds. I'm going to look for homes for the pullets and cockerels that I didn't really get attached to. It seems silly to keep them just because I feel sorry for them.

 

[jcatblum]

Cathie glad you got a good dr report! Did the fire in get close to y'all this wk?

Mitzi I am sure there are people that want the Roos, usually of they are buying 15 they are not keeping them for pets though!

 

[Ksane]

Cathie glad you got a good dr report! Did the fire in get close to y'all this wk?
Mitzi I am sure there are people that want the Roos, usually of they are buying 15 they are not keeping them for pets though!

I know they're going to eat them, I just want them to be taken care of properly BEFORE they're eaten.

 

[Oakieridge]

Such wonderful news for your son Nathanael!!!

Which store in Shawnee did you use: S&S Feed or Shawnee Farm?

Thanks, we are really happy with the news. We use S&S Feed, I only go to Shawnee Farm if I need game bird feed.

 

[Oakieridge]

I'm so happy for you for the good news on your son

I can't even imagine having to deal with something like that with one of my kids.
And HOW did you sell 15 roos??? I've got purebred Araucana and purebred Bantam Ameraucana roos I'd love to place and will even GIVE them away. Did you put an ad on Craig's list? I'm trying to sort the birds I "won't part with for anything" from the birds "I only feel obligated to because I hatched them". Turns out I don't get overly attached to each and every bird after all when I've had several hatches, that's great news for me. The bad news is I don't know how to get them placed except for Craigs List.

I listed them on Craigslist about 7 and by 8:30 had a man only wanting roosters. He just bought some land and wanted tick eaters! I sold them for a measly $2 each but I got a pen back and I don't have to feed them anymore so it was a win for me. I don't think I would have gotten $2 each out of 8 week old roos at auction, plus I didn't have to take them there.

I hate to sell any of our birds but we are over run with roos and I can't possibly see us processing 40-50 roosters come fall. Hopefully now we will only have 20-25 lol.

 

[Oakieridge]

Cathie glad you got a good dr report! Did the fire in get close to y'all this wk?
Mitzi I am sure there are people that want the Roos, usually of they are buying 15 they are not keeping them for pets though!

Not really, there was a small one from my understanding just north east of us. They got it out pretty quickly. The wind was blowing to the north so we weren't ever in danger. It was just hard because the one time we go and leave the big kids in charge of the little guys and there are fires all over Oklahoma! LOL.

I figure the 15 we sold will eventually end up as dinner for wildlife because they will be pretty much free range with a shabby coop left from the last owners for night times. But I think they will have lots of room to be chickens and the freedom they wouldn't get here.

 

[erinszoo]

Erin, farming (or market gardening) has in no way contributed to our income this yr, but it has allowed me to get lots of new garden toys! I have seen the income potential is there, but of course start up cost are always high. I think I can safely say we have at least broken even, and may see a profit in the fall if the garden produces well in Sept & Oct. Both of my girls get all the money from the items they planted & pick, and all the egg money goes to the feed bill, so I don't figure those in my "profit". I don't care how good your math is, there is no money in eggs. We sell our eggs because our chickens produce them, currently selling at $3.50 a dz. I promise a tomato plant will make you more money than a chicken ever will. If you had access to fruit trees or berries those sell really well. My hope is that when DH retires in 4.5 yrs he will agree to work only at the farm. If I continue to work on market gardening I am certain the farm will supplement his retirement income. I love living & working here & so does DH. Hopefully we can stay on track to meet our retirement goals!!!
You can always start small, and work your way up. Check out the plasticulture grant, Oklahoma dept of ag site has the info, I don't think your income should be an issue. There is a guy I have been following for a few yrs, he post regularly on GardenWeb and does an amazing market garden while being a full time teacher. He doesn't update his blog often, but does post some good stuff there http://highfarming.blogspot.com/ He has spoken at a few conferences & has really good DIY high tunnels that he is always happy to share info on. He even lays plastic mulch by hand. Amazing what he does with 4 kids along his side & on a very small budget.

We've planted fruit trees in our yard here but of course they take time to grow and produce. With our luck I figure we'll move about the time they start producing good. Lol. For us if we could at least break even on market gardening, etc we would consider that a step in the right direction. We sell almost enough eggs right now to pay for feed but I'm only selling them for $1.50 just to people we know. I haven't tried at the farmers market yet. We're trying to work up to that end. I've also been able to sell enough lettuce, spinach, beans, and few other produce items and jams and jellys to pay for all the seed this year. I guess that's something. We're building two new garden beds this weekend so I hope our fall/winter garden produces well. Thanks for the link! I love reading others blogs on gardening and such. I started one last week to document everything we're doing and trying. We love working in our garden and with our turkeys and birds. My DH has always wanted to raise heritage breed turkeys to sell so we got a few this year to see what we can do with them. Someone told us that if we couldn't go large scale to do what we could with the land that we have so we're trying as much as we can with as limited a budget as we have ... it's challenging sometimes but we both really enjoy it.