She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[AmyLynn2374]

That's not something you would forget. I hope he

s the crap out of her

He knows better...lol

 

[WalnutHill]

Here she is! Fairly certain she's a she, too. Cuckoos are pretty easy to guess at a day old

Beautiful color, but that looks like the face of a boy to me. I don't know Marans, though.

 

[sjturner79]

that falls under pets that's one thing that I understand  people pay a lot for pets. the dozen I paid fifty for I drove a 160 miles round trip to get I would not trust shipping something so expensive . from a business point its hard to recover your investment you could end up with one or none. best case your marketing egg at $3.50 per dozen or organic at $7.50 which is hard to get. SC  will back me up here I read his post. the money pit gets deeper and deeper .Walnuthill might be making a profit hope so I see a major investment there. Few people really make a profit on chickens. I must or they are gone . I will keep enough for eggs for the family .the chicken coops will be refitted for bottle calves . Btw no one on this thread is dumb except maybe me I thought how hard could it be if a chicken can hatch an egg so can I the hard part was getting my butt in the nest  and it only got worse from there. I'm hoping for a three year turn around. this thread has helped me a lot I now use a incubator  sorry didn't think once again how much people love their pets

 

[FridayYet]

That's not something you would forget. I hope he

s the crap out of her

Well maybe if he was really little, like 3 or 4.....

that falls under pets that's one thing that I understand people pay a lot for pets. the dozen I paid fifty for I drove a 160 miles round trip to get I would not trust shipping something so expensive . from a business point its hard to recover your investment you could end up with one or none. best case your marketing egg at $3.50 per dozen or organic at $7.50 which is hard to get. SC will back me up here I read his post. the money pit gets deeper and deeper .Walnuthill might be making a profit hope so I see a major investment there. Few people really make a profit on chickens. I must or they are gone . I will keep enough for eggs for the family .the chicken coops will be refitted for bottle calves . Btw no one on this thread is dumb except maybe me I thought how hard could it be if a chicken can hatch an egg so can I the hard part was getting my butt in the nest and it only got worse from there. I'm hoping for a three year turn around. this thread has helped me a lot I now use a incubator sorry didn't think once again how much people love their pets

I totally understand where you are coming from and I hope you do get a nice profit from your operation. Sounds like you have a good plan to scale back if things don't work out.

Would totally like to see you sitting on a nest!

When my husband asked how much all this chicken stuff was going to cost, I told him the first dozen eggs would be about $3,000 - but after that they are all free! He doesn't ask anymore.....

 

[RubyNala97]

All of my breeds are separated all the time. I have too many breeds and predators to free range, but I have very large pens. One of my cuckoo marans is an excellent broody, she has raised 3 clutches. I have 2 others that have attempted, but one jumped off the nest as soon as the eggs started pipping. That drove me nuts, she put in 3 weeks of hard work, then the chicks scared her away . The broody that started hatching yesterday is on her first clutch, and there were 4 more eggs under her, so hopefully there will be a few more today. I bought 4 older BCM to put with Tate and his girls, and I can't keep them off the nests. I have been having to remove eggs, because Tate was so young that they weren't hatching, but I had been leaving some to see if they ever started developing. One crushed a couple of eggs a few weeks ago that had chicks in them, so that's when I decided to set a batch. From what I have seen so far, these BCM have a strong broody instinct, so much so that I will have to break them when I start serious incubation next year

This makes me so excited for when I get broodies. To see who can be a good mom and find surprise chicks!

Here she is! Fairly certain she's a she, too. Cuckoos are pretty easy to guess at a day old

So adorable!!

I dressed one of my nephews up in a dress when he was little and took pics. I think I still have them somewhere. Hey I think he turns 30 this year. I should find them and post them on his fb for his bday....lol

I think we've all dressed up a cousin or brother. I got in big trouble with my step dad for putting pink nail polish on my brother when he was little! I think you should post the pic on his FB!

I wish you were close enough to buy one That has been a really good move. I actually have two people waiting for coops now, and am taking deposits for custom builds

In all seriousness, I would buy one if we lived closer. No doubt about it!

 

[scflock]

Beautiful color, but that looks like the face of a boy to me.

How dare you!

 

[WalnutHill]

that falls under pets that's one thing that I understand people pay a lot for pets. the dozen I paid fifty for I drove a 160 miles round trip to get I would not trust shipping something so expensive . from a business point its hard to recover your investment you could end up with one or none. best case your marketing egg at $3.50 per dozen or organic at $7.50 which is hard to get. SC will back me up here I read his post. the money pit gets deeper and deeper .Walnuthill might be making a profit hope so I see a major investment there. Few people really make a profit on chickens. I must or they are gone . I will keep enough for eggs for the family .the chicken coops will be refitted for bottle calves . Btw no one on this thread is dumb except maybe me I thought how hard could it be if a chicken can hatch an egg so can I the hard part was getting my butt in the nest and it only got worse from there. I'm hoping for a three year turn around. this thread has helped me a lot I now use a incubator sorry didn't think once again how much people love their pets

I think keeping animals as pets is harder than keeping them for commercial production. It's not just the tendency to buy better feed, better treats, better bedding, better shelter than is done for commercial birds, but also the intimate connection with life, death, and personalities.

That's not to say that my birds are just little change machines out in the coop that cumulatively spit out dollars. But it does mean that hand feeding is reserved for just a couple of birds that are my special favorites, that most of the birds I hatch and raise are sold, many of them directly for the table, and it doesn't pay to get too attached. Shelter, equipment, everything is functional but minimal. If I had beautiful coops like those I see on these threads, I'd never be able to afford to house my birds.

I do make money at it...but I am one infection away from being decimated. I don't, and can't, live where I live and make a living off the birds, but they do make life easier. If I moved farther out, I could keep them much more cheaply, but I'd have no market to sell them except to virtually give them away.

No one on this thread is dumb, that's for sure. Everyone may have different reasons for doing what they do and how they do it, and like the title of the thread says, no one is wrong.

I don't even want to visualize you sitting your butt on a nest of eggs.

 

[RubyNala97]

When my husband asked how much all this chicken stuff was going to cost, I told him the first dozen eggs would be about $3,000 -  but after that they are all free!  He doesn't ask anymore.....

So true! It's getting up and running that's the hard (expensive) part. I was given very good advice to start with POL's, to save time and money. I think that's excellent advice but I love the incubating and hatching so I wanted to do it that way!

 

[WalnutHill]

How dare you!

I know, I deserve it!

 

[scflock]

that falls under pets that's one thing that I understand people pay a lot for pets. the dozen I paid fifty for I drove a 160 miles round trip to get I would not trust shipping something so expensive . from a business point its hard to recover your investment you could end up with one or none. best case your marketing egg at $3.50 per dozen or organic at $7.50 which is hard to get. SC will back me up here I read his post. the money pit gets deeper and deeper .Walnuthill might be making a profit hope so I see a major investment there. Few people really make a profit on chickens. I must or they are gone . I will keep enough for eggs for the family .the chicken coops will be refitted for bottle calves . Btw no one on this thread is dumb except maybe me I thought how hard could it be if a chicken can hatch an egg so can I the hard part was getting my butt in the nest and it only got worse from there. I'm hoping for a three year turn around. this thread has helped me a lot I now use a incubator sorry didn't think once again how much people love their pets

At year 7, I am finally breaking even. I'm still thousands of dollars in the hole if you add years 1-6