The Front Porch Swing

[Tomtommom]

I am thinking of getting a few POL birds as soon as I get my coop set-up. Hopefully I can find someone in the area who is looking to sell some. I will get a flock of chicks also, but I WANT EGGS and I want them NOW!
The rest of my family can wait till chicks grow into layers, but I don't want to wait if I don't have to. Maybe not the most economical, but hey, I have been waiting 3 years to be able to get chickens. My sister who just went through cancer treatment kinda/sorta queried about getting fresh eggs from me once I get chickens. She has been buying organic eggs from a lady near her, but she has jacked up her prices again because the tourists will pay the astronomical price. I told sis that mine will not be "Organic" as I probably won't pay for the "Organic" feed, but they will be mostly free-ranged and raised as naturally as possible.

Apparently some Tractor Supplies sell organic feed for 20.99/50lb bag. That's pretty doable. Ofcourse, my stores dont carry it

 

[bruceha2000]

My sister has been having an issue lately with eggs. Her potential FIL moved in with her and her boyfriend, and he eats a dozen eggs in three days. By the time Olivia gets a day off and can enjoy breakfast at home, all the eggs are gone.

However, it turns out he won't eat the "dirty" eggs I give her...or the green ones. So I sent her home with 19 green, brown and slightly smudged eggs from the birds. She has reported that she is able to enjoy breakfast and has been taking boiled eggs for lunch to enjoy. Yes!

Sounds like a bad situation. Geez, most people don't get stuck with the in-laws BEFORE they get married.

Apparently some Tractor Supplies sell organic feed for 20.99/50lb bag. That's pretty doable. Of course, my stores dont carry it

Yes, but ...

That is still $9/bag more than I pay for my non organic feed from a local grain place. Don't know how far and wide they sell, it is Poulin Feeds in Swanton VT. That can add up fast if you have a lot of chickens. I suppose it depends on how many eggs one sells per week and how much is charged for them.

 

[LBejaran]

That is so funny.  My hubs knows they are all the same.... but will still grab the white eggs first.  Right now I only have white and brown.  Wait till I get some easter eggers and start getting blue and/or green.  Of course he is red/green colorblind so will be interesting to see how he feels about them. The brown ones may already look kinda green to him. lol 

I guess it is just a color thing. My dad doesn't eat the eggs at all, no matter the color of the shell. He says it's the color of the yolk that disturbs him. Something about that rich yellow will not allow him to eat them. He's a little wimpy about that, I guess, haha!

Sounds like a bad situation. Geez, most people don't get stuck with the in-laws BEFORE they get married.

She gets other perks, I guess. Her boyfriend's family owns an Italian restaurant. Still, I'd be seething by now if I had to deal with that. Then again, I'm pretty controlling.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Not sure how much I would charge my sis for eggs. I guess it will all depend on how much the birds eat as a supplement to free ranging. I am hoping to be able to feed them a lot of home raised feed, but I will have to wait and see. it sounds like DH has some friends at work hinting about buying eggs from us also.
I don't even have chickens yet.

 

[LBejaran]

I charge $4 a dozen since the cost has gone up a bit for feed. However, for family, I just give them away. I don't sell the eggs actively, so only a couple people buy.

Selling all will depend on your feed costs and how much your birds get from the land. It's also super easy to raise meal worms (I accidentally bred a bucket of them once. Coolest thing I've ever accidentally done!) to supplement the feed.

With my chicks, I teach them how to free range early on, even if my birds are cooped at the moment. I drop corn and crickets (the ones I keep finding in the house) into little holes in their bedding and let them scratch and find the treats. It's a good way to encourage that behavior. Plus, it's super fun to watch, haha!

 

[Tomtommom]

Not sure how much I would charge my sis for eggs. I guess it will all depend on how much the birds eat as a supplement to free ranging. I am hoping to be able to feed them a lot of home raised feed, but I will have to wait and see. it sounds like DH has some friends at work hinting about buying eggs from us also.
I don't even have chickens yet.

Seperate pen of organic birds just for her?

 

[LBejaran]

We have a pip!



It looks like a couple of my goslings will be hatching out! Everyone is on lockdown until they pop on out of the incubator (unless they need help). Out of the ten or eleven in there, I honestly think only a couple will hatch out. They were all moving around earlier in the week, but it's possible they quit on me. The two I did see pipping (internally and externally) seemed fairly strong and mobile, so I'm thinking maybe the others just weren't strong enough.

I didn't spend much on these eggs ($20 for 2 dozen eggs) but I still hope that I'll have a better hatch. It all depends on these babies, though, and how strong they are.

All the chicken eggs seem to be doing fine, though. I have a lot more confidence with them than I do with waterfowl (even though I've done pretty well so far with hatching them out). Hopefully I'll be able to hatch out the Ameraucana eggs I'll be getting this week. Crossing my fingers!

 

[LBejaran]

Hey everyone, hatching is still going well, if a little slow.

I just wanted to let you know that I posted in the Family Life section because of my new brother and some issues that are coming up since he moved in. He's not necessarily the problem, just the catalyst for the problem.

Mom's about ready to buy a new house, but I'm pretty sure we can salvage some space, so I started a thread so I can get a little moral support and ideas for this fix. If you all want to hop on over there, I'd appreciate it. Or you can just pop over, read it, and then come back here to give me advice. I'm not picky at all, haha! I just really think I need some help here. My mind and heart are open to ideas. I want to be able to fix this and maybe create a haven for myself (and possibly my mom since she and I work together quite a bit). Any advice would be great!

Adapting to Change - New Family & Garage Transformation in Progress

 

[wyoDreamer]

Seperate pen of organic birds just for her?

I love my sister, but she can accept what I have, or she can raise her own.

They have 5 acres and I know they can have birds because one of their neighbors has peafowl. The neighbors peacock liked to go up on the roof and peck at the weather stripping around the skylight. Scared the heck out of me that day I was visiting.

My other sister has 40 acres but she claims they have no time for taking care of chickens; she has 4 kids. She told me that if she lived closer, she would buy eggs from me also... and asked me if I was going to get a milk cow.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Spring has sprung!
Outside work over the weekend. It was 65 degrees out last week, only 48 this weekend.
plowing for a patch of sunflowers, popcorn and pumpkins


Getting the garden area ready. Hard to believe this was sod just one month ago.


rhubarb is starting to grow. I hope it didn't freeze last night.


the trees are starting to bud out.