The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Same issue here with egg selling restrictions. I can only legally sell them right at the farm ("farm gate sales"). My DH brings them to his work - but I'm only selling three doz/week right now.
Still not quite sure why this guy won't share some info? Did I miss something or has he provided no clues?

The ladies at my bank gobble them up. They were so sad when mine stopped laying for the winter. Now I'm saving them all for incubating.

 

[rjohns39]

No clues what so ever. One day about a year ago, he sent out an email to his entire customer base (I was one too) that basically said: "We're still here but we will only be selling beef going forward and through heard share programs. Oh, and I have freezers for sale."

There are a little over a dozen farms through out the middle part of the state trying to do the type of farming we do and they all have horror stories about state agencies. I have not tangled with them yet, but am trying to stay under their radar. Their biggest issue is that I free range my birds and they see that as bio-terrorism.

 

[Treerooted]

The ladies at my bank gobble them up. They were so sad when mine stopped laying for the winter. Now I'm saving them all for incubating.

Yes, I'm having a supply issue. At first I was so worried about not having anyone to buy my eggs, now I don't have enough for myself . Hopefully there's enough layers in my brood of chicks to help with that next year!
I can legally have 100 layers total, but I don't think I'll go over 50. I have 12 right now, hopefully I'll have at least 10-12 more to add.

 

[Treerooted]

No clues what so ever. One day about a year ago, he sent out an email to his entire customer base (I was one too) that basically said: "We're still here but we will only be selling beef going forward and through heard share programs. Oh, and I have freezers for sale."

There are a little over a dozen farms through out the middle part of the state trying to do the type of farming we do and they all have horror stories about state agencies. I have not tangled with them yet, but am trying to stay under their radar. Their biggest issue is that I free range my birds and they see that as bio-terrorism.

Well, you've got a lot of eggs to sell; if I had that many I wouldn't try to skirt the laws either - no ones going to come after me for 3 dozen, but people have been busted for selling (illegally) to restaurants and such, or caught mid-transport.

Wish I could help somehow!
Are you on good terms with any of the other small farms? Do any of them not sell eggs? If you're able to "team" up with another farm to promote each others goods - that's a way to find like-minded customers.

 

[Blooie]

Good morning!! Thanks for the pizza crust recipes, my friends!

I think we have a trip to Billings coming up today. I'd rather not, but Papa Ken is all ansty to get some yard work started. Gonna be so weird not having to fight chickens for every leaf and flower bud, and to be able to put down some much needed lawn fertilizer.

Wish I could help out with the egg selling issues. It was hard around here at first too, since there's practically a chicken coop on every block. That's an exaggeration, of course, but still...........

Well, there's a shower in the bathroom calling my name. Better get at it, since he's darn near standing here looking at me with the keys in his hands. I love my life I love my life I love my life......

 

[CapricornFarm]

Good morning friends! Here is my new hanging basket.

 

[bruceha2000]

It's funny though, some of them kept flying back and forth between roost bars lol and there's like 18 inches between them. They couldn't decide where to be I guess. But then they all started settling down once everybody was up there.

Mine do that every night and they have never had a different coop in all their lives. 5 are almost 6 years old.

Do I need to lock them in the actual coop or can they go in the run?

Let them in the run. How will they know what the outside of the coop looks like if they only see the inside? They should get used to it pretty quickly especially when the old coop is gone.

I can't carry two 50# sacks of chicken feed, one on each shoulder anymore.

I never could. I don't know how I would even get one on each shoulder.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Our first brave adventurers lol she came in and was scratching all around in the shavings when I was putting them in. She also flew out the nest box when she got spooked by the bag ripping lol but they also came in and out the run too and the back door. She came back in too after getting spooked and she came up the ramp on her own! Then was scratching next to me, checked out the nest boxes, scratched some more, etc. I know cause I got locked in lol so she was scratching next to me. And I was happy seeing her happy and because they just have so much more room in this one! Like she was able to go check out the nest boxes then go wayyyy across the coop and back up, flap wings, etc.

So, first brave chickies.

Close up on hardware for those who care (my dad installed a deadbolt yesterday), the old coop (a bit washed out, dirt is darker and more fertile in RL but looks so weird with no fence), new coop, etc. I have better pictures from fall I need to find.

I know some pics are kinda identical but the colors were off and I'm OCD about it LOL

Here are a bunch of (very bad) pics of the chickies finally on the roosts. Hard to get pics a flashlight automatically turns off when you open camera so I was blindly shooting in the dark lol

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sorry for all the full images!!! I normally do thumbnails. Now I am outside trying to convince the girls to go inside. A few have ventured in on their own.

Oh and also Gator was locked inside when we moved the run, though hw was outside all morning, so he hadn't seen everything yet so last night we let him out and he sniffed all by the old coop, scratched a bit, etc. Anyway, then he was ready to come in but I could tell he was a little bit upset and wouldn't sleep unless he knew where the chickens went. So I hooked him up to a leash (his rope doesn't reach to the new coop) and let him go sniff the new coop and run. He's so funny though, he takes his job VERY seriously. I asked him as we were going off the deck to find the chickens. I was like find the chickens, where are the chickens?, go find the chickens etc. And he is SO smart, he went for the old coop like well... they're usually right here... I don't know where they went... then I took him to the new coop and he sniffed all around coop and run twice and he poked his nose right to both windows twice!!! He even climbed on a bale of shavings in the back and sniffed the roof/air. He also intently sniffed the windows. And I lifted the nest box just a teeny bit to let him sniff. He was like well where are they!?!? I was Gator I promise they're in there, They're all in there, I counted, I promise buddy

Then after he peed on the woods side (back butts up next to the woods) and was satisfied, he wanted to play LOL

Silly, ridiculously smart boy.

Right now I am sitting inside with all the girls. They wouldn't go inside so I climbed in with more sunflower seeds lol they seem happy and are scratching away but the EEs are yelling lol they need to lay but don't quite know where yet.

 

[ronott1]

Our first brave adventurers lol she came in and was scratching all around in the shavings when I was putting them in. She also flew out the nest box when she got spooked by the bag ripping lol but they also came in and out the run too and the back door. She came back in too after getting spooked and she came up the ramp on her own! Then was scratching next to me, checked out the nest boxes, scratched some more, etc. I know cause I got locked in lol so she was scratching next to me. And I was happy seeing her happy and because they just have so much more room in this one! Like she was able to go check out the nest boxes then go wayyyy across the coop and back up, flap wings, etc.

So, first brave chickies.

View attachment 1364590 View attachment 1364588 View attachment 1364589
Close up on hardware for those who care (my dad installed a deadbolt yesterday), the old coop (a bit washed out, dirt is darker and more fertile in RL but looks so weird with no fence), new coop, etc. I have better pictures from fall I need to find.

View attachment 1364591 View attachment 1364592 View attachment 1364597 View attachment 1364595 View attachment 1364596 View attachment 1364593 View attachment 1364599 View attachment 1364598 View attachment 1364600 View attachment 1364594

I know some pics are kinda identical but the colors were off and I'm OCD about it LOL

Here are a bunch of (very bad) pics of the chickies finally on the roosts. Hard to get pics a flashlight automatically turns off when you open camera so I was blindly shooting in the dark lol

View attachment 1364606 View attachment 1364607 View attachment 1364608 View attachment 1364610 View attachment 1364611 View attachment 1364612 View attachment 1364613 View attachment 1364614 View attachment 1364615

Very Nice!