Washingtonians

[Chicken Rustler]

Well I got these at a feed store. They were being sold as Ameraucanas. One of them does actually put a nice blue tint on the end of the eggs some times.

 

[Ogress]

Thanks for all your input! I asked the question then turned off the computer so I could help the kids with their homework (mostly by keeping them from fighting). The guy down the hill from me was charing $3.50, I don't think they were organic, but something broke into his henhouse one night and killed all his birds. There is someone in town who sells them for $3 ... looks like hundreds of birds on a big patch of dirt eating poo. And I'm grossed out because I have not been able to move the tractors since it snowed ... they are currently on woodchip in a patch of forest where the snow never gets more than a couple of inches deep

My birds love to eat huckleberries and blackberries ... I still had blackberries ripening in my yard right up until we got snow last week! Lots of blueberries too. Oddly, they don't like strawberries. They also ate all the clover out of my lawn. Right now I'm tractoring my birds because of the amount of predators up here (I'm a few miles out of town in the mountains near the Seattle Watershed). I think I'm going to put up some electric fencing. My neighbors dog broke into my yard last week and killed one of my birds when I had them loose in my garden.

I'd be willing to drive to Northgate for feed. I'm also going to check out prices at the Issaquah Grange, If their stuff is good, DH can pick it up for me on the way home from work and save me the trip.

Goodnight Eeek! it's 1:40! Way past bedtime. How'd that happen? The schoolbus comes for my son in 5 hrs ... I better get to bed.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Heather, how much snow do you have? It is snowing and snowing and snowing and then snowing some more. I have around 4 inches at my house right now. I need to go out and open the coop.....I don't think the girls are going to like what they find. LOL. I am sure the landscaping material that I used to cover the run has all been torn down from the weight of the snow....I will go and see. Suppose to snow the next 4 days.

Yesterday I threw the "goodie" bowl out to the girls and the DH had put a chunk of fat and the giblets from a cut up chicken into the bowl. I had thrown it to the girls before I knew about it. Trying to figure out what it was they grabbed and run off. I can't believe how BARBARIC they were and eating it....I hope it won't hurt them to have something like that cuz there was no taking it away from them. They were fierce. Tweety birds have been eating the suet bars I made last week (what is left that the dogs did not get in to).

Well, I am off to shovel out the chickens. Think warm thoughts for me.

This is the snow-snow go away dance.

 

[rainplace]

Quote:
A full year? That's mighty generous. You deserve it!

Yep Ive been working for this particular client for just over a year now... So I would emagine that that would be plenty of time for them to figure out if they believe I am worth the extra dollar. lol I explained to my client when I started that I would work for my trial price, then just never got the nerve up to ask for that raise. And boy could I really use it. Our bills are paid on time, critters are all properly fed, we have $ for food and gas to and from work, but nothing left over afterwards. So that little extra will go a long way, in a very short amount of time.

I'm rooting for you!

 

[rainplace]

Speaking of feeds, our farm store started carrying Scratch and Peck. Diane (the owner) sources all the ingredients here in WA and most of the ingredients are certified organic. She's hoping to have her organic certification this spring. None of the feed contains soy and nothing has been genetically modified. I'm currently working with her to make a feed specially formulated for ducks.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Quote:
I know this is an old question but I just got on after last night. I feed natural but not organic feed and have to sell my eggs for 3.50 a dz to come out a little ahead. If you use organic you would have to sell them for at least $5 to cover the cost of feed and come out ahead. You could be nice and just sell them for the pleasure of providing friends and neighbors with eggs. Lots of people do that. Things to consider when pricing is not just the cost of feed but the cost of everything like bedding and electricity for heat lamps for raising chicks etc. Things to justify your price is the fact that they are LOCAL and fresh, not shipped across the country sucking up our fossil fuel plus truly cage free, free range etc. Not the industries version of what that may be. Ok, I see the soap box so I'm going to stop here. Welcome and best of luck with your egg sales.

 

[DuckLady]

We got several inches of snow overnight and it is still coming down thick!

How's everyone else?

 

[Ogress]

I'll have to look for that brand - almost everything I can find out here says "Missouri" or somewhere near there on the label.

Thanks!

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Reimiraa, Your roo that is slow matureing may just be submissive to the more dominant ones. A lot of the younger ones do that. Put him by himself with a bunch of hens and see what he does.

 

[4cats3kids1hubby2many]

Quote:
Same here. I just got in from shoveling paths to the run, the rabbit run, the coop and the table with the suet bars for the tweety birds. I have landscaping material used as a cover for over the run to keep predators out.....well, some of that has caved in. It was put up as we had run out of time to get something up last summer. This next summer we will definitely have to rethink how/what we put up. Tyson (my Roo) was not at all thrilled with all the snow that had fallen into his run. of all my poultry....he is the whiniest...bach, bach, bach...all my girls are fairly mellow...he is always a nerveous wreck.

I think you have storm warning for your area....we are predicted to get around 4-8" of snow today. And it is suppose to snow for the next 4 days.