A Hand at Chickens

Doctor Call

Before light this day, “Doc,” a local vet employed by the government to oversee poultry health at the nearby chicken plant (Pilgrims' Pride) delivered a cage of roosters.

After sitting the birds beneath the white oak and building a fire in the store's old wood stove I went into the layers' coop to feed and tend to our flock of Rhode Island Reds that have recently began to lay and will continue to do so through the winter and through the next season, at the end of which I will replace them with a new flock from the incubator we bought at the the feed store a few years back.

We sale eggs from here at times; eat and give away a few as well. But this year I intend to expand to online sales via our website by offering fertile eggs to those interested in a flock of their own.

I also have a spreadsheet that I created to manage egg sales. It is a benefit to use and may be accessed here.

So much to do today at the market but will periodically edit this post to share our growing knowledge of homesteading.
Thanks for sharing your precious time with us.

Bird Sales

Last Friday a gentleman and his wife stopped in to ask if we had chickens for sale.  We did and arranged for his pickup of five Rhode Island Red hens today.  I caught and penned them last night (easier to do when they are roosting) and we loaded them into boxes on his truck an hour ago.  

The rest of this flock I am keeping as a reproduction flock so that I can start anew in the spring.

If ever you want to get into a new and rewarding hobby then you may want to try your hand at chicken farming.  They are a delight and benefit to have around.

Stressed from the Mess

Foolish me beginning too many things to manage.  

Now having back orders of chick sales, a down-sized flock due to adult sales, a small incubator, low-mating activity, and slow egg production due to an erratic winter climate, I am now at wits with keeping the schedules.
I will manage as promised and determined even without the finance to simplify the problem.  So please cross your fingers with me as I work this out into a sunny solution.