Pandemic Chick Shipping

I was just going to post about possibly starting to ship chicks and juveniles when I saw this update from cackle...
I went ahead earlier today and priced express shipping to various areas for day olds, and it's around $72. After modifying the feather ex boxes a little, juveniles total weight with box under 10 lbs, were between $125 and $140 based on different areas.

Some info from Cackle hatchery about shipping at this point in time, May 5th, 2020.

Click Here To Read Cackle Blog Post

Jubilee English Orpingtons

Larger, shorter, and more profusely feathered than American orpingtons, the English orpingtons are either loved or hated in the poultry world lol.
Some call them "cochingtons," claiming that they look like Cochins with clean legs. I love and raise both breeds so that's just fine with me!
Many American Orpingtons appear too long-legged and thin for my taste. The Jubilee variety has been around for 100 years, originally developed in England.
I may have Chicks or juveniles available, email if interested!

Corn???

My pugs are my little buddies, and alot of entertainment lol. My son grilled yesterday evening, and luckily for the pugs, and few pieces of corn got a little too roasted.

Farm Eggs - Food Shortage?

82 degrees and my poor Cochins are already hot..then we'll go back to the 50's in a day or so apparently 🙄 can't nobody make up their mind, even the weather!
Just wanted to take a min to bring up the subject of "farm eggs."
With worry about food shortages, people are more interested than ever to get eggs from farms or friends who raise them ect.

So here's the deal..
Alot of people have gotten turned off to farm eggs for various reasons. I've heard horror stories of people cracking open these eggs they were looking forward to, and finding partially developed chicks, or that the eggs stink and are rotten ect.
That's why you do NOT get them from just random people unless you know how they do things!
I'm extremely picky about our eating eggs. Some eggs are always for hatching depending on the breed, and some are from layers only.
I get the eggs three times a day, especially when it's hot or cold enough to freeze them.
It takes 12 hours for a chick to start to form in a fertile egg, so if you get an egg like that, it's because they weren't gathered often and a hen had sat on them. I know people who cook any egg they happen to find randomly in the barn, sheds, or out in the grass somewhere.
Nope, that's just nasty ,and they dang sure shouldn't be selling them.
Oh you can do float tests ect to see how old they are, but I won't. They would either be pitched or fed to the animals.
Sometimes, you will also get an egg that has  blood spots or meat spots. It's fine to eat them with the meat spots, but again, I don't lol.
Store bought eggs go through a process of detecting and kicking out the eggs with spots but some sneak through. I've cracked store bought eggs with blood spots.
To sum it up, buy from a reputable person, or have your own hens so you know what you're eating. Also, I've always told my kids about the "egg bowl."
The grandmas would always have a small bowl called the egg bowl. You crack each egg one at a time in that bowl. That way, if it's not good, you pitch it instead of cracking it into your ingredients and ruining the whole thing.
Egg bowl! 😏

Growing Potatoes In Buckets..

With everything going on, and quite a bit of talk about possible food insecurity, I hope you all plant something this year, anything is better than nothing! Did you know that chives, green onions and parsley all have fair amounts of vitamin C? So if getting fruit from the store wouldn't be an option, greens will do. None of us really know where all this is going, but we're blessed enough to still have seeds and plants available right now. My mom worked at Mooniers greenhouse for close to 30 years. IF I know anything at all, it's due to her teaching me lol. Everything she grows is just beautiful. I'm going to try this bucket method for potatoes this year. Our yard is soaked every spring, so potatoes didn't do well here last year. Let me know if you try it! I'm also going to plant a 3 sisters garden..I'll post a link on that as well soon.
Please stay home if you can, and take the time to do things that you usually can't..enjoy the Spring days while we wait for this virus to burn itself out.

-Cheryl

https://youtu.be/oH1Z_dUEgIg

2020 Chicks

Some of the cutest little teddybear chicks I ever saw! So proud to see the next generation hatching,  Samson's grandchildren.

Quality Breeds For A Buck?

I'm pretty gripey this morning because I have the flu, but, this is something that bothers me even when I'm not sick...
I'm not trying to be a heifer guys, but, over and over again I see people wanting expensive birds for swap prices. I've seen plenty of breeders talk about this so I know I'm not alone here. If you dig around and talk with people who have really good quality breeds, you'll find out that they have often had to pay heafty prices to get started with their breeding stock, spent countless hours/years working on them, have all the expense of raising and housing them..it's ridiculous to expect to buy from them for next to nothing unless it's a cull bird that's basically pet quality only. People want pairs ready to go and laying so all the work has been done for them,  they want only hens no roosters,  show quality at that. LoL, well, that's just not going to happen. They also mention how they can get swap birds for $10..you're getting what you pay for then, and sometimes disease. Yep, you can get hatchery chicks also, a whole lot cheaper than from a breeder, but they'll likely never be what you want them to be.
The birds that I've listed for sale are at very fair prices for what they are, and alot of the time I've taken a loss on them!
I realize sometimes that people don't understand what it takes behind the scenes to raise them, but it's an insult to want excellent quality and rare breeds from someone for a buck. Shrugs
People will be people!