"....Your children shall be like olive plants all around your table." Psalm 128:3

Thursday, July 12, 2012

New Life {Guest post}

My 13 year old son volunteered to do this post for me. He's our fowl expert.  :)

Several months ago, my siblings and I decided to start a chicken-selling business. We wanted to hatch our own baby chicks and sell them as a way to make money.

At that time, we had 1 rooster and 30 laying hens. But we didn't know that the rooster/hen ratio should be 1/12 for successful fertilization.

After realizing that we were 1 rooster short of a successful hatching, a very kind older man gave us a 2nd rooster.

A couple of weeks later, one of Mimi's Black Australorps began setting on some of the eggs. So we moved her and her eggs to a separate coop to wait it out. But 4 weeks later (it only takes 3 weeks for chicken eggs to hatch, but we gave her an extra week) - no baby chicks. We were so disappointed!

Then my Golden Polish went broody. So we moved her and the eggs to what has become the "hatching out" coop.

And 3 weeks later......

SUCCESS! We have 6 baby chicks!!


Some of the chicks have feathered shanks, like Elmer, our first rooster. And some look like they're Aracaunas (which are the colored egg layers) and which is the breed of some of laying hens and the 2nd rooster.

There is one problem, though. This was supposed to be a money-making adventure for us. But we are so attached to this first clutch of baby chicks, there's no way we're going to sell them!

Oh well, maybe next time. After all, there is another hen and her eggs in the hatching out coop.  ;)

Thanks for reading,
Ian

" So God created...every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. "  -  Genesis 1:21

14 comments:

  1. Hi Ian,
    This was a great post and it looks like you are doing a good job at your chick business. With two roosters and 30 laying hens, very soon you should have lots of chicks to sell. :-) If I lived close to you, I would probably buy some. I have 8 laying hens that are very old and soon need to be replaced, as egg production has really dropped lately. :-(
    Chicks are so cute and the hens so funny to watch as they keep them close and teach them to peck. Thanks for the photos too.
    All the best in your business,
    God bless,
    Anne♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Miss Anne,
      Thanks for your comment. I wish you lived closer, too..you would be my first customer! :)
      Ian

      Delete
  2. Hi Lisa, so very nice to meet you.
    Thank you for commenting on my blog. This way I have found your blog too ; )
    The little chick looks so cute. I wish I had space for chickens, but I have a small garden, so no chickens here, but a lot of fruit and flowers ; )
    Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Monique. So glad to have you following me. :) I look forward to more "visits". :)
      I hope you have a lovely week-end!

      Delete
  3. Ian, this is a great idea and I hope it works out for you. I love chickens and when I was your age, I raised a large flock for 4-H. We mainly purchased mail order chicks but I did have an incubator (which you can purchase for less than $100) too. Perhaps, if you garner a customer base, you will be able to invest some of your earnings to purchase an incubator to hatch more chicks at once. Of course, I always thought having a broody hen was fun but I never seemed to have a high success rate. Anyway, I think your chicks are just adorable. I love feather-legged birds and raised cochins and araucanas myself along with many other breeds! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Miss Shari,
    Thanks for commenting.
    We've never raised cochins, but that must be fun. :)
    Ian

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a GREAT post by your guest writer!
    It's been on my mind for quite some time now to hopefully add some chickens (hens) to our back yard. One day, one day perhaps it shall come to pass. Until then, I enjoy reading about others and their chicken stories. I can see how it may be difficult to part with your new born chicks for they are adorable little creatures!

    Thanks so much for visiting at my blog, I too am a new follower here at your blogsite. I look forward to reading some of your past posts, as well as tag along as you share new ones.

    God bless you and your family!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment, Deanna.
      Hope you're having a lovely week-end! :)

      Delete
  6. Oh, PS- I just read your Tesimony page --- HOW WONDERFUL!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved having chickens when our children were younger. We had them for twenty years. We can't have them now because of bears. We would get a broody hen...and nothing!! We also has success with baby chicks. Our aracaunas (however it is spelled) were the best for having chicks.

    Have fun!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Miss Judith,
      Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.
      Hope you have a wonderful day! :)
      Ian

      Delete
  8. Ian, I am so proud of you! You are a very skilled writer. I enjoyed your post very much and I will have my ten-year-old boy read it as well. Have a blessed week! I can see why you don't want to part with them. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Miss Christine,
      Thanks for the your comment. My mom helped me a little on this post. :)

      Delete

Thanks so much for stopping by. I love to hear from my readers, and your thoughts are welcome. And I try my best to respond to each and every comment. :)