Yardwork

[Farfromgeneva]

Check out the price of these jumbo eggs....yup, I'll be there tomorrow (nice price on the burger too).
https://nicholsliverpool.com/this-weeks-flyer/

Well yeah if I wanted to move back to CNY but that is a solid price compared with my nearby Publix.

[HooDat]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

[Farfromgeneva]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

My grandfather had a decent sized side hustle farm after his day job way back in the 40s-60s that shrunk to something more modest by the 80s in Savona NY, a rural outpost west of Elmira. Recall the chickens sort of under the barn as a kid.

[DMac]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

You betchya, chickens are real easy and the difference between store bought eggs and fresh eggs is like night and day.
Son's got 'em out at his little Ponderosa. Had a little (lot) of trouble with his chicken killing (and anything else she could get her teeth in) Husky he had but the Lab's no problem. He knows the UPS delivery guy out that way, the guy called him at work one day and told him he might want to get home before his son comes home from school, don't think he's going to like seeing the yard full dead chickens. She killed every one of them.....I'm not a Husky fan, that dog was a good hunter though. He buried her in his back yard and put a chicken foot hangin' off her little cross.

[HooDat]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

You betchya, chickens are real easy and the difference between store bought eggs and fresh eggs is like night and day.
Son's got 'em out at his little Ponderosa. Had a little (lot) of trouble with his chicken killing (and anything else she could get her teeth in) Husky he had but the Lab's no problem. He knows the UPS delivery guy out that way, the guy called him at work one day and told him he might want to get home before his son comes home from school, don't think he's going to like seeing the yard full dead chickens. She killed every one of them.....I'm not a Husky fan, that dog was a good hunter though. He buried her in his back yard and put a chicken foot hangin' off her little cross.

My lab is fascinated by the chickens, but the worst she has done is try to retrieve them. Nice soft mouth, meant nothing but some ruffled feathers! That was as a puppy, now she mostly leaves them alone.

a side note, when we got the chickens, we started writing down on a chalk board all the chicken related phrases as they occurred to us due to our new state of awareness. Things like chicken-scratch, ruffled feathers, mad as a wet hen.... Chickens are not only a part of our diet, they are a considerable part of our vocabulary!

[DMac]

Then, of course, the most commonly used chickenism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z92o1P8-ig

[HooDat]

Then, of course, the most commonly used chickenism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z92o1P8-ig

that one definitely made the board as well!

[Farfromgeneva]

Then, of course, the most commonly used chickenism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z92o1P8-ig

that one definitely made the board as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ZPhSPVQxY

By the way, Club Wax is a nasty nasty strip club even I wouldn't go into in a shady part of the Atlanta area called Fulton Industrial Blvd....

[kramerica.inc]

Check out the price of these jumbo eggs....yup, I'll be there tomorrow (nice price on the burger too).
https://nicholsliverpool.com/this-weeks-flyer/

$4 for a dozen is cheap here in Balty-more. Closer to $6 around me.

[Farfromgeneva]

Check out the price of these jumbo eggs....yup, I'll be there tomorrow (nice price on the burger too).
https://nicholsliverpool.com/this-weeks-flyer/

$4 for a dozen is cheap here in Balty-more. Closer to $6 around me.

Same here, high $5s for large not extra large.

[Bart]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

They are not that bad to keep. Usually good layers and "fun" to take care of. Just be aware that they usually, at least around us, do not die of old age and when they do go it is usually loud and can be disturbing.

[HooDat]

and .... the next thing you need is a few laying hens.

That yard is plenty big enough for 3-4 hens - assuming your local zoning doesn't prohibit them (often it is just roosters that are prohibited).

I suggest Rhode Island Reds. Great, reliable layers, incredibly friendly. Pick them up at your local feed store.

I like that! Have you seen what eggs cost these days? And I barely use eggs but the wife and kids do. 5.69 for a dozen large eggs What the heck!?!?

once you get them set up with a coop they are easy. The wife pushed hard for them, and I was surprised how much I have liked having them. Eggs for breakfast every morning in our house!

They are not that bad to keep. Usually good layers and "fun" to take care of. Just be aware that they usually, at least around us, do not die of old age and when they do go it is usually loud and can be disturbing.

yeah - we have not faced the "time for the pot" moment .... yet.

With that said, we have Rhode Island Reds, which are not supposed to be for eating.

And, more importantly, Mrs. HooDat (even having grown up with grandparents that "took care of those kinds of things") is not likely to support anything but a pet's burial for this first gen of hens.

[DMac]

Rhode Island Red eggs...they aint white.

[Brooklyn]

A long while (not sure when or where) I read or heard some story about how one should take good care of and feed chickens as this results in good karma. That this helps absolve you of sins, helps you overcome personal troubles, and may lead to greater prosperity in this life and in the next life to come. I tried to find some myth or legend via Google but couldn't dig up any reference. But if I recall from past readings, there may have been similar tales in old USA farms, in rural life in old Russia, and in the Indian subcontinent.

A century ago, Uncle Sam tried to convince people to raise poultry:



https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/defau ... edHens.jpg


It was your patriotic duty to do so:


https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/defau ... ickens.jpg




*****************************************


Interesting pic:



https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/nhIAAOSw ... s-l500.jpg


Perhaps there is something to this idea of chickens and spiritualism.



Mebbe it's an old idea whose time has come?

[Farfromgeneva]

Egg Prices Are Up 60% In A Year. Here’s Why They’re So Expensive.

Avian flu outbreak keeps egg supply tight as inflation rises

By Patrick ThomasFollow
and Jaewon KangFollow
Updated Jan. 13, 2023 12:03 pm ET

The price of eggs rose 11.1% last month compared with the month before and was up nearly 60% in December from the prior year, according to Thursday’s consumer-price index, a measurement of what consumers pay for goods and services. Overall inflation eased to 6.5%, according to this week’s federal data.

Here’s what you should know.

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What are egg prices now?

Egg prices have dropped slightly from record highs last month, but the grocery staple remains more expensive than usual and continues to squeeze consumer budgets.

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The price of eggs rose more than any other grocery item in 2022, according to Information Resources Inc. Wholesale prices of Midwest large eggs dropped to $4.18 a dozen this week from a high of $5.46 a dozen in December, according to research firm Urner Barry. In mid-January 2022, wholesale prices of Midwest large eggs were $1.30 a dozen.

Some retailers say egg prices typically drop after December, as demand cools following a surge driven by holiday baking and cooking.

At Piggly Wiggly stores in Alabama and Georgia, egg prices fell about 50 cents a dozen this week to $6.43, the first drop in months, said Keith Milligan, the company’s controller. Prices are likely to stay around the current level until declining further in February or March, he said, when suppliers expect new flocks of laying hens to help provide more supply.

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“Retailers will be reluctant to bring prices back to ‘normal’ levels for quite some time,” said Brian Earnest, an animal protein economist at agricultural lender CoBank.

Why are egg prices so high?

Since the start of 2022, highly pathogenic avian influenza has led to the deaths of about 58 million birds. It is the deadliest outbreak of all time and the worst one since 2015, when 50 million birds were culled, according to U.S. Agriculture Department data.

U.S. egg inventories were 29% lower in the final week of December 2022 than at the beginning of 2022, according to the USDA. More than 43 million egg-laying hens had died as a result of the malady by the end of December.

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“Lower-than-usual shell egg inventories near the end of the year, combined with increased demand stemming from the holiday baking season, resulted in several successive weeks of record-high egg prices,” USDA economists said in a January research note.

Egg prices have also increased as part of overall food inflation driven by rising costs of labor, ingredients and logistics. Higher feed and transportation costs for producers mean shoppers will continue to face elevated egg prices even when the bird flu’s effects diminish, said CoBank’s Mr. Earnest.

Why is this bird flu outbreak so deadly?

Agriculture industry officials and analysts have attributed the rapid spread of the virus to wild birds carrying it to farms as they migrate. To limit the spread of the virus, whole poultry flocks are killed after an infection is confirmed.

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While the 2015 outbreak ended in June of that year, cases in 2022 continued to appear in various parts of the country throughout the fall and winter.

Poultry processors invested in new biosecurity measures and other precautions to mitigate the spread between farms. However, spreading the virus can be as simple as a worker stepping on wild bird fecal matter and forgetting to clean his or her boots before entering a commercial barn—leading to the death of an entire flock.

Is there an egg shortage?

There have been spotty shortages of eggs, but not a widespread one. The American Egg Board, which represents egg producers, has said shortages are rare. According to the Egg Board, farms are recovering faster than they did in 2015, bouncing back after an outbreak in roughly three months. Recovering from the previous outbreak took farms six to nine months.

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Kroger Co., KR -0.99% the nation’s biggest supermarket chain, said its egg supply remains adequate, while some regional chains have said they are dealing with intermittent shortages.

Organic eggs and other specialty eggs, which are sold to retailers and distributors on a fixed-price basis, have sometimes been cheaper than conventional varieties in recent months. Organic eggs have been harder to find in some instances because retailers are seeking to stock more of them.

What are supermarkets and food companies doing about the egg situation?

Because eggs are a staple product for U.S. consumers, grocers try to keep prices competitive. In fact, some retailers said they have sacrificed some profits on eggs for months to keep prices on shelves as low as possible.

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There aren’t many substitutes for eggs. Supermarket operators have said they are trying to secure more plant-based egg alternatives or specialty varieties such as organic eggs.

The largest U.S. egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods Inc., CALM -1.17% last month said the avian influenza outbreak will keep the overall supply of eggs tight until the national egg-laying chicken flock is replenished.

Write to Patrick Thomas at [email protected] and Jaewon Kang at [email protected]

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[youthathletics]

Brooklyn was on this back in April....see below..

Not quite sure how to approach this but here it goes ...

I may have mentioned somewhere else that avian flu is becoming a big problem here in the Upper Midwest. Today I saw a report where it has now flowed East. Highly pathogenic flu spreads from wild birds and it does so very easily. Locally, people here in Lake Wobegone have been advised to refrain from putting water into bird baths and to avoid putting out bird foods so as to discourage birds from entering your gardens and infecting pets or domestic farm birds (if birds do use your bird bath, disinfect it immediately). In case any birds are found in your area, kindly advised your local ag authorities ASAP.

[Brooklyn]

^ thanx for that blurb ~ thankfully, the problem has cleared up and it's no longer a problem

[Farfromgeneva]

Great idea FFG. I have my own little herb garden(s) and I purchased a bunch of planters similar to below, and put them on my front porch. Drilled holes in the bottom, filled with some rocks, fill dirt, peat, and some gardening soil. Put two to three different herbs in each of them. You can then move them around to chase the sun or get them out of heavy storms. Dill, Basil, Cilantro, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, and Lavender are my goto's.

We have dill in there as well. I think he mentioned lavendar, my wife took him to the store when he bought the items so I didn't get the full run down.

My son suddenly wants to own a farm though he said "I bet land costs are too high now though" so I may be rubbing off on him a little...

That section had these bushes that were super difficult to get out I pulled over a week or two last spring so it's a nice section to have a little garden. We had one in another spot carved out of a paved area previously and he grew jalepeno and bell peppers though the latter never grew very big or robust. And insects would kill 70% of them. This should be better. Hoping to do some fruits too come spring time.

Your lawn looks like you’ve been keeping livestock. Does this garden section get sufficient sunlight to grow anything well?

I can grow thyme, sage and tarragon as perennials in my garden, so you should have no issue. Add some rosemary and lavender and room for basil in summer, if you have the light. What’s your rabbit situation there?

Had totally forgotten we bought this aerogarden thing sometime in Q4 as well so while I like the bootleg bucket idea I guess this is sort of similar. Just doing salad greens for now but you all should get the point.

[Brooklyn]

Went to a hockey game at South St Paul yesterday. From the bus window I saw an old lady who looked like she was 80 years old with a terribly bent posture and the poor thing was shoveling snow from her yard. Was wondering why or how nobody from the neighborhood helped the old gal. Well, perhaps someone did later on. One would hope.

Thankfully, much of the snow will melt this week as a thaw is expected with temps going up and a winter rainfall expected on late Monday. Hopefully that will fix things up for a lot of folks. Hopefully.