There are times I sell and ship eggs. We always make sure our eggs are packaged well. We have excellent hatch rates here at home. There are several things that can happen to eggs once they leave my farm. Mishandling from the PO, your incubation method, temperatures, etc. I don't guarantee or replace shipped eggs for any reason. They are a chance you take. I do add extras when available.
I have defined my birds as following:
PET QUALITY (PQ): A bird that has a disqualification(DQ) for show or a bird that has no DQ but I feel would not be of a benefit to a breeding program for the purpose of breeding show potential birds.
BREEDER QUALITY (BQ): A bird with a lot of good characteristics; however, not strong enough to compete against adequate competition. A good breeder bird is worth its weight in gold. With the correct pairing they can produce show potential birds.
SHOW QUALITY(SQ): A bird with no DQs that is able to compete with the possibility to do well in a good sized sanctioned show against 'adequate' competition. Please note that any bird can be shown as long as it has no DQs, however, it does not necessarily mean that it is a "SQ" bird. Champion Show birds can produce champion birds, but can also produce poor birds as well as birds with DQs. Silkies cannot be evaluated for SQ until they are at least near maturity, and sometimes, even older. It takes a lot of work, time, and dedication to create a champion bird.
**Shipping Birds**
I do not provide shipping to orders less than $50 (in addition to the cost of shipping). Shipping is available, weather permitting. I only ship when the temps are between 45-80 degrees on both locations. Pick-ups are welcomed and prefered. I will also deliver to shows we attend.
Please understand the many risks of shipping. Shipping is hard and stressful on the birds. I make every effort to ensure that our birds are happy and in excellent health condition. Once birds leave our property I'm not responsible for their well being. I do not replace birds or refund money for birds lost by the post office or due to stress.
The week prior to shipping I will prepare the birds for their trip by providing additional electrolytes in their water. Birds are shipped in approved USPS bio-filtered Horizon boxes and are provided fruits and greens for their trip. They will also be clean, trimmed, and bug free. I will also provide a tracking slip.
I charge a flat shipping fee that is non-negotiable (shipping fee below is for Silkies and Barred Rocks only).
Posted on 10/25/2008 08:06 PM
0 Comments Feeding the chickens
I thought I would put down what I have been feeding. If you think I am lacking, please let me know. I am always interested in doing better.
-I feed a 22% gamebird starter for all the bantams.
-I feed a 18% layer feed for all the standards.
-I add in some oats and flax seed.
-I add 1 tsp. red cell or a vitamin per 2 gallons of water-spring and summer a vit., fall and winter, red cell.
-Any fruit that is a bit mushy that we won't eat. We canned a bunch of peaches from our trees and they loved getting the left overs from that. The only thing that wasn't so good about that is they did get sticky!!!
-All kinds of veggies out of our garden. I do freeze some veggies so they have them in the winter too.
-free choice oyster shell.
Posted on 10/17/2008 02:07 PM
0 Comments Our start
When Jake and Brooke were really little, every spring I would take them in to the farm store here in our town. It was a big deal to get to go in and hold the chicks and ducks that were for sale. They would ask to take one home and of course I wanted to take one home (I am a huge animal lover) but we lived in town where we couldn’t have them. My son would say, “When I get bigger, I am going to get one with the big feathers on it’s head. It will be black with a white head”. Brooke didn’t care, she just wanted all of them.
As time went on my husband and I really wanted some area for the kids, now three of them, to be able to run and play in a bigger area. We moved out of town on 5 Acers and started our mini farm. At first we had just a couple of chickens from the same farm store that the kids would go to every spring. Jake got his big bird with the feathers on top of his head, a pair of Polish and Brooke got a mixture of bantams.
We joined the 4-H club that next spring and both of the kids wanted to show chickens. We knew right away that there was some compitition, since there were two families that were showing all over the nation. We started getting birds to meet the American Poultry Standard. Jake of course wanted JUST Polish, got his first quality birds from the President of the Polish Breeders Club, Sylvia Babus. He got two standard size pullets, Silver laced Polish Fizzles. Brooke got her first pairs of Bantam Barred Rocks from our good friend, Sheryl Stevens that we attend Church with. Their birds have increased from a half dozen to almost 40, thanks to hatching our own eggs and other breeder willing to share their quality birds or eggs with us.
Both Jake and Brooke have taken great care to make sure their chickens have clean bedding all the time. They are fed very well with quality feed, fruits and veggies. When dirty they even get to get a bath in mom’s whirlpool tub. (NO Whirlpools!) I loves them too and helps to make sure it is done safely for all. It has really helped us bond and the kids have learned a great deal about responsibility. The kids even got Dad and their Grandpa to build a 12x30 finished addition to the barn, just for the chickens. The barn has a concrete flooring, walls and roof are insulated, Pella windows, a barn fan hooked to a thermostat for when it gets to hot and an outside protected run.
Both Jake and Brooke are committed to helping their breeds to be raised to the standard and keep them as healthy as possible. They have also committed to getting others get involved with the love they have found in chickens.
This year at their county 4-H fair, Jake’s Polish took Best Standard size hen and Best Standard size chicken. His Polish hen took 3rd in over all. Brooke took Best Bantam Cockerel, Best Bantam and Grand Champion with her Bantam Barred Rock Cockerel.
SEARCH |
Free Signup |
Members Area
