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Baby Chickens for Sale in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona

Baby Chickens for Sale in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona

What Chickens Taught Our Kids About Responsibility

One of our goals as parents is to teach our children responsibility and accountability. As organic dairy farmers in southeastern Minnesota, we have a strong work ethic and feel that staying in bed until 7am is sleeping in!

Summer vacation was looming. We didn't want our daughters (ages 12 & 9) to just hang around without having something productive to do each morning that would get them out of bed. Since our milking setup wasn't conducive to having them help, we needed another option. My husband came up with the idea of having them raise chickens. The girls would do the work, market the birds, and keep the  money to put toward fun activities with their friends and school clothes for the fall. Besides giving them a reason to get up in the morning, we felt that our plan would also help them learn some basic money skills.

We started with 300 day-old chicks. My husband, Chuck, and the girls picked them up from the feed store. They carefully dipped the beak of each bird in water and set them on the floor lined with newspaper. The heat from the brooder stove kept their furry little yellow bodies warm.

Each morning and late afternoon, the girls would go down and take care of their chickens. They cleaned the waterers and filled them with fresh, cool water. They poured food into the feeders scattered around the room. They watched the little birds to make sure they were doing okay.

Every few days for the first couple of weeks they had to remove the soiled newspaper and replace it with fresh, clean newspaper. As the weeks went by, the birds grew. Finally they were ready for butchering. We loaded the live birds into crates and took them to a USDA processing facility that was several miles from our home. The next day we went back and picked up the dressed (cleaned), frozen birds.

The girls went to several networking (BNI) meetings with me to market their birds. They brought a bird to show, talked about their project, described how tasty the birds were, and handed out flyers for ordering. They learned how to give a specific 60-second commercial that made the audience drool (especially when they talked about chicken cooked on the grill with BBQ sauce). They sold over 230 birds through word-of-mouth marketing.

The next year we ordered 600 birds. The process was the same but the girls weren't as excited. It took more coaxing (and occasional threats) to get them to do the chores. To be honest, it would have been easier for me to have done the chores myself, but that wasn't teaching them what I wanted them to learn.

The next year, my husband ordered 900 birds without consulting our daughters or me. Our daughters rebelled and refused to take care of them. They found it more fun to trap gophers because they made good money and they got to DRIVE out in the fields. Driving to make money was so much cooler than walking down to the chicken barn!  I ended up doing the chicken chores. That was the last year we had chickens.

Our family learned some great lessons from this experience. These lessons apply both in life and in business. We learned:

  1. There is an adrenaline rush and higher energy level when we are introduced to something new. It's usually temporary.
  2. Getting support from the people who are supposed to be helping us is critical. If they don't want to do it, it either won't get done or won't get done well. There is massive effort and energy involved in trying to convince someone to do something on a regular or consistent basis if they don't want to do it. This applies whether it's our kids, spouse, or employees!
  3. Be aware of the trends (or the temperament of kids in this case) and how the changes will affect us and what we want to accomplish. If the chicken barn had been in a different location where they would have had to DRIVE to it, they probably would have had chickens one more year.
  4. Know when to move on!

I love sharing this story and then drawing comparisons on how it applies as business professionals and speakers. The audience resonates strongly and remembers the story for years to come. Think about your own life - what stories can you bring to life from the stage that can be associated with you and remembered for years to come?

Sue

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Baby Chickens for Sale in Kykotsmovi Village 
AZ

Baby Chicks Breeds in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona

We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona, including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more. Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Kykotsmovi Village Arizona also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale, turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale, chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of baby chicks for sale in Kykotsmovi Village AZ.

Baby Chicks Breeds in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona

Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to their site and request one if you are interested. Baby Chickens for Sale in Kykotsmovi Village 
AZTypically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2 pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall before their orders sell out.

Feeding Baby Quail Chicks in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona

Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in Kykotsmovi Village Arizona is easy and has always been a very pleasant experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Kykotsmovi Village, Arizona Baby chicks are very adorable as well as difficult to withstand, however it's finest to prepare for their arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first by gathering not only the correct materials, yet also the correct expertise to look after them. Raising baby chicks is fairly straightforward, you simply need to give them with the following: A clean as well as warm and comfortable environment Lots of food and also water Attention as well as love Environment Your habitat can be a basic box, aquarium, pet cat service provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and also coverings (without any loose strings!) to begin, and also after a couple of weeks utilize straw over paper. Note: Avoid utilizing just paper or various other sandal surfaces-- or your chicks legs can expand misshapen. You likewise require something to serve up food and water in, such as a chicken feeder and water recipe from the feed shop, or a pickle jar lid for food and a pet dog bird water dispenser from an animal shop. Likewise, as the chicks age you could introduce a perch into the habitat to obtain them educated on perching. Warmth To maintain your chicks heat you should offer them with a warmth resource. This could be as simple as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from a hardware shop, or an infrared reptile warmth bulb likewise function very well (my suggestion). Chicks need this warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with feathers (which can take up to 2 months). The freshly hatched out need a temperature in between 90 and 100 degrees, and weekly this could be reduced by roughly 5 degrees or so. The warmth resource need to be on just one side of the cage to allow chicks an array of temperatures. The chicks are your ideal thermometer- if they are hiding in the other edge of your heat light, you have to reduce the temperature level. If they are surrounding each other under the heat (not simply cuddling), you should add some heat. House cleaning Sanitation is key and also it keeps your chicks healthy. Be sure to alter the bed linen often and constantly provide clean food and also water Food as well as water. Chicks grow very quickly which requires a lot of clean food as well as water. Offer enough at all times and also examine usually to prevent thirsty and also starving chicks. Chick food is different than grown-up chicken food, and it comes in both medicated and non-medicated ranges. Feed chick food for the first two months, after that switch to a grower food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for an additional 2 months, then to a slightly reduced healthy protein feed or a level feed (if you have levels). Dirt Some chicks prefer to obtain a head start on taking dust baths, while others won't take up that task up until they are older. If you have the space in your chick room, introduce a tray of sand or dust for them to bathe in. Attention and love There are a few benefits to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will certainly most likely bond with you as well as not run away as grownups. Second, if you examine your chicks daily and also watch their actions, you could capture ailment or other issues previously. Keep an eye out for wheezing, limping, or other unhealthy indications. Be sure to also look at their poop, as diarrhea could bring about matted feathers and also blocked cloaca. Last but not least, it is important to look out for social issues, such as the smallest chick obtaining picked on. Empty nest syndrome So your chicks are currently completely feathered and also its time for them to leave the safety and security of your home and move outside right into a coop. Have a look at our part on chicken cages to read more about coops and correct coop habitats.
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