Baby Chickens for Sale in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota
Baby Chickens for Sale in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota
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:
- There is an adrenaline rush and higher energy level when we are introduced to something new. It's usually temporary.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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 Chicks Near Me in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Parkers Prairie Minnesota, 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. Parkers Prairie Minnesota also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in Parkers Prairie Minnesota, 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 Parkers Prairie MN.Baby Chickens How To Care in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Parkers Prairie Minnesota 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.Typically 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
Parkers Prairie Minnesota * 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 Parkers Prairie
Minnesota * 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.
Baby Chicks Diet in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota
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 Parkers Prairie Minnesota 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 Parkers Prairie, Minnesota Baby chicks are extremely charming and difficult to resist, yet it's finest to prepare for their arrival before you get them. Prepare initially by gathering not just the correct materials, however additionally the proper knowledge to look after them. Raising baby chicks is relatively easy, you just should supply them with the following: A clean and warm and comfortable environment Lots of food as well as water Focus and love Environment Your environment can be a simple box, aquarium, pet cat provider, or guinea porker cage. Line it with old towels and blankets (without any loosened strings!) to start, and also after a couple of weeks utilize straw over paper. Keep in mind: Avoid using just newspaper or various other sandal surface areas-- or your chicks legs can expand misshapen. You also require something to dish out food as well as water in, such as a chicken feeder and water recipe from the feed store, or a pickle jar cover for food and a pet bird water dispenser from a pet dog store. Likewise, as the chicks grow older you can present a perch right into the environment to get them trained on setting down. Warmth To maintain your chicks heat you need to provide them with a heat source. This can be as straightforward as a 100 watt light bulb in a reflective clamp design light from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile warmth bulb likewise function extremely well (my recommendation). Chicks require this warmth 24/7 up until their downy fluff is replaced with feathers (which could occupy to 2 months). The newly hatched need a temperature in between 90 and 100 degrees, and also each week this can be decreased by approximately 5 levels or so. The warmth source should be on simply one side of the cage to allow chicks a variety of temperatures. The chicks are your finest thermometer- if they are concealing in the contrary edge of your warmth lamp, you have to decrease the temperature level. If they are smothering each various other under the heat (not merely curling up), you should include some heat. Home cleaning Sanitation is essential as well as it maintains your chicks healthy. Make certain to transform the bed linens often and also consistently supply clean food and water Food and water. Chicks expand very fast which requires plenty of tidy food and also water. Supply enough in any way times and inspect typically to avoid dehydrated as well as starving chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, as well as it comes in both medicated as well as non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the very first two months, after that switch over to a grower food (~ 17 % healthy protein) for one more 2 months, and then to a somewhat reduced healthy protein feed or a level feed (if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks like to obtain a running start on taking dirt baths, while others will not take up that task until they are older. If you have the area in your chick unit, introduce a tray of sand or dirt for them to bathe in. Attention and also love There are a couple of advantages to spending time with your chicks. Firstly, they will most likely bond with you and also not run away as adults. Second, if you analyze your chicks daily and view their behavior, you could catch health problem or other problems previously. Keep an eye out for wheezing, limping, or various other undesirable signs. Make sure to also look at their poop, as looseness of the bowels can lead to matted feathers and clogged cloaca. Last but not least, it is necessary to look out for social problems, such as the tiniest chick obtaining picked on. Vacant nest syndrome So your chicks are now completely feathery and also its time for them to leave the security of your home and also relocate outside into a coop. Take a look at our part on chicken cages to get more information about cages and appropriate coop habitats.Baby Chickens Under Lights Baby Chicks Outside
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