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
Breeds in
Mc Gregor, Texas
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Mc Gregor Texas,
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. Mc Gregor
Texas also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Mc Gregor Texas, 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 Mc Gregor TX.
Baby Chicks
Diet in
Mc Gregor, Texas
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Mc Gregor Texas
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
Mc Gregor Texas * 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 Mc Gregor
Texas * 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 Food in
Mc Gregor, Texas
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
Mc Gregor Texas 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 Mc Gregor,
Texas Baby chicks are extremely
adorable and also
tough to stand up to,
however it's ideal to prepare for their
arrival before you obtain them. Prepare first
by compiling not only the
appropriate materials, yet
additionally the correct
expertise to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is relatively
simple, you just should provide them with the following: A
clean and also warm
environment Plenty of food and water Attention as well as
love Environment Your habitat can be a basic box, fish tank,
cat carrier, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels as well as
coverings (with no loosened
strings!) to begin, as well as after a few weeks utilize straw over paper.
Note: Avoid making use of just
newspaper or other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could grow
malformed. You likewise need
something to provide food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder as well as water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
cover for food and also a pet bird water dispenser from a pet store. Also, as the chicks get
older you could introduce a perch
into the environment to obtain them
trained on perching. Warmth To
maintain your chicks heat you should
supply them with a heat source.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from an equipment shop, or an infrared reptile warmth
light bulb likewise work effectively (my
suggestion). Chicks require this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
replaced with plumes (which can take up to 2 months). The recently
hatched require a temperature
in between 90 as well as 100 degrees,
as well as weekly this can
be lowered by
around 5 degrees or
so. The warmth resource should be on merely one side of the cage
to permit chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
opposite edge of your heat
lamp, you should
minimize the temperature level. If
they are smothering each other under the
warmth (not just cuddling),
you should add some warmth.
House cleaning
Tidiness is key as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy and
balanced. Make sure to change
the bed linen
commonly and also
consistently offer clean
food and water Food as well as water.
Chicks grow quite quickly
which requires a lot of tidy
food and water. Give
enough in any way times and also inspect
usually to
stop thirsty and
hungry chicks. Chick food is various compared
to adult chicken food, and also it comes
in both medicated and non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first two months, after that
switch over to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for an additional 2 months,
and then to a slightly
reduced healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks want
to obtain a head start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others won't take
up that activity up until they are
older. If you have the space in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
filth for them to bathe in.
Interest and love There are a
few advantages to hanging
out with your chicks. First off, they will certainly more than likely bond with you and
not run away as adults. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and
see their actions, you can
catch illness or various
other troubles previously. Watch out for wheezing, limping, or
various other harmful
signs. Make certain to
likewise look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could result in matted feathers as well
as obstructed cloaca.
Lastly, it is very
important to watch out for social issues, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are now totally feathered
and its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your house
and also move outside into a cage. Check out our
part on chicken coops to find out
more
concerning coops as well as
proper coop environments.
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