July 15, 2024

Cutting Costs Can Cost You Money-Part 1

Cutting Costs Can Cost You Money-Part 1

In this episode of the Poultry Keepers podcast, host Mandelyn Royal, along with team members John Gunterman and Rip Stalvey, delve into the true costs of starting and maintaining a flock. 

They discuss the economic pitfalls of trying to save money on poultry care, including the price and quality trade-offs between hatching eggs, chicks, and adult stock. The team evaluates the efficacy of different incubators and the importance of consistent environmental control for successful hatching. 

They also cover the essential aspects of durable housing to protect against predators, recommending higher initial investments in quality materials to save money in the long run. Finally, the conversation turns to feed costs and how to manage them effectively to ensure the health and productivity of the flock, including tips on weighing birds and monitoring their physical condition.

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WEBVTT

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Hi, I'm Mandelyn Royal, and I would like to welcome you to another episode of the Poultry Keepers podcast.

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Joining me in the studio are John Gunterman and Rip Stalvey, the rest of our podcast team, and we're looking forward to visiting with you and talking poultry from feathers to function.

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Hey listeners.

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Good to have you with us again today.

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We thought we'd cover a subject that is important to all of us, but let me ask you a question before we get started, have you ever wound up trying to save money and had it cost you more in the long run?

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Been there, done that myself.

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But that's what we're going to be talking about, how trying to cut costs can be expensive.

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Coming up in just a few seconds, we are going to get started.

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Okay, let's see.

00:00:56.741 --> 00:01:01.962
I guess the place to start guys, is what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

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Is it cheaper to start a flock by purchasing hatching eggs?

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What do y'all think?

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Initially sometimes, but there's a lot of variables in there.

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And the hatching eggs are definitely not instant gratification.

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And there's a steep learning curve and the equipment, just a decent incubator, don't consider anything less than, I would say 400 is your bottom of the line.

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Incubator.

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And, we were just talking about this before we started recording back in the eighties, I was getting 3 an egg for hatching eggs and paying the shipping, basic benchmark price anymore, at least down here's 80 bucks a dozen and it can go upwards of a hundred and plus a dozen if they're paying the freight on them.

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Then when you figure out that.

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Going back to the rule of 10, you get a dozen eggs and all of them are not going to hatch.

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So if you got a 50 percent hatch, you get six chicks.

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Out of those six chicks, you may, if you're lucky, you may get one that's good enough to keep.

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Not very good odds.

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And there you're still picking, what's left after all these other calamities along the way, rather than having, the absolute best possible.

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That's a strong case for starting with a good trio, or quad from a reputable breeder, or starting with, very well started chicks.

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And I'm going to be honest, it took me a long time to figure that out.

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Longer than it should have.

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I think the most instant gratification is the well started chicks.

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Chicks are not all that good a buy when you stop and think about it.

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If you've got 25 chicks the rule of 10 says you're going to get 25 chicks.

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Two, maybe three chicks out of there that are good enough to keep and move you forward.

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Plus, you got to raise them all and when you look at the cost of what it takes to raise chickens, I was looking this up online and it says to raise replacement pullets, it's going to take about 16 to 18 pounds of feed for lightweight breeds to get them to 20 weeks.

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Yes,

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and we're going to get into this at the tail end towards the end of the show.

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Feed is not cheap anymore, but there are some ways you can save money on it.

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There's ways you can recoup money,

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Y'all are exactly right.

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It can be cheaper to start with adult stock.

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And usually it is because there you've got birds of a known quality because you're looking at them.

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You don't have to raise them.

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You don't have to deal with eggs that won't hatch.

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You don't have to deal with chick losses and sorting through all of that.

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Somebody asked me one time, what's a good trio cost anymore?

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They're really hard for me to put a price on that because I've seen really good birds go for 200 to 300 a trio just as a ballpark figure.

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And yeah, that sounds like a lot initially, but when you figure in 25 chicks, I know some people are getting 20 bucks a chick.

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It doesn't take long at that price to just the price of investment in birds to get started is.

00:04:07.586 --> 00:04:09.336
It's considerable that doing it that way.

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So something to think about.

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I've got birds at 16 weeks right now, and I am practically giving them away at 30 each.

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That's really the tipping point for me is they're about to go into production.

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So I'm either going to keep them for egging and for breeding or they're going away.

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And we're really at the final cut now.

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I just did some quick math.

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And based on how many pounds of feed that you had said it would take to get a pullet up to point of lay, and assuming you had 25 that you started with, you're going to be into that batch of 25 chicks, bringing them up to point of lay for at least 200 using a mid grade feed.

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That's exactly right.

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Plus how long it took to get them to that point versus older stock that's six months old, a year old, they're going to be giving you eggs.

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And those figures I gave you were based on white leghorns.

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So our heritage breeds, you're going to be going through more feed than you would with leghorns, just simply because heritage birds are bigger.

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Raising

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a clutch is not easy.

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It's can be daunting and very expensive.

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And there's a lot of gotchas along the way for the new chicken person.

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What about John, you talked about this earlier.

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So let's jump into here, but the preference for incubators or setting hens, what's your thoughts, John?

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I love the convenience and schedulability.

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and precision of my incubators, but there is no healthier and more vigorous chick in the world than a hen raised chick.

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So I agree with that.

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Given the option, I would clean out my incubators and slip them under a broody hen at day 17, as much as I possibly could.

00:06:02.336 --> 00:06:04.257
But you can't really get away with that too much.

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How much time would you give her to set before you gave her those eggs?

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Would you let her set for a week or two or would you let her go through the whole 21 days?

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I've done this as an experiment to break a broody hen because I did not want her shutting off production.

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She was my number one hen last year and I wanted every egg she was laying.

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And when she started getting broody and she's sitting on her eggs like the third day I took her away.

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As many of them in the incubator that was close to hatch and slipped them underneath there.

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And within the next two to three days, everything had hatched out and she broke her brood and got on with raising those chicks.

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Okay.

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So they don't necessarily have to sit too terribly long before they'll jump right into motherhood.

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I don't, I've never, I don't know, but something about that instinct.

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I just, It just kicks in.

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I still prefer my incubators though.

00:06:56.276 --> 00:07:03.797
I like to hatch more than what a hen can hatch herself, and then I like to have a schedule too.

00:07:04.497 --> 00:07:09.857
Absolutely, and the thing about hens is I never had one brooding when I really wanted one.

00:07:10.377 --> 00:07:11.607
Oh yeah, there's that too.

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And you can't say, Hey, I'm going to make you a broody.

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It doesn't work that way.

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She's going to go broody when she's jolly well, good and ready to go broody.

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Not one minute before.

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Some of them, they can be easily triggered.

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You show them a pile of eggs and they start fluffing up the next day.

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Yeah, I agree with that, but I never was so fortunate.

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And there's nothing more interesting than watching an October hatch and a bunch of chicks running around in the snow.

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But that's when she decided she wanted to go broody and, it worked out.

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And one of those chicks is super happy and vigorous living with somebody else right now.

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I had a broody hen earlier this season and I tried to set her up into private quarters and she said, no, I quit.

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So I put her back in the pen and then a month later, she's back to being broody again.

00:08:01.916 --> 00:08:05.447
So I left her there this time and I gave her seven turkey eggs.

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Oh, great.

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You solve two issues with the same time.

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Yeah she can try that way.

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Something to keep turkeys

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alive.

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She'll probably put a little fence around her to keep the others off of it.

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Yeah, I think you probably should do that, yeah.

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John, you were talking earlier about the price of an incubator.

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Okay explain your thoughts on that.

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I know we can find incubators for little styrofoam jobs for next to nothing, and then you can find them for well over a thousand dollars a piece.

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Sure, and I've used just about everything in between.

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For my classroom hatches at my school, I found Incubator Warehouse makes a great one for about 10.

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Just under 300.

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The important part is it has an active humidity regulation.

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I would absolutely insist on that.

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No more wicks in tubs of water.

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I want instant response.

00:09:02.361 --> 00:09:07.591
If a door is open, even for five seconds, I need that thing to kick on and start dumping humidity.

00:09:08.392 --> 00:09:13.831
That automatic humidity is absolutely spectacular.

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It really makes a difference in how many eggs, how many of those eggs hatch.

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Sure, and the temperature regulation is it's perfectly adequate for a tabletop incubator.

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There's a lot of things with the tabletop incubators you have to mitigate does the room temperature change by more than a degree or two throughout the day?

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Does sun come in the window and hit the incubator for a half an hour every afternoon?

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All these little things that you don't really think about until, whoops there's a lot of hidden costs in tabletop incubators.

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The cabinet style, there's, they're always, they're usually very well insulated and protected.

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The nice newer ones have this active humidity and excellent temperature regulation.

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I bought one of the external humidity pumps where it had sensors that you would put in and so it was digital, it was all automatic.

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And it absolutely has to have distilled water.

00:10:09.552 --> 00:10:09.731
Yep.

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Okay.

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No exceptions.

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If your water has any amount of calcium in there, it's going to ruin that thing in less than a week.

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Yeah, it will do it.

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Yeah.

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Back when I had a GQF cabinet, I put the humidity kit from incubator warehouse on it.

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And that really helped that.

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unit a lot.

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And then when I sold it, that went with it to the new owner.

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Years and years ago, some of their high end hobby incubators, like the humid airs for example, did have that they use steam humidifiers and there's, but man, it made a huge difference.

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Of course they were redwood cabinets and they would hold temperature and humidity.

00:10:52.922 --> 00:10:55.182
Spot on, it seemed I keep hoping to

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find one in a

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barn sale someday.

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There's actually a Facebook group.

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Yes, there is.

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For old Redwood incubator enthusiasts, and every now and then they come across some real gems.

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Yeah, I've been a member for a couple years now, actually, and I've seen some beautiful restorations and some beautiful barn finds.

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Oh, they are absolutely gorgeous when they're redone.

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No doubt about it.

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One thing I would encourage folks, if you're just starting out, and look, I understand not everybody can start out two, three, four hundred dollars for an incubator.

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I get it.

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But do your research.

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Typically, I have found that those little less than a hundred buck incubators from China are pretty much junk.

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They don't hold humidity right.

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They get hot spots in them because the temperature doesn't do what it should.

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And also, look for one that has a fan inside so it's circulating that air.

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That will help with the hot spots to some degree, although it won't entirely eliminate them.

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Just get the best incubator you can afford.

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There's so many variables in keeping everything consistent.

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The most heartbreaking thing when it doesn't quite work out Is when you have fully formed chicks that right there and that's when they died and they candled great.

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You get excited at seven days.

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You candle again at 14 days.

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Everything seems to be going okay.

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You get all the way up to hatch day.

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You might get one little pip and then no action on the rest of them.

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And then you go in there and it was almost a complete loss there at the end.

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And that's what got me into upgrading every chance I got.

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Cause my very first incubator.

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It was powered by a light bulb, it held four eggs, it cost 7.

00:12:45.481 --> 00:12:50.351
99, and it had, if I was lucky, 25 percent success rate.

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And the most symptomatic thing it did was late stage quitters that almost got there.

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And it was all because of humidity.

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Was yours the one that had a clear plastic dome on top and a yellow base?

00:13:03.599 --> 00:13:04.092
Yeah, like

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a little spaceship.

00:13:04.835 --> 00:13:06.792
Yeah, I just started to say it looked like a little spaceship.

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I had one of those.

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Yeah.

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It didn't take me long to chunk that.

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It was a good one.

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I've seen teachers try to use that for classroom hatches.

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And I went no, please, let me bring you a good incubator.

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Let me bring you a good incubator.

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You can use it for three weeks,

00:13:22.261 --> 00:13:26.971
but just buy the best incubator you can with the funds that you have.

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It will save you money in the long run through more chicks hatched better and stronger chicks hatched.

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It's a good, it's a good investment.

00:13:36.241 --> 00:13:36.591
Absolutely.

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And that's exactly what it is.

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It's an investment.

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Yes,

00:13:41.672 --> 00:13:42.302
and then what?

00:13:42.831 --> 00:13:43.741
Then they hatch.

00:13:43.942 --> 00:13:45.591
Oh, no, they got to go somewhere.

00:13:45.701 --> 00:13:48.572
Yeah, they got to go somewhere What kind of housing are you gonna use?

00:13:49.131 --> 00:13:49.182
First

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you need food and water and heat and Predator protection.

00:13:54.942 --> 00:14:11.292
Yeah, and I see a lot of folks invest in these little Prefab poultry coops that they find on Chewy or Amazon and I gotta be honest with you folks, those things are very flimsy.

00:14:11.761 --> 00:14:13.871
The wire they use is cheap stuff.

00:14:14.491 --> 00:14:17.871
It will hold the chicken in but it won't keep a predator out.

00:14:18.672 --> 00:14:22.591
Chicken wire has no business in the poultry industry.

00:14:23.201 --> 00:14:25.782
It's good for keeping chicken separated and that's about it.

00:14:25.812 --> 00:14:26.101
That's it.

00:14:26.376 --> 00:14:33.866
It's not, I've seen too many heartbreaks of, just chicken wire being torn open by a raccoon and flocks decimated.

00:14:34.667 --> 00:14:41.836
And I see people go into places like Lowe's and home depots, no offense, Mandy, but they have this black plastic netting.

00:14:42.636 --> 00:14:43.047
Oh,

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that stuff is terrible.

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And it can't even, it looks like hardware

00:14:45.866 --> 00:14:46.047
closet.

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It looks like it,

00:14:48.017 --> 00:14:48.937
but it's flimsy.

00:14:48.937 --> 00:14:55.856
And if you try to use it as run covering to prevent hawks, It actually will collapse in your very first snow.

00:14:56.657 --> 00:14:57.736
I can believe that.

00:14:58.527 --> 00:15:01.797
You don't even get a full year out of the plastic stuff.

00:15:02.596 --> 00:15:08.506
Somebody gave me about 500 feet of 8 foot tall deer fencing.

00:15:09.307 --> 00:15:10.756
Oh man, did you go hug their neck?

00:15:11.496 --> 00:15:13.726
I had to go get it, and that was a chore.

00:15:14.017 --> 00:15:16.047
But that's, that stuff is amazing.

00:15:16.047 --> 00:15:18.527
It's heavy, it's all get out, and I need a wire cutter.

00:15:18.527 --> 00:15:26.537
So I've been splitting it down the middle and making four foot panels, and actually zip tying it to the inside face of all my electric fences.

00:15:27.336 --> 00:15:31.927
Making a home version of Poultry One's shock or not fence.

00:15:32.726 --> 00:15:35.086
So the chicks love to go through the fence.

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And I can't stop them.

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This slows them down.

00:15:38.287 --> 00:15:41.006
But there's bad predators on the other side of that fence.

00:15:41.006 --> 00:15:41.277
Yeah.

00:15:42.076 --> 00:15:50.346
And, the size of the lumber, too, and those prefab units, I've When I see some of them, it's like they're made out of furring strips.

00:15:50.356 --> 00:15:50.856
They're not It's

00:15:50.876 --> 00:15:53.596
one by one strapping, and they're stapled together.

00:15:53.807 --> 00:15:54.586
If you're lucky.

00:15:55.386 --> 00:15:57.517
And the staples, it's not strong enough.

00:15:57.866 --> 00:16:06.226
Any time you can use screws, you want to use screws, whether you're assembling something or Adding reinforcement or securing wire.

00:16:06.287 --> 00:16:13.917
I stopped stapling wire years ago because it's too easy for a predator to just pop those staples and peel that wire back.

00:16:14.716 --> 00:16:20.927
Did you use the staples made for like poultry netting or did you use the one in the handguns?

00:16:21.697 --> 00:16:23.277
The ones in the handguns, half inch.

00:16:24.076 --> 00:16:24.616
I just started

00:16:24.616 --> 00:16:32.386
saying because I've used the poultry netting staples, they're like bantam versions of a regular fence staple, with really good success.

00:16:32.826 --> 00:16:36.537
They're also very sharp, so be careful with them if you go that route.

00:16:36.537 --> 00:16:39.326
I just go straight over the top

00:16:39.336 --> 00:16:43.376
with wooden strips, battens I make, and then screw into that.

00:16:43.856 --> 00:16:46.777
So I've got all this reinforcement and that's being held down.

00:16:47.307 --> 00:16:51.937
I don't glue it anymore just for future Fixing potential.

00:16:52.736 --> 00:17:09.757
Honestly, people, the more you can invest in your housing and your coots and your infrastructure, it will save you money in the long run, because if you don't sooner or later and many times it's sooner, you're going to have to replace it and start over again.

00:17:10.557 --> 00:17:13.346
And don't, you mentioned earlier, overhead protection.

00:17:13.396 --> 00:17:19.166
It doesn't need to be much, just something to interrupt the glide path of the overhead predator.

00:17:19.467 --> 00:17:40.396
They make a I don't remember which plastic it's made with, but it's a woven netting, looks very much like chicken wire, but it's strong, it lasts, does real well, most of them now have UV protection built into those overhead nets, and it's not really all that expensive.

00:17:41.196 --> 00:17:44.146
Yeah, I've been using the aviary netting.

00:17:44.561 --> 00:17:49.582
And it has little two inch spacing and it's UV rated nylon.

00:17:49.582 --> 00:17:53.021
I get about three years out of it before I've got to replace it.

00:17:53.821 --> 00:18:00.582
And there is better options like, zoo grade, I guess you'd say that lasts a lot longer, but it also costs quite a bit more.

00:18:01.382 --> 00:18:13.021
Best stuff I ever found best stuff I ever found for Penwire was over at Bush Gardens one day, back when I was working for the game fish commission and I was talking with a reptile and a small animal curator.

00:18:13.797 --> 00:18:15.146
And he said, I got some wire over here.

00:18:15.146 --> 00:18:16.287
If you want it, you can have it.

00:18:16.297 --> 00:18:17.346
We don't have any use for it.

00:18:17.346 --> 00:18:20.247
It's just been laying around, taking up room.

00:18:20.287 --> 00:18:26.696
And he had about a hundred feet probably eight foot wide or eight foot tall ZooMesh.

00:18:27.497 --> 00:18:34.666
And ZooMesh is like a coarse screen that is knitted out of stainless steel.

00:18:35.436 --> 00:18:35.987
Oh,

00:18:36.717 --> 00:18:37.777
man, that stuff.

00:18:38.576 --> 00:18:39.696
It was heavy to work with though.

00:18:39.696 --> 00:18:40.537
I'll tell you that.

00:18:40.537 --> 00:18:42.156
I

00:18:42.957 --> 00:18:44.257
bet it lasted a while though.

00:18:44.757 --> 00:18:47.126
It lasted forever, it really did.

00:18:47.126 --> 00:18:48.007
It's not going to rust.

00:18:48.017 --> 00:18:48.307
Yeah.

00:18:48.376 --> 00:18:48.606
No.

00:18:49.196 --> 00:18:50.936
It was the best stuff I ever came across.

00:18:51.737 --> 00:18:53.307
Also horribly expensive.

00:18:53.777 --> 00:18:56.317
If I had to buy it, I would just do them in at the store.

00:18:56.957 --> 00:19:01.856
These are all investments in the, hopefully they're long term, but you have to think about, what I'm putting up.

00:19:01.916 --> 00:19:05.517
Am I putting up regular mesh or galvanized?

00:19:05.731 --> 00:19:12.682
It may be a couple of cents more per foot now, but it's going to be 10 years more in service if it's galvanized, hopefully,

00:19:13.481 --> 00:19:24.551
You can buy inexpensive fittings and lumber and wire and yeah, you can make something serviceable out of it for a little while.

00:19:25.352 --> 00:19:28.332
But sooner rather than later, you're going to have to replace it.

00:19:29.132 --> 00:19:32.112
So think about that bill for the long term.

00:19:32.912 --> 00:19:33.856
You got to be much happier.

00:19:33.856 --> 00:19:34.342
Build

00:19:34.342 --> 00:19:36.382
in your predator protection.

00:19:36.471 --> 00:19:43.882
While the frame is open, go ahead and wrap it in something, really strong that a bear or raccoon can't easily chew through.

00:19:44.432 --> 00:19:48.892
Even just a raccoon only needs, what, two or three inches to gain access?

00:19:49.692 --> 00:19:50.201
Doesn't take much.

00:19:50.402 --> 00:19:50.521
If your

00:19:50.521 --> 00:19:52.382
head fits, the rest of them will fit.

00:19:52.902 --> 00:19:53.251
Yeah.

00:19:54.051 --> 00:20:01.251
And if you have any ermine problem, Oh man, they can get through a hole the size of a quarter.

00:20:02.051 --> 00:20:02.832
It's amazing.

00:20:02.832 --> 00:20:07.031
Chicken wire makes the perfect circle for them to pop right through.

00:20:07.211 --> 00:20:07.652
Oh yeah.

00:20:07.652 --> 00:20:08.872
They're going to slow them down.

00:20:09.152 --> 00:20:10.241
Oh, and snakes too.

00:20:11.041 --> 00:20:11.751
Absolutely.

00:20:11.912 --> 00:20:14.451
So if you're buying prefab, look at these things.

00:20:15.041 --> 00:20:18.241
I've had people, friends of mine, they, they hit me up on Facebook.

00:20:18.241 --> 00:20:21.192
It's Hey, I finally got chickens and I got this thing and I got this thing.

00:20:21.201 --> 00:20:21.961
What do you think?

00:20:22.271 --> 00:20:25.872
And I go, okay, yeah good start.

00:20:26.672 --> 00:20:28.582
You're going to need some predator protection though.

00:20:29.382 --> 00:20:31.422
Cause you're out in a big field in suburbia.

00:20:32.211 --> 00:20:40.811
And yeah, the neighbor's dogs are going to be a problem and everything every predator in the neighborhood is going to come in and start sniffing around as soon as you get birds.

00:20:40.862 --> 00:20:42.021
Be prepared for that.

00:20:42.821 --> 00:20:45.521
I've said for a long time that here's where I live in Florida.

00:20:46.321 --> 00:20:49.362
We had everything to contend with except big predators.

00:20:49.922 --> 00:20:50.201
That's what we did.

00:20:50.352 --> 00:20:51.301
picture has changed.

00:20:51.311 --> 00:20:55.761
Now there's been a bear that showed up about a half a mile from my house.

00:20:56.561 --> 00:21:04.271
And there's a Florida panther or some folks know them as cougars or mountain lions within about five miles of the house now.

00:21:04.951 --> 00:21:05.402
Oh

00:21:05.422 --> 00:21:05.731
sure.

00:21:06.352 --> 00:21:07.422
So funny games.

00:21:08.221 --> 00:21:13.372
We're starting to get squeezed where we are because when we first moved out here it was still really rural.

00:21:14.172 --> 00:21:21.321
And we didn't have much predator action because their population density is a lot more spread out.

00:21:21.632 --> 00:21:21.942
Right.

00:21:21.942 --> 00:21:27.701
Versus when you start getting into more urban areas, they actually have a much higher population density.

00:21:28.092 --> 00:21:36.491
And now that we're going through that suburban buildup, now we're seeing an influx of raccoons, possum, fox, coyote.

00:21:37.172 --> 00:21:46.892
As they have habitat loss, they're coming into the more established areas like where we are, and I've seen probably three possums just this week.

00:21:47.561 --> 00:21:49.892
When I used to go a year in between sightings.

00:21:50.692 --> 00:21:52.531
They're coming out of my eyeballs now.

00:21:53.332 --> 00:21:57.461
I had to stop putting the trap out because it just got ridiculous.

00:21:57.501 --> 00:22:02.182
I was trapping something every night in the Havahart and you know what?

00:22:02.211 --> 00:22:05.071
As long as they're not getting through the electric fence, I'm okay with that.

00:22:05.872 --> 00:22:08.432
They can live on the other side of the fence and everybody's fine.

00:22:09.231 --> 00:22:14.541
We're looking into electric options now that we're seeing this increase in the predator population.

00:22:15.342 --> 00:22:24.612
And some things back when I was living in Ocala, we had electric fencing and the didn't keep everything out.

00:22:24.662 --> 00:22:31.852
I had a heck of a time with a bobcat around it because they could just jump over it with no problem at all.

00:22:32.481 --> 00:22:35.582
I had a fox go over the fence and take out some chickens.

00:22:36.382 --> 00:22:42.632
Which was really surprising because it was the taller, I think it was the 40 inch fence that premiere one sells.

00:22:43.432 --> 00:22:45.001
Just side jumped over it.

00:22:45.001 --> 00:22:46.781
I was like, wow, that's impressive.

00:22:46.781 --> 00:22:49.011
Especially coming out with a chicken in its mouth.

00:22:49.811 --> 00:22:50.362
Okay.

00:22:50.382 --> 00:22:51.142
Good to know.

00:22:51.942 --> 00:22:52.412
Okay.

00:22:52.442 --> 00:23:00.451
Why don't we talk about the cost that I think everybody stresses out over more than anything else.

00:23:01.251 --> 00:23:02.652
Oh, our biggest expense.

00:23:03.132 --> 00:23:03.561
Yeah.

00:23:04.021 --> 00:23:04.672
Feed.

00:23:04.672 --> 00:23:04.701
Yeah.

00:23:05.501 --> 00:23:12.001
Man, and if you've had chickens very long, you know that it just keeps going up and up.

00:23:12.801 --> 00:23:20.602
It is not inexpensive, but it's one of those things that can make or break the success of your flock.

00:23:21.402 --> 00:23:22.311
Absolutely.

00:23:22.481 --> 00:23:42.192
Jeff Maddox says that there's Three types of feed, basically, we can get for our poultry, and he describes them as low level cheap feed, which he calls deprive, and that middle of the pack feed that he refers to as survive.

00:23:42.622 --> 00:23:45.182
It does just enough to keep them going.

00:23:45.432 --> 00:23:49.771
They'll lay some eggs, They'll hatch some chicks, but it's not as good as it could be.

00:23:50.571 --> 00:23:55.082
And then that third level or the highest one he refers to as the thrive feed.

00:23:55.672 --> 00:24:02.471
These are your premium, high quality feeds that are loaded with the proper amounts of nutrients and amino acids.

00:24:03.271 --> 00:24:07.721
And we're going to get into some of the things that you can do to keep your costs down there.

00:24:07.721 --> 00:24:15.301
I think one of the best things people can do is get a set of scales and weigh your birds on a regular basis.

00:24:16.096 --> 00:24:16.477
Yes.

00:24:16.876 --> 00:24:18.366
Look for birds getting overweight.

00:24:18.406 --> 00:24:21.707
Chickens can be serious little piggies at the feed trough.

00:24:22.507 --> 00:24:26.467
They can overeat in a heartbeat, they can and they will overeat in a heartbeat.

00:24:27.267 --> 00:24:31.717
And palpate them feel the ends of the pubic bone for fat.

00:24:32.426 --> 00:24:38.497
Pubic bones are those two little pointed bones back under the tail, right around the vent area.

00:24:39.297 --> 00:24:41.807
And if you can feel with your fingers and if it feels.

00:24:42.606 --> 00:24:50.946
Fairly sharp, not sharp like a razor, but if it's if it feels sharp, probably not carrying too much body fat.

00:24:51.136 --> 00:24:52.297
Like the point of a pencil.

00:24:52.547 --> 00:24:52.936
Yeah.

00:24:53.007 --> 00:24:53.317
Yeah.

00:24:53.836 --> 00:24:58.896
If it's more the eraser end, that's a polite way with that, John.

00:24:59.436 --> 00:25:06.446
But if it feels soft and spongy and more like a pencil eraser, those girls are probably too fat.

00:25:07.027 --> 00:25:09.076
And what happens when they're too fat?

00:25:09.477 --> 00:25:11.307
Oh production goes down.

00:25:11.307 --> 00:25:12.616
Fertility goes down.

00:25:13.247 --> 00:25:14.747
Egg production goes down.

00:25:15.547 --> 00:25:16.676
Stress on the internal

00:25:16.676 --> 00:25:17.366
organs goes

00:25:17.467 --> 00:25:17.977
up.

00:25:18.297 --> 00:25:22.517
You run the chance of the birds getting fatty liver disease and killing them.

00:25:23.136 --> 00:25:24.517
Same thing that happens to us.

00:25:24.567 --> 00:25:27.287
Your birds are known for their light bone.

00:25:27.957 --> 00:25:28.856
They start getting fat.

00:25:28.876 --> 00:25:30.767
You got to support that extra density.

00:25:30.777 --> 00:25:31.616
Can it handle it?

00:25:32.395 --> 00:25:37.665
This brings us to the close of another Poultry Keepers podcast, and we're very happy you chose to join us.

00:25:37.955 --> 00:25:43.846
Until next time, we'd appreciate it if you would drop us a note, letting us know your thoughts about our podcast.

00:25:44.135 --> 00:25:52.205
Please share our podcast with all of your friends that keep poultry, and we hope you'll join us again when we'll be talking poultry from feathers to function.