March 18, 2024
Have A Good Flock From A Small Start-Part 1
The episode discusses starting a poultry flock with a small group of birds, emphasizing the importance of high-quality birds, strict culling, and continuous learning. We highlight the need for patience, mentorship, and thorough management skills to overcome setbacks and challenges. In addition, we also cover breeding methods, predator protection, and the importance of selecting only the best birds for breeding.
You can email us at - poultrykeeperspodcast@gmail.com
Join our Facebook Groups:
Poultry Keepers Podcast -
https://www.facebook.com/groups/907679597724837
Poultry Keepers 360 - - https://www.facebook.com/groups/354973752688125
Poultry Breeders Nutrition - https://www.facebook.com/groups/4908798409211973
Check out the Poultry Kepers Podcast YouTube Channel -
https://www.youtube.com/@PoultryKeepersPodcast/featured
WEBVTT
00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:05.780
Hi, I'm Mandelyn Royal and I would like to welcome you to another episode of the Poultry Keepers podcast.
00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:16.910
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.
00:00:17.478 --> 00:00:20.208
Can you get big results from a small start?
00:00:20.588 --> 00:00:24.939
Can great results be obtained with only a small flock of foundation birds?
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:30.248
Is it possible to build a quality flock without raising a hundred or more birds each year?
00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:38.594
Coming up, we're gonna dive into this topic and we're gonna share our thoughts And we also have quite the little list of questions to ask you guys, too.
00:00:49.152 --> 00:00:50.241
That's right, Mandelyn.
00:00:50.301 --> 00:00:56.712
This episode was actually prompted by one of our listeners who was asking us that very question.
00:00:56.822 --> 00:01:01.491
Do you have to start with large numbers of birds, or can you do it with a small start?
00:01:02.152 --> 00:01:08.542
The short answer is yes, you can, but, we've always got these annoying little buts that come into a conversation.
00:01:09.341 --> 00:01:15.171
Yeah let me start off by telling you a little story of somebody who did it, and did it very well.
00:01:15.971 --> 00:01:17.272
And that's Leroy Jones.
00:01:17.772 --> 00:01:27.742
He was president of the Rhode Island Red Club when I joined, and I quickly learned that Leroy Jones didn't have to hatch a lot of birds each year.
00:01:28.262 --> 00:01:29.697
He would let two, how many wasn't hatching.
00:01:30.311 --> 00:01:38.792
He would let two hens set, that's it, that's all the chicks he wanted, and he was extremely difficult to beat in a show.
00:01:39.591 --> 00:01:40.971
How was he able to do that?
00:01:41.027 --> 00:01:44.462
He started with extremely high quality birds.
00:01:45.121 --> 00:01:49.197
He had a real good knowledge of understanding Rhode Island reds and how to breed them.
00:01:49.606 --> 00:01:55.257
Now he, these were bantams, but he started many years prior to that raising large fowl.
00:01:56.057 --> 00:02:02.076
He had extremely high standards for his birds and for his flock and for his goals actually.
00:02:02.417 --> 00:02:03.406
They were very high.
00:02:04.206 --> 00:02:13.167
And the other thing that he did was he adhered to a really strict culling and selection process.
00:02:13.956 --> 00:02:21.342
Now he may hatch 20 chicks a year, but out of that, he may keep One or two or three, and that was it.
00:02:22.141 --> 00:02:24.762
And statistically, that falls in line with the rule of ten.
00:02:25.201 --> 00:02:26.421
Yeah, it does.
00:02:27.012 --> 00:02:31.912
Again, the short answer, we think it's possible, but let's get to some of the buts.
00:02:32.711 --> 00:02:42.461
I think the first thing you need to do if you're going to try this is ask yourself and do some hard evaluation, okay?
00:02:43.016 --> 00:02:51.206
Before you even get started, ask yourself, is it your first experience raising poultry or breeding poultry?
00:02:51.486 --> 00:02:56.667
If it is, it's going to take you longer to accomplish getting a good group of birds.
00:02:57.467 --> 00:03:13.157
That, and there's some basic knowledge you have to acquire before You get into a big project too, like you got to figure out your infrastructure, your husbandry methods, dial in your feeding, even just figuring out incubation and the learning curve there.
00:03:13.157 --> 00:03:19.926
There's a lot to learn just to get started, let alone taking up a serious venture of breeding.
00:03:20.727 --> 00:03:30.956
And that's not a bad place for some of those hatchery stock, get started in them for your first year or two without a heavy investment into your birds and get your husbandry skills worked out.
00:03:31.651 --> 00:03:44.581
So when you do have those high dollar birds on the ground, you've smoothed over those bumps and worked through it and figured out what's going to work for you in your particular scenario.
00:03:45.382 --> 00:03:51.912
So another question is, do you know how many birds you can successfully maintain each year?
00:03:52.231 --> 00:03:57.741
And that is something where it's another thing to learn about as you go through.
00:03:58.046 --> 00:04:01.497
Because some breeds need more space than other breeds.
00:04:02.097 --> 00:04:02.627
Sure.
00:04:02.757 --> 00:04:04.586
I would start with the hard infrastructure.
00:04:04.586 --> 00:04:05.877
What are your limits?
00:04:05.887 --> 00:04:15.016
What do you have for acreage or do you have a tenth of an acre or an allotment or, a 10 by 10 chain link dog run?
00:04:15.616 --> 00:04:19.966
And then we're going to size your flock appropriate to what's available to them.
00:04:20.766 --> 00:04:31.447
And, with that, your food and water and everything is going to be sized appropriately and hopefully it's financially sustainable as well because we joke about the$3,000 egg.
00:04:32.137 --> 00:04:36.026
Yeah, that first egg after you've built everything is the most expensive egg.
00:04:36.516 --> 00:04:37.607
Oh my goodness.
00:04:37.656 --> 00:04:59.916
But, you've gotten so deep into it by this point and if you decide you love it Great, time to start doing some research, find out what breeds do really well in your area, what breeders are in your area that you can tuck up under their wing and glom as much knowledge and hopefully some genetics off of, and start your journey.
00:05:00.557 --> 00:05:09.406
That's gonna lead you to a couple of decisions that you're gonna have to make like Our third question here, do you want to be a breeder or do you want to be a salesperson?
00:05:09.416 --> 00:05:16.547
Because the methodology and how you run your flock and what you're doing it for, there's little differences in there.
00:05:16.547 --> 00:05:18.331
So You want to be honest.
00:05:18.331 --> 00:05:22.052
Do you want to do this to make a difference with the breed that you've chosen?
00:05:22.351 --> 00:05:23.882
Or are you trying to make money?
00:05:23.891 --> 00:05:28.541
Because there's different things to consider within that.
00:05:29.341 --> 00:05:36.471
And Mandelyn, I think that's where so many people who are just starting out run afoul of this whole situation.
00:05:36.791 --> 00:05:45.161
They get birds, they pay a pretty good dollar amount for them, and then suddenly they think I'm going to sell eggs or I'm going to sell chicks to make my money back.
00:05:45.961 --> 00:05:52.531
But there's little thought going into, how am I going to make these birds better to make them more valuable?
00:05:53.122 --> 00:05:57.062
Because if you don't have the reputation, you can't charge the same price you paid.
00:05:57.062 --> 00:06:02.701
No, and when people do that, the quality of their birds just takes a nosedive.
00:06:03.326 --> 00:06:19.307
And I sometimes see over and over is people buy two dozen hatching eggs and they think the very next year they're going to be able to sell pullet eggs for the same amount of money that they paid for their two dozen eggs.
00:06:19.497 --> 00:06:32.406
But what they don't realize is the decade or decades of breeding and selection that went into those eggs that they got and what they need to do to have a viable product or, hopefully have a viable flock.
00:06:33.206 --> 00:06:34.177
And that's true, John.
00:06:34.697 --> 00:06:43.976
People who produce high quality birds, those people that I refer to as foundational breeders, they're the ones that other people actively seek out.
00:06:44.572 --> 00:06:47.132
To get quality birds to start their flock.
00:06:47.932 --> 00:06:54.562
And they've got thousands of hours and thousands of dollars invested in getting their birds to the point they're at.
00:06:54.982 --> 00:06:55.661
Lifetimes.
00:06:55.711 --> 00:06:56.302
Lifetimes.
00:06:56.322 --> 00:07:03.072
And I think we need to respect that, and I think cherish it, because that's something that we can't afford to lose.
00:07:03.692 --> 00:07:10.411
Because these birds were bred to do different things than a lot of people are expecting of them now.
00:07:10.666 --> 00:07:20.026
Dual purpose, having eggs and meat selecting to a standard that there's not a whole bunch of people doing the whole thing now.
00:07:20.067 --> 00:07:28.367
And I think it's important to get people interested back into it and get our foundational flocks up and running and have a good genetic foundation.
00:07:28.726 --> 00:07:33.817
And if anything, it just helps insulate the species, the breed and us from.
00:07:34.516 --> 00:07:42.687
Futures, changes, and resiliency through whatever's coming over the next 50, 100, 200 years I think is important.
00:07:43.016 --> 00:07:48.747
This was, a cornerstone in our nutritional profile for so long.
00:07:48.937 --> 00:07:55.776
We couldn't have gotten here without these birds, and we can't afford to lose them, especially with a lot of the change and struggles that are looming.
00:07:56.576 --> 00:07:58.797
Another question, folks, need to be real honest.
00:07:59.422 --> 00:08:07.351
And asking themselves, is do you have the necessary poultry management skills to do this?
00:08:07.581 --> 00:08:15.372
And I'm not talking about just feeding and watering, it goes way beyond that, at what point do you start offering baby chicks grit?
00:08:15.422 --> 00:08:18.682
At what point do you switch chicks from starter to grower?
00:08:19.482 --> 00:08:22.471
All that information is available, at least from our outlet.
00:08:22.471 --> 00:08:28.641
So we have Jeff Maddox, an awesome poultry nutritionist doing the live feeds every other week with you and Karen.
00:08:28.641 --> 00:08:31.151
And the quality information is out there.
00:08:31.151 --> 00:08:34.822
You just need to stay away from the hyperbole in the process.
00:08:35.152 --> 00:08:37.371
Educate yourself as part of the process.
00:08:37.402 --> 00:08:40.162
That first 18 months that you're raising your hatchery stock.
00:08:40.672 --> 00:08:41.932
You should be learning all this.
00:08:42.432 --> 00:08:48.991
If you listen to the older folks who have been doing this a while, they have a decade or more of experience on the ground.
00:08:49.552 --> 00:08:55.631
The person that you get your birds from, seriously, ask them, How do these, what do these birds like?
00:08:55.682 --> 00:08:58.322
What, how do you see them respond well?
00:08:58.322 --> 00:08:59.192
What should I do?
00:08:59.932 --> 00:09:14.822
Leverage that knowledge, don't just use them as a supply for the base genetics, because they got them there, they're going to know how, at least they feel, you should bring them forward, and be proud to carry their heritage and their genetics forward.
00:09:15.461 --> 00:09:22.871
Just expanding on that just a little bit, John, study and ask that person you got your birds from, how do you breed your birds?
00:09:23.672 --> 00:09:24.662
What steps do you take?
00:09:24.751 --> 00:09:35.251
And emulate that as closely as you possibly can, because that'll get you down the road much faster than getting birds and basically starting over from scratch with your management and breeding.
00:09:35.302 --> 00:09:50.187
Well, if they're a quality breeder, they're going to be employing very strict, close bred, line bred, whatever you want to call it, genetics, and have done years and years of selection, and they're going to have the the proof right there.
00:09:50.216 --> 00:09:52.576
Otherwise, you wouldn't be trying to get their genetics.
00:09:52.697 --> 00:10:01.557
And the better breeders I've found, you really need to pursue sometimes and convince them that they want to sell you their genetics.
00:10:02.226 --> 00:10:09.756
I know I have a qualification process where, you know, somebody in Florida or Texas, they don't, it's not a great place for a Chanticleer.
00:10:10.027 --> 00:10:10.817
And I tell them that.
00:10:10.866 --> 00:10:12.807
These birds are not suited for your environment.
00:10:13.356 --> 00:10:16.789
They can't dissipate the heat, they will have, they will stay cold.
00:10:16.789 --> 00:10:24.547
And I think that level of honesty that breeders can provide, if they have the best of intentions for their variety, their breeds, and what they're doing.
00:10:24.986 --> 00:10:27.096
They're going to tell you the real story of it.
00:10:27.096 --> 00:10:51.116
They're not trying to push the sale because if you look at supply and demand, if the supply is greater than the demand, they're not going to necessarily take that time, but if they've really honed in their flock and they're really making great strides with them and they really are quality birds, that demand that they have is going to be high enough that they do need to get picky.
00:10:51.302 --> 00:10:55.572
On who exactly is going to receive the very limited numbers that they have.
00:10:55.741 --> 00:11:03.841
So they're going to be looking for people who have the infrastructure, the know how, the drive, the will, the passion, whatever you want to call it.
00:11:03.841 --> 00:11:11.751
They're going to look for people who have a similar flock goal to what they've already established in their flock to put them in the right hands.
00:11:12.131 --> 00:11:36.417
Also I do want to protect, my reputation and my genetics to some aspect, but I want to enable them for success, and I don't want to set anybody up for failure knowingly, so if it's going into a bad environment, I'm going to tell them up front but, ironically, I did find one way that you could be profitable raising heritage poultry, and that is to sell every egg to every person that asks.
00:11:37.216 --> 00:11:40.096
The only way to do that is to be an unethical breeder, however.
00:11:40.336 --> 00:11:44.876
If you're going to take it seriously, you're, yeah, it's not gonna happen.
00:11:45.677 --> 00:11:53.886
All of the good breeders that I know to a person are very selective about who they release their birds to.
00:11:54.687 --> 00:12:09.417
And some people, I know this turns them off, but, if you don't approach these folks with the right attitude, with an open attitude, showing that you're willing to learn from them, chances are you getting a hold of their birds are really low.
00:12:10.106 --> 00:12:14.466
One of the very basic questions that I ask, I do have a little questionnaire.
00:12:14.476 --> 00:12:15.506
It's 10 questions.
00:12:15.506 --> 00:12:16.336
Super simple.
00:12:16.616 --> 00:12:19.667
Number one is, what is your current feed?
00:12:20.197 --> 00:12:37.177
And I can tell a whole lot based on that, the response is whatever the least expensive 16 percent layer on the shelf is versus, I'm mixing my own feed and I'm supplementing with all the essential amino acids that I know are missing from the 16 percent layer feed that's on the shelf.
00:12:37.177 --> 00:12:37.341
That's it.
00:12:38.142 --> 00:12:45.662
Because that's going to have a direct correlation to the performance and the way that the birds perform on your farm with your nutrition.
00:12:45.892 --> 00:12:53.361
If they don't follow that same protocol, they're probably not going to see the same results, and they're probably going to come back to you and ask why?
00:12:53.626 --> 00:13:04.927
They cannot possibly achieve the same level of genetic expression because the building blocks, the amino acids, the building blocks for the proteins aren't available to the birds.
00:13:05.126 --> 00:13:08.726
There's no way they can achieve what I'm doing here, even next door.
00:13:09.067 --> 00:13:12.866
We change feed alone and it completely tips the scales.
00:13:13.616 --> 00:13:15.486
Nutrition is something that touches.
00:13:16.027 --> 00:13:33.256
Every aspect of raising poultry from hatching strong chicks to raising strong chicks right on through to breeders that have all the nutritional needs met at optimum levels so they can start the cycle all over again.
00:13:33.836 --> 00:13:43.787
I had a long car ride and I was musing in my head when breeding season starts and when I need to start my, nutritional plan for the eggs.
00:13:44.277 --> 00:13:50.586
And I, I was like, okay, so a month before breeding season, I may need to make sure everybody's laying, the rooster's got light, hen's got light.
00:13:51.386 --> 00:13:55.886
They've got access to all this, but really that's just a month after coming out of the molt.
00:13:56.006 --> 00:13:59.986
So it's really, I'm preparing for breeding season during post molt care.
00:14:00.787 --> 00:14:02.716
It really started during molt.
00:14:02.907 --> 00:14:08.846
Hens shed all the abdominal fat and reset their bodies to be able to produce quality eggs.
00:14:09.226 --> 00:14:16.361
So I just keep backing up as to when breeding season starts and I think I'm at the point now, it's the first molt.
00:14:17.162 --> 00:14:18.461
It's all the time, really.
00:14:18.522 --> 00:14:19.812
It really is all the time.
00:14:19.822 --> 00:14:23.461
If you're a good breeder, you're always thinking about the next batch of eggs.
00:14:23.491 --> 00:14:24.451
And that's the point.
00:14:24.961 --> 00:14:30.221
You keep coming back and back, and all of a sudden you're back where you started from, around the other side of the wheel.
00:14:30.422 --> 00:14:34.052
We brought up the concept of the breeding cycle and the breeding wheel before.
00:14:34.562 --> 00:14:36.162
I think Mandelyn's exactly right.
00:14:36.331 --> 00:14:37.792
It never stops.
00:14:38.591 --> 00:14:39.432
It never stops.
00:14:39.461 --> 00:14:41.062
It's an ongoing process.
00:14:41.397 --> 00:14:44.866
It's not a seasonal process at all in the long run.
00:14:45.397 --> 00:14:48.476
And that's the mindset that a successful breeder has to have.
00:14:48.797 --> 00:15:03.206
They're the person who wants those optimal results, and they're a very detail oriented person, and they understand incremental gains and slow, steady progress, and this is not going to be an overnight thing.
00:15:03.216 --> 00:15:07.386
You're not going to buy a trio and be winning ribbons for the next ten years.
00:15:07.677 --> 00:15:07.937
No.
00:15:07.937 --> 00:15:17.236
If you don't want optimum results, if that's not important to you, then trying to start a good flock from a small start of birds.
00:15:18.037 --> 00:15:22.027
It's extremely difficult if darn nigh impossible.
00:15:22.326 --> 00:15:25.937
But it can be done and that's why we're here.
00:15:26.236 --> 00:15:34.106
We don't want to set a false expectation, however so if all these checks in the boxes and you're like yep, that's exactly what I want to do.
00:15:34.126 --> 00:15:35.096
I'm down with that.
00:15:35.706 --> 00:15:37.537
This is the number of birds I can start with.
00:15:38.287 --> 00:15:38.787
Okay.
00:15:39.586 --> 00:15:40.366
Let's start.
00:15:40.616 --> 00:15:43.047
You got your list of written goals of what you want to accomplish.
00:15:43.047 --> 00:15:44.557
Do you have your plan?
00:15:44.557 --> 00:16:03.956
Let's say that you get all of your ducks in a row, you've got your goals, you've got your plan, you've sourced your birds, you have checked off every single box on the whole beginning of the journey, but the next question How do you handle adversity and setbacks when a problem jumps up and surprises you?
00:16:03.966 --> 00:16:15.636
Because even the best, laid plans, mother nature, environment, anything like that can come out and ruin it and make you reconsider things.
00:16:15.636 --> 00:16:20.376
So how do you handle that if something unexpected arises?
00:16:20.376 --> 00:16:22.586
Because I've struggled with that personally.
00:16:23.126 --> 00:16:25.447
It's almost like if it's not one thing, it's another.
00:16:26.067 --> 00:16:28.496
This winter has been hugely challenging.
00:16:28.496 --> 00:16:37.976
We had three weeks in a row where we had heavy wet snow in late December, early January that took out power for between two and four days per week.
00:16:38.777 --> 00:16:41.767
So every time that happened, I lost a batch in the incubator.
00:16:42.346 --> 00:16:44.567
That set us back a lot.
00:16:45.366 --> 00:16:48.876
And we also had a lot of rain and warm weather.
00:16:49.101 --> 00:16:52.481
In late December and early January, which doesn't happen, which woke up the ermine.
00:16:52.501 --> 00:16:57.682
So we had some predation events very out of season, two months earlier than I would have expected them.
00:16:58.142 --> 00:17:02.772
Normally I go, oh, February's ending, it's time to put up ermine protection.
00:17:03.341 --> 00:17:04.971
But, no, it got hit in January.
00:17:05.521 --> 00:17:13.021
Luckily, I had a two week supply of fertilized eggs that I always keep in reserve as my, oh darn fail safe.
00:17:13.021 --> 00:17:13.862
Yeah, insurance eggs.
00:17:14.662 --> 00:17:23.991
But on the heels of, three consecutive weeks of power outages and ermine attack, that two week backup just really wasn't a two week backup.
00:17:23.991 --> 00:17:27.461
It was more like five eggs that I found, between.
00:17:27.932 --> 00:17:30.652
The four that were there and the one in the next box, that was it.
00:17:30.701 --> 00:17:32.882
I don't put all my great hens in one place.
00:17:33.112 --> 00:17:38.751
That's another thing, if you can separate your breeders physically, it's not a bad idea.
00:17:38.942 --> 00:17:44.751
If a predator gets in one place, it's not likely they're going to get into the other place.
00:17:44.751 --> 00:17:49.311
They're probably going to stop there and feast for a little while and not work any harder to get any more food.
00:17:49.731 --> 00:18:00.832
If they break into one spot, especially with weasels, mink, raccoon, Stuff like that will decimate everything in that pen and then nibble and waste the bulk of it.
00:18:01.102 --> 00:18:04.971
They're not gonna put the effort into breaking into a whole other pen.
00:18:05.771 --> 00:18:09.071
Yeah, they're not going to go further into a a chicken house.
00:18:09.071 --> 00:18:11.041
They're going to stop where they've got their kill.
00:18:11.041 --> 00:18:13.781
They're not going to put any more effort into breaking in further.
00:18:14.352 --> 00:18:14.791
That's it.
00:18:15.592 --> 00:18:17.142
And they're just going to sit and nibble.
00:18:17.332 --> 00:18:18.061
Very true.
00:18:18.711 --> 00:18:35.592
If you don't think that you're gonna have setbacks and adversity, you are so wrong because sooner or later it's gonna come up and really hit you hard, so you gotta be prepared for those as best you possibly can, or you will have major setbacks.
00:18:36.392 --> 00:18:40.491
I thought so hard that I thought of every contingency.
00:18:40.781 --> 00:18:44.711
My background, folks know I was in the military, I was an intelligence analyst in the Navy.
00:18:44.882 --> 00:18:48.172
I planned and I planned, and I view my chicken as like my junior enlisted.
00:18:48.231 --> 00:18:50.602
I take it personally, if a predator gets through.
00:18:51.332 --> 00:19:08.721
And between my Seven jule outer electric fence, my three and a half jule inner electric fence, chain link poultry wire, which is worthless for everything except very small weak things, like maybe mice and I am amazed at the holes that predators can get through.
00:19:09.436 --> 00:19:12.666
Like, how did you get through the size of a quarter?
00:19:13.047 --> 00:19:17.767
If you can stuff a quarter through it, something that can kill your chicken can get through there.
00:19:18.126 --> 00:19:20.307
I'm even reversing that to a nickel now.
00:19:20.896 --> 00:19:27.277
Getting to know weasels, they are incredibly adept at getting through very tight squeezes.
00:19:28.076 --> 00:19:42.038
And if you start looking at even The skull structure of these predators, and the bulk of a mature raccoon, but the way that they can fold and contort their body, they actually only need a three inch gap to gain access.
00:19:42.838 --> 00:19:44.229
Yeah, they're so prepare for that.
00:19:44.239 --> 00:19:48.699
There is heartbreak and death in poultry keeping not at your hands.
00:19:49.298 --> 00:19:56.348
The end of every season there is, freezer camp, and folks need to be prepared for that, physically, mentally, emotionally as well.
00:19:57.148 --> 00:20:05.898
We say culling means removing from the genetic pool and not breeding forward, but culling can also mean, the unaliving process.
00:20:06.699 --> 00:20:26.973
And it can be especially aggravating when you come up with your best laid plans, and you drop down to just your very best birds, but then perhaps in February, the just turning one year old male that you have, Didn't have that longevity and good vigor in, and he falls over dead right before breeding season.
00:20:27.773 --> 00:20:27.804
Yeah.
00:20:28.003 --> 00:20:39.653
He's health culled, and that can set you back an entire season or more if you need to scramble to try to find another one that was just as decent in the traits that the other guy
00:20:39.663 --> 00:20:40.074
had.
00:20:40.874 --> 00:20:42.203
Rip, I don't want to.
00:20:42.453 --> 00:20:43.973
Get too far ahead of ourselves.
00:20:43.973 --> 00:20:53.104
You have a breeding method that is more reliant on the female side of all the lines than the male, so you're not as critically injured if you do lose a male.
00:20:53.903 --> 00:20:58.064
That's exactly right, and I'll explain that more as we go along.
00:20:58.773 --> 00:20:59.064
Great.
00:20:59.263 --> 00:21:01.854
Just want to get people's Whistles wetted.
00:21:01.914 --> 00:21:15.644
Sometimes when you do have to have the setbacks and you have questions coming from that, it goes back to do you have a mentor or someone else that you can turn to for guidance when you hit those little roadblocks?
00:21:16.443 --> 00:21:17.134
And I didn't.
00:21:17.513 --> 00:21:23.554
I glommed on to Rip and Karen and Jeff and the whole PK360 years ago.
00:21:23.554 --> 00:21:24.523
I've been a fan forever.
00:21:25.324 --> 00:21:27.834
I've watched every episode multiple times.
00:21:28.449 --> 00:21:40.739
And that, that's what I loved is not having access to a mentor right down the road or just the virtual mentorship, if that's a word, if we can make that and, that's what I'm trying to enable to others.
00:21:41.078 --> 00:21:55.318
We want to be a place for reliable information that you can reach out to and it's there and it's not hidden behind a paywall and, how can we get you to build really high quality birds and flock consistency?
00:21:55.989 --> 00:22:05.729
And to be supportive and to help people get to success too, because when I first started with poultry, we didn't have these online communities of support and education.
00:22:06.179 --> 00:22:10.259
It was library books and the advice of whoever you happen to meet.
00:22:10.739 --> 00:22:12.828
The internet was not around.
00:22:13.098 --> 00:22:22.038
So adapting to the changes and the entire wealth of information that's now pretty readily available, so long as you have that internet connection.
00:22:22.513 --> 00:22:24.653
That's changed a lot.
00:22:25.013 --> 00:22:35.784
It's changed a lot for the better, but folks need to be aware too, there is a lot, I think it's probably well meaning, but it's poor quality information out there.
00:22:36.304 --> 00:22:39.834
And it can be difficult to sort through all of that.
00:22:40.634 --> 00:22:41.064
It can.
00:22:41.493 --> 00:22:47.804
Just simple things like, my birds don't need grit because I feed pellet, or I feed crumble.
00:22:48.604 --> 00:22:55.453
There's a lot of fallacies out there when it comes to nutrition and husbandry and just everything about the bird.
00:22:55.743 --> 00:22:58.763
Good quality source for information, virtual mentors.
00:22:59.564 --> 00:23:00.703
I think that's important.
00:23:01.304 --> 00:23:06.683
Having a mentor Locally, somebody that at least can come by and look at your birds.
00:23:06.894 --> 00:23:15.034
If you don't have the experience, hands on, and Mandelyn does an outstanding job explaining how to manipulate the bird and evaluate it.
00:23:15.034 --> 00:23:15.263
Yes.
00:23:15.778 --> 00:23:23.159
It's very helpful to have somebody who's handled a couple hundred birds at least come out and show you how to pick up a bird.
00:23:23.808 --> 00:23:27.229
How do you catch a bird safely to both you and the bird?
00:23:27.709 --> 00:23:37.499
These are things that we can explain all day long, but unless somebody shows you and helps you figure out a way that is going to work for you and your birds on your property it can be frustrating.
00:23:38.098 --> 00:23:39.269
And it can be dangerous.
00:23:40.068 --> 00:23:45.909
I've slipped and fell chasing birds in a wet pen before, and at my age I shouldn't be slipping and falling.
00:23:45.959 --> 00:23:47.398
I don't heal as fast.
00:23:47.449 --> 00:23:51.429
It can get fun, sometimes I'll hear my wife giggling, and I'm like, what are you doing?
00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:05.780
00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:16.910
00:00:17.478 --> 00:00:20.208
00:00:20.588 --> 00:00:24.939
00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:30.248
00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:38.594
00:00:49.152 --> 00:00:50.241
00:00:50.301 --> 00:00:56.712
00:00:56.822 --> 00:01:01.491
00:01:02.152 --> 00:01:08.542
00:01:09.341 --> 00:01:15.171
00:01:15.971 --> 00:01:17.272
00:01:17.772 --> 00:01:27.742
00:01:28.262 --> 00:01:29.697
00:01:30.311 --> 00:01:38.792
00:01:39.591 --> 00:01:40.971
00:01:41.027 --> 00:01:44.462
00:01:45.121 --> 00:01:49.197
00:01:49.606 --> 00:01:55.257
00:01:56.057 --> 00:02:02.076
00:02:02.417 --> 00:02:03.406
00:02:04.206 --> 00:02:13.167
00:02:13.956 --> 00:02:21.342
00:02:22.141 --> 00:02:24.762
00:02:25.201 --> 00:02:26.421
00:02:27.012 --> 00:02:31.912
00:02:32.711 --> 00:02:42.461
00:02:43.016 --> 00:02:51.206
00:02:51.486 --> 00:02:56.667
00:02:57.467 --> 00:03:13.157
00:03:13.157 --> 00:03:19.926
00:03:20.727 --> 00:03:30.956
00:03:31.651 --> 00:03:44.581
00:03:45.382 --> 00:03:51.912
00:03:52.231 --> 00:03:57.741
00:03:58.046 --> 00:04:01.497
00:04:02.097 --> 00:04:02.627
00:04:02.757 --> 00:04:04.586
00:04:04.586 --> 00:04:05.877
00:04:05.887 --> 00:04:15.016
00:04:15.616 --> 00:04:19.966
00:04:20.766 --> 00:04:31.447
00:04:32.137 --> 00:04:36.026
00:04:36.516 --> 00:04:37.607
00:04:37.656 --> 00:04:59.916
00:05:00.557 --> 00:05:09.406
00:05:09.416 --> 00:05:16.547
00:05:16.547 --> 00:05:18.331
00:05:18.331 --> 00:05:22.052
00:05:22.351 --> 00:05:23.882
00:05:23.891 --> 00:05:28.541
00:05:29.341 --> 00:05:36.471
00:05:36.791 --> 00:05:45.161
00:05:45.961 --> 00:05:52.531
00:05:53.122 --> 00:05:57.062
00:05:57.062 --> 00:06:02.701
00:06:03.326 --> 00:06:19.307
00:06:19.497 --> 00:06:32.406
00:06:33.206 --> 00:06:34.177
00:06:34.697 --> 00:06:43.976
00:06:44.572 --> 00:06:47.132
00:06:47.932 --> 00:06:54.562
00:06:54.982 --> 00:06:55.661
00:06:55.711 --> 00:06:56.302
00:06:56.322 --> 00:07:03.072
00:07:03.692 --> 00:07:10.411
00:07:10.666 --> 00:07:20.026
00:07:20.067 --> 00:07:28.367
00:07:28.726 --> 00:07:33.817
00:07:34.516 --> 00:07:42.687
00:07:43.016 --> 00:07:48.747
00:07:48.937 --> 00:07:55.776
00:07:56.576 --> 00:07:58.797
00:07:59.422 --> 00:08:07.351
00:08:07.581 --> 00:08:15.372
00:08:15.422 --> 00:08:18.682
00:08:19.482 --> 00:08:22.471
00:08:22.471 --> 00:08:28.641
00:08:28.641 --> 00:08:31.151
00:08:31.151 --> 00:08:34.822
00:08:35.152 --> 00:08:37.371
00:08:37.402 --> 00:08:40.162
00:08:40.672 --> 00:08:41.932
00:08:42.432 --> 00:08:48.991
00:08:49.552 --> 00:08:55.631
00:08:55.682 --> 00:08:58.322
00:08:58.322 --> 00:08:59.192
00:08:59.932 --> 00:09:14.822
00:09:15.461 --> 00:09:22.871
00:09:23.672 --> 00:09:24.662
00:09:24.751 --> 00:09:35.251
00:09:35.302 --> 00:09:50.187
00:09:50.216 --> 00:09:52.576
00:09:52.697 --> 00:10:01.557
00:10:02.226 --> 00:10:09.756
00:10:10.027 --> 00:10:10.817
00:10:10.866 --> 00:10:12.807
00:10:13.356 --> 00:10:16.789
00:10:16.789 --> 00:10:24.547
00:10:24.986 --> 00:10:27.096
00:10:27.096 --> 00:10:51.116
00:10:51.302 --> 00:10:55.572
00:10:55.741 --> 00:11:03.841
00:11:03.841 --> 00:11:11.751
00:11:12.131 --> 00:11:36.417
00:11:37.216 --> 00:11:40.096
00:11:40.336 --> 00:11:44.876
00:11:45.677 --> 00:11:53.886
00:11:54.687 --> 00:12:09.417
00:12:10.106 --> 00:12:14.466
00:12:14.476 --> 00:12:15.506
00:12:15.506 --> 00:12:16.336
00:12:16.616 --> 00:12:19.667
00:12:20.197 --> 00:12:37.177
00:12:37.177 --> 00:12:37.341
00:12:38.142 --> 00:12:45.662
00:12:45.892 --> 00:12:53.361
00:12:53.626 --> 00:13:04.927
00:13:05.126 --> 00:13:08.726
00:13:09.067 --> 00:13:12.866
00:13:13.616 --> 00:13:15.486
00:13:16.027 --> 00:13:33.256
00:13:33.836 --> 00:13:43.787
00:13:44.277 --> 00:13:50.586
00:13:51.386 --> 00:13:55.886
00:13:56.006 --> 00:13:59.986
00:14:00.787 --> 00:14:02.716
00:14:02.907 --> 00:14:08.846
00:14:09.226 --> 00:14:16.361
00:14:17.162 --> 00:14:18.461
00:14:18.522 --> 00:14:19.812
00:14:19.822 --> 00:14:23.461
00:14:23.491 --> 00:14:24.451
00:14:24.961 --> 00:14:30.221
00:14:30.422 --> 00:14:34.052
00:14:34.562 --> 00:14:36.162
00:14:36.331 --> 00:14:37.792
00:14:38.591 --> 00:14:39.432
00:14:39.461 --> 00:14:41.062
00:14:41.397 --> 00:14:44.866
00:14:45.397 --> 00:14:48.476
00:14:48.797 --> 00:15:03.206
00:15:03.216 --> 00:15:07.386
00:15:07.677 --> 00:15:07.937
00:15:07.937 --> 00:15:17.236
00:15:18.037 --> 00:15:22.027
00:15:22.326 --> 00:15:25.937
00:15:26.236 --> 00:15:34.106
00:15:34.126 --> 00:15:35.096
00:15:35.706 --> 00:15:37.537
00:15:38.287 --> 00:15:38.787
00:15:39.586 --> 00:15:40.366
00:15:40.616 --> 00:15:43.047
00:15:43.047 --> 00:15:44.557
00:15:44.557 --> 00:16:03.956
00:16:03.966 --> 00:16:15.636
00:16:15.636 --> 00:16:20.376
00:16:20.376 --> 00:16:22.586
00:16:23.126 --> 00:16:25.447
00:16:26.067 --> 00:16:28.496
00:16:28.496 --> 00:16:37.976
00:16:38.777 --> 00:16:41.767
00:16:42.346 --> 00:16:44.567
00:16:45.366 --> 00:16:48.876
00:16:49.101 --> 00:16:52.481
00:16:52.501 --> 00:16:57.682
00:16:58.142 --> 00:17:02.772
00:17:03.341 --> 00:17:04.971
00:17:05.521 --> 00:17:13.021
00:17:13.021 --> 00:17:13.862
00:17:14.662 --> 00:17:23.991
00:17:23.991 --> 00:17:27.461
00:17:27.932 --> 00:17:30.652
00:17:30.701 --> 00:17:32.882
00:17:33.112 --> 00:17:38.751
00:17:38.942 --> 00:17:44.751
00:17:44.751 --> 00:17:49.311
00:17:49.731 --> 00:18:00.832
00:18:01.102 --> 00:18:04.971
00:18:05.771 --> 00:18:09.071
00:18:09.071 --> 00:18:11.041
00:18:11.041 --> 00:18:13.781
00:18:14.352 --> 00:18:14.791
00:18:15.592 --> 00:18:17.142
00:18:17.332 --> 00:18:18.061
00:18:18.711 --> 00:18:35.592
00:18:36.392 --> 00:18:40.491
00:18:40.781 --> 00:18:44.711
00:18:44.882 --> 00:18:48.172
00:18:48.231 --> 00:18:50.602
00:18:51.332 --> 00:19:08.721
00:19:09.436 --> 00:19:12.666
00:19:13.047 --> 00:19:17.767
00:19:18.126 --> 00:19:20.307
00:19:20.896 --> 00:19:27.277
00:19:28.076 --> 00:19:42.038
00:19:42.838 --> 00:19:44.229
00:19:44.239 --> 00:19:48.699
00:19:49.298 --> 00:19:56.348
00:19:57.148 --> 00:20:05.898
00:20:06.699 --> 00:20:26.973
00:20:27.773 --> 00:20:27.804
00:20:28.003 --> 00:20:39.653
00:20:39.663 --> 00:20:40.074
had.
00:20:40.874 --> 00:20:42.203
00:20:42.453 --> 00:20:43.973
00:20:43.973 --> 00:20:53.104
00:20:53.903 --> 00:20:58.064
00:20:58.773 --> 00:20:59.064
00:20:59.263 --> 00:21:01.854
00:21:01.914 --> 00:21:15.644
00:21:16.443 --> 00:21:17.134
00:21:17.513 --> 00:21:23.554
00:21:23.554 --> 00:21:24.523
00:21:25.324 --> 00:21:27.834
00:21:28.449 --> 00:21:40.739
00:21:41.078 --> 00:21:55.318
00:21:55.989 --> 00:22:05.729
00:22:06.179 --> 00:22:10.259
00:22:10.739 --> 00:22:12.828
00:22:13.098 --> 00:22:22.038
00:22:22.513 --> 00:22:24.653
00:22:25.013 --> 00:22:35.784
00:22:36.304 --> 00:22:39.834
00:22:40.634 --> 00:22:41.064
00:22:41.493 --> 00:22:47.804
00:22:48.604 --> 00:22:55.453
00:22:55.743 --> 00:22:58.763
00:22:59.564 --> 00:23:00.703
00:23:01.304 --> 00:23:06.683
00:23:06.894 --> 00:23:15.034
00:23:15.034 --> 00:23:15.263
00:23:15.778 --> 00:23:23.159
00:23:23.808 --> 00:23:27.229
00:23:27.709 --> 00:23:37.499
00:23:38.098 --> 00:23:39.269
00:23:40.068 --> 00:23:45.909
00:23:45.959 --> 00:23:47.398
00:23:47.449 --> 00:23:51.429