A few weeks back I posted about my chickens and I was worried because they were not laying. I did put a light in the coop. We made them a bigger lot. I even started giving them game bird food and laying mash. Guess what they are finally laying. One day we broke a record for eggs. We got fifteen eggs. We have never got that many in one day. My grandpa said my pullets must have started laying. The game bird food is great. It cost the same as laying mash. Sam bought laying mash the other day at a different place than we normally do. I didn`t like it. It had a lot of corn and powdery. It was cheap to and I see why.
I don`t know about you all but feed just keeps going up. Sweet feed and corn. We are thinking about selling our cattle. I spend more on animal food than I do people food. I am afraid it is only going to get worse.
I understand you well. Our feed bill is close to our house payment. We are hobby farmers! We save animals and give them a home, but we have cut back due to the cost of feed.
God Bless. mj
Congratulations on the eggs! That is exciting when they start producing the way we want them to. Ours has started laying again, too.
Feed has risen again at the store I buy it here, too. Regular shelled corn is now $11.00 for 100 lb bag, cracked corn is $11.30 / 100, horse mix is $13.90 / 100, and pig and hog is $15.20 / 100. They mix their own feed, so these prices are cheaper than what they sell the brand names for, but it is still enough to make one wonder when the price will be too much to be able to continue on with.
For our horses we have gone to a 100lb. feed tub. It's about $40.00 but it lasts much longer than buying if by the bag. I wonder to when the feed will cost too much to keep the animals. I am also, really starting to see the price hike at the grocery store.
Blessings,
Trixi
Isn't it a great feeling when the birds start to lay? We got some in September and they started laying in Nov.-Dec? we are getting an average of 5 eggs a day. That's good for winter.
We experimented once in giving our chickens just corn rather than laying mash and they stopped laying. The laying mash is definately a must!! The light always helps too. We get more this time of the year than in the fall when they are molting.
Melanie
yup we're in there, too. We're running low on feed and not making up for it in sales... this summer will probably mark a decision one way or the other... do we downsize to just growing our own or do we keep paying the high feed? Last year our sales dropped... always we sold more than we wanted, last year, sold barely enough to pay for this winter's hay. Like dh says, we can't keep doing this if it's going to keep us in debt. We're looking at debt reduction AND being self sufficient. We're wondering if we're better off to just grow for ourselves and live off the land, or whether we should try selling sheep for a few more years and hopefully get out of more debt... that all depends on whether the sales are higher than the feed bill!
I am a stay-at-home, Christian homeschooling mom. My husband and I have been married for 19 years. We have been blessed with three kids,ages 18, 10 and 8. We live on a family farm and have several animals. I`m just a simple farm gal, who loves her God, family, friends and life.
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• Saturday, January 19, 2008 - Untitled Comment
God Bless. mj