The cost of business

I came home from town the other night and found some 'good ole' boys at the table talking business.

Papa has gotten T1 set up with a ledger so he can keep track of his income and outgo. At this point it's all outgo (That probably isn't a proper business term but you understand).

We've been buying all the supplies but he is saving the receipts in his poultry notebook. This was the night to total up and settle accounts.

T1 was cringing as the amount owed grew and grew. Papa also offered to pay for some of his feed for taking care of the meat birds which are not for his egg business, but for the family freezer.

I really wanted the Araucana chicks which lay colored eggs, and so I made a deal with him that I would pay for the chicks. I bought 5 of them but they became a part of his laying flock. As it turns out, Sally Henny Penny is an araucana and my favorite chicky. She is so sweet, she seems to really enjoy sitting in your hand.

We have had him reading chicken books for awhile now. Any information he feels pertinent to write down he can put in his notebook.

I printed him off calendar pages for every month of the year where he can keep track of when anything and everything related to his chicks.

Back to business. The grand total spent so far is $133.04!! He told me today he is glad he is keeping track, because he had no idea he had spent that much. He is pained to see his savings account draining but we keep telling him that now is the time to do this. To take chances, learn new things, fail and learn more new things, all with no pressure to pay a mortgage or support a family.

His birthday is coming up. Today he told me that he wants gift cards to the feed store for birthday presents now. The boy is really growing up!

Here is one of the Cornish Cross meat birds today. They are really getting ugly and growing fast. They will be two weeks old tomorrow.

We put a 1/2" wooden dowel in the layer chicks brooder for them to roost on. They seem to like it. They are still small, not growing like the cornish cross chicks.

We still have 40 chickens. None have died so far.

My husband and I are trying to know just enough to support our son and as little as possible so that the responsibility to know and learn about them is on his shoulders. We would like for him to be the resident chicken expert for now.

And so far...he is.