OK, I am not feeling so hot. I tried to halter the bull calf and he butted me under the chin, flipping my head backwards. I thought my jaw was broken. The temporomandibular joints were damaged for sure, but no bones were broken. The next day I was a little stiff and sore, but nothing like today. The whiplash started last night and is awful. I have had three previous whiplash incidents, all car accidents and one quite serious. I also have a crooked spine that is deteriorating with age and compressing, so this small accident is much bigger than it should be.
But that is not what gets me. I have duck and chicken eggs for sale for hatching at the moment. The ad clearly states the cost per egg and what I am selling, hatching eggs. Yet more than half the responses ask if a) either I have ducklings or chicks or b) if I have duck or chicken eggs for hatching or c) how much laying hens are. At first I was puzzled and reworded the ad placing the word EGGS first and then what types of eggs and the cost second. I even attached a photo of the eggs, plain to see. There are no laying hens, ducklings or chicks in the picture or mentioned in the ad. Now, I have a further revision of the ad to explain that I am currently not selling eggs for eating because I am selling only hatching orders at this time and I don't have any live birds for sale right now either. Still, today, there were two more responses asking either a, b or c. Go figure.
Also, there have been several inquiries for FREE eggs, yes folks, FREE. They want to hatch them for kids so they feel they should be free and they even offer the hatchlings back in return. They only want to pay $10 for laying hens. Ten dollars? Seriously? I sell chicks for $8 and ducklings for $10, goslings for $25 and turkeys for around $20, babies that is. This year I will only hatch what is preordered. The last two years, people booked the hatchlings and never showed up, or came 3 months later and wanted their "chikcs" at the same price as day olds. Come on, give me a break! I house, feed and nurse the babies until they are pullets and they want to pay the same as for a day old chick. Not. This year, the money is paid up front and the chicks must be picked up within 3 days of hatching or they are forfeit to another buyer. And for $10 dollar laying hens, I would rather butcher them and have chicken soup. Where can you buy a $10 dollar chicken anymore anyhow?
This area still regards farmers as a by product and not a necessity and treats them with disregard. It seems that the work a farmer does is not valued here at all, and things should be for free, especially if they are for children. I am not planning to sell eating eggs at all this year, but instead make dog biscuits of potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, eggs and hemp powder. People want to pay no more than $2.50 for a dozen eggs here, so what is the point of selling them at all. I managed to get the number of birds down last fall, but in September about 20 more ducklings and 30 more chicks were hatched courtesy of their mothers and wham, the numbers are up again this year. Somehow my goal of keeping only a few ducks and chickens over winter went out with the fall.
So, I wish people were able to read and understand what they read better. I wish people here were more supportive of farmers and paid for the farm goods with fair value. I wish farmers themselves would not undervalue their goods and time. It is like preaching to the dead though. Even when I sell something at a cheap price they ask if I would take less. I am learning to put the price higher than I expect and then bargain to where I really want to be and if they do not pay it, eat the critter or find other means of using the by products, such as the eggs.
And yup, the rant is over. Sorry to fill your ear with negativity. Sometimes that is how it is.
Blessings to all of you dear friends. And please pay your local farmers well.
But that is not what gets me. I have duck and chicken eggs for sale for hatching at the moment. The ad clearly states the cost per egg and what I am selling, hatching eggs. Yet more than half the responses ask if a) either I have ducklings or chicks or b) if I have duck or chicken eggs for hatching or c) how much laying hens are. At first I was puzzled and reworded the ad placing the word EGGS first and then what types of eggs and the cost second. I even attached a photo of the eggs, plain to see. There are no laying hens, ducklings or chicks in the picture or mentioned in the ad. Now, I have a further revision of the ad to explain that I am currently not selling eggs for eating because I am selling only hatching orders at this time and I don't have any live birds for sale right now either. Still, today, there were two more responses asking either a, b or c. Go figure.
Also, there have been several inquiries for FREE eggs, yes folks, FREE. They want to hatch them for kids so they feel they should be free and they even offer the hatchlings back in return. They only want to pay $10 for laying hens. Ten dollars? Seriously? I sell chicks for $8 and ducklings for $10, goslings for $25 and turkeys for around $20, babies that is. This year I will only hatch what is preordered. The last two years, people booked the hatchlings and never showed up, or came 3 months later and wanted their "chikcs" at the same price as day olds. Come on, give me a break! I house, feed and nurse the babies until they are pullets and they want to pay the same as for a day old chick. Not. This year, the money is paid up front and the chicks must be picked up within 3 days of hatching or they are forfeit to another buyer. And for $10 dollar laying hens, I would rather butcher them and have chicken soup. Where can you buy a $10 dollar chicken anymore anyhow?
This area still regards farmers as a by product and not a necessity and treats them with disregard. It seems that the work a farmer does is not valued here at all, and things should be for free, especially if they are for children. I am not planning to sell eating eggs at all this year, but instead make dog biscuits of potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, eggs and hemp powder. People want to pay no more than $2.50 for a dozen eggs here, so what is the point of selling them at all. I managed to get the number of birds down last fall, but in September about 20 more ducklings and 30 more chicks were hatched courtesy of their mothers and wham, the numbers are up again this year. Somehow my goal of keeping only a few ducks and chickens over winter went out with the fall.
So, I wish people were able to read and understand what they read better. I wish people here were more supportive of farmers and paid for the farm goods with fair value. I wish farmers themselves would not undervalue their goods and time. It is like preaching to the dead though. Even when I sell something at a cheap price they ask if I would take less. I am learning to put the price higher than I expect and then bargain to where I really want to be and if they do not pay it, eat the critter or find other means of using the by products, such as the eggs.
And yup, the rant is over. Sorry to fill your ear with negativity. Sometimes that is how it is.
Blessings to all of you dear friends. And please pay your local farmers well.
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