Tues March 17th… Erin Go Braugh… Ever wonder what it means?

Ireland Forever! That’s what it means. I’ve heard many stories of the Irish luck, their good times, partying, drinking, fighting……… almost every deplorable thing you can imagine, but you gotta hand it to the Irish. They are faithful to Ireland and their history. I can tell you right now that it will be hard to find an empty seat (or glass for that matter) in the town west of here, called Durham. That is where the Irish Cultural Center stands, along with many Irish stores and Motels. All the Irish family names are displayed on businesses and mailboxes and when you drive through the town late at night…… their are people congregated in and around the Shamrock House Restaurant and Bar in numbers too great to count upon passing. I enjoy talking to Irish folks, with their stories of jovial zeal. I think that their Irish accent is as appealing as can be too and I always enjoy hearing it. I just found out from my cousin in Mississippi, that I have Irish blood from a great Grandparent on my mothers side. Now I know why she was so well known at the firehouse's, where she and her hubby drank, played cards and danced on weekends. Perhaps that is where my temper comes from along with my brothers red hair! In any event………… Happy St. Patrick’s Day to Ya one and all……and…… "raise a beer to me if ya would, laddie."
Yesterday we got the incubator up and running with two duck eggs and nine chicken eggs committed to the cause… now we wait for April 3rd to remove those nine chicken eggs from the turner and place them into the second incubator for them to lay still for the next three days. Those next three days will allow the chick to turn and orientate it’s position for hatching. We will also increase the humidity during these three days to help keep the egg shell softened for the chick to hatch out. On April 6th, the nine chickens should hatch and after completely drying in the incubator for awhile, we will move them to the brooding nest under the heat lamp for them to drink eat and stay warm. The chickens take 21 days to hatch, but the ducks will be in there 28 days. We will place dated, marked eggs in daily until the incubator is full and then wait. It should be fun watching them and awaiting their hatching. We could house several hundred chicks in the brooding house if needed, so that could be an option for farm business in this tough economy. We plan to sell some chickens this summer for folks that want to have their own chickens and eggs. We warn you though…… your eggs could respectively cost you five to ten dollars a dozen after looking at the cost of chick, feed, time, coop cost and related items like feeders, watering containers, heat lamps, scratch feed,
supplements’ like oyster shells and grit. The cost is not quite so bad if you have a larger flock and let them free range, but a flock of four or six would be costly compared to your return. That's pretty expensive, but you can’t see hens picking in you yard with the rooster crowing at any store.