recent rush on poultry and seeds

[harvester]

Just heard on the local radio news yesterday that burpee is out of stock! they have sold double what they normally sell so far this year. Also acording to my local chick supplier and after contacting a few of the more popular chick hatcheries as well as checking out their websites they are out of chicks! backorders are up to 3 months long in some places.

Guess its not just me who thinks tshf is comming huh?

[elemay17]

Nope, I think alot of peope are finally realizing it. I am still waiting on a few seeds, we decided to use heirloom this year and had to keep searching websites to find one that wasn't completely backordered. Didn't seem to have a problem with the chicks though, its our first year trying them. A local bulk farm seed company had them for preorder, should be here april 2nd, so excited!

[elemay17]

a little add on... we used to buy canning jars at goodwills, we havent been able to find any for about the past 4 or 5 months. :( After you pay so little for them it is hard to have to buy new

[momma_to_seven_chi]

The first 500 chicks came in at 4 pm last week at the local feedstore. *There was a line of over 10 people waiting to buy them. *I was second in line, but just grabbed a box and picked out 20 chicks by myself to rush to the check-out. From what I heard, they sold out of chicks within an hour. The small hatchery in this area is just starting to hatch eggs, and I bet they will be very busy this season too.
The local Amish place where I get plants hasn't opened yet, but I assume there will be a lot of people there buying. I am going to call their service to pre-order just to make sure I get some Sw. Potato plants. Even WalMart has people standing in line at the seed aisle. People are afraid of what is going to happen in the future.

I even sold a bunch of roosters at the salebarn last week for $6 a piece. Who buys roosters for that price? In this area they go for under $2 unless they are a really fancy breed. I'm taking in a bunch of fowl and rabbits while prices are up.

[Anon001]

Do you think this is due to people thinking shtf or do you think part of it may be due to people needing to cut costs combined with possible job losses and/or combined with wanting to just eat healthier? I think it is a combination of all of it. I think most people still don't believe in shtf. so, I think some of it is that but I think it is combined with the other factors as well. I usually save all my own seed. I may have to buy a little this year, but my local farm store has a lot of seed in stock.

[harvester]

i heard on the radio yesterday that canning jars was a top selling item this week across the us. along with canners, flour, noodles and a few other dry goods.

Im begining to think that some of it is the fact that it is so cheap to raise chickens and gardens and unemployed people ofcourse now have the time do devote to doint it. but its so wide spread and becomming such a huge issue that im sure it shtf induced.

[fancyfowl]

Raising poultry & most animals, is not a cost saving move, not for most who will attempt it anyway. It may have other benefits. growing fruits and veggies of course can be a real money saving enterprise, even turning a few extra bucks is a possibility.

[harvester]

*Raising poultry & most animals, is not a cost saving move, not for most who will attempt it anyway. It may have other benefits. growing fruits and veggies of course can be a real money saving enterprise, even turning a few extra bucks is a possibility.


well i have to disagree..i suppose that alot of it depends greatly on your individual situation. however raising poultry is a tremendous cost saving move. depending on how you do it. there is no rule saying you have to build an expensive coop, or any coop at all for that matter, and there is no rule that says you have to feed commercial feed. some people have the means to just turn animals loose and let them fend for themselves or feed on scraps left over from your own dinner. you could easily be feeding your family for pennies a meal this way. granted they would get very tired of chicken, but still, its food. and in the long run a sustainable flock is very economical.
other livestock well that also depends on your situation, do you have to build housing, or fences? thats your biggest cost. and will you be wintering them over? feeding a sheep cow or goat through the winter can cost a bit of money especially if they are not producing. and they are not going to be living on your kitchen scraps.
i can remember my family as far back as ive been told by my mother and grandmother always they had a garden and chickens. My grandmother lived through the great depression, with my mother on her hip. they moved from oklahoma and she stuffed her chickens in potato sacks and brought them along in the back end of the car. they were that valuable to her.
as a child i can remember seeing my grandmother outside feeding her chickens with a 5' walking stick she plucked off a tree somewhere. she never bought food for her chickens, they lived on scraps, and these were the descendants of the chickens that traveled half way across the country in a potato sack in the trunk of the car!
these little chickens she called her pennies would come up to her feet and eat the scraps she threw them every day or when she had them. a couple times a week she would quicker than lightning "whackachicken" with her walking stick, pick it up and it would be boiling in the pot for supper in less than 10 minutes.
she had chickens and she had a small garden and this woman would only go to the grocerie store twice a month and come home with a tiny bag full of groceries.
when she turned 86 she gave her chickens away to a neighbor and quit her garden. too tired to mess with them anymore.
Id say, if a few chickens and a garden can sustain her family that well back then, it can do most families now just as well.

[Anon001]

HOLY COW! LOL I have to agree with Harvester... (cough.. cough) but it is much cheaper to raise and provide your own dairy, poultry, beef, vegetables, etc. I don't buy plants that are started and I normally don't buy seeds but save my own. I cull out any and all animals that are not easy keepers. Being raised on a large ranch, I know a lot about veterinary skills that most ranchers have to learn. I also vaccinate my own dogs..... I only use a vet when I am stumped or need something I can't buy.

Raising vegetables is cheap cheap cheap... the most expensive part is the lids for canning. I had almost 1000 jars given to me. Rings are reusable... It doesn't cost me anything to water my garden. My largest pond has a gravity flow hydrant in the dam and the pond is built on a spring and covers 4+ acres. So, I put the garden just below the dam. Free seed (usually), free water, reusable jars and rings....

I also raise my own hay. So, this homestead pays its own way. I pay nothing out of pocket. I sell two calf crops per year that pays everything and operate a couple small websites and do website consulting and even build some sites.

So, living on a homestead and working from home is cheaper for me that working in town and/or buying groceries.

It's all about knowing how to use the resources around you. The county just saved me about $18,000 because they are required to doze out the old fence lines and trees along the right-of-way. They had 1 machine here for 40 hours. A second machine for 64 hours and another for about 24 hours. It was knowing that the state law requires them to do that at their expense.....Also, knowing that you have less vet bills and less sickness if animals are pastured year round. When you keep them in dirt barn lots or in barns, your vet bills go up because those are naturally worse areas for bacterias. Some types of bacterias will remain in the soil for years no matter what you try to do to eliminate them....

Anyway... yes, it is much cheaper to feed yourself if you learn how.....
Paul

P.S..... Harverster, you had some good points. But if you tell anyone I said that I wil call you a liar. LOL

[harvester]

P.S..... Harverster, you had some good points. But if you tell anyone I said that I wil call you a liar. LOL


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