that's available for home delivery. She also
includes updates on happenings around the farm and sometimes includes photos. A recent email from Kristen was both explanatory and apologetic concerning the need to raise the cost of the eggs. Here is what she said:
prices. Our costs for one batch of feed has gone up $20 since July
30th, and I anticipate them going up even more. I calculated what it is
costing us and it came to $.42 more per dozen. The profit margin on
eggs is very little as the feed costs are so high, and when you
calculate your time it's basically null. I have absolutely no idea how
the big operations make any money, it is truly baffling, and every
time I see $1.50 a dozen I cringe for the chickens laying the eggs.
Regretfully, we are raising our price to $4.50 a dozen. I anticipate
this will go up even more as the price of corn and soybeans increase,
but I'll let you know when and if we have to raise price again."
This means they decided to sit on a group of eggs in an effort to hatch
chicks. This trait has been bred out of chickens because it is not good
for a commercial egg laying operation, but for us it is great and very
exciting! The hens truly sit on the eggs all day long. They barely
move, and rarely get up to eat and drink. It is amazing to watch, and
hopefully we'll have chicks in 18 days or so.
The sitting hens are kind of
mean when they go broody and growl at you when you open the cage. I have never
seen them off the eggs, but have refilled the food so I know they must get
down. They also move the eggs every so
often. It turns out they have to rotate
them in order to warm the entire egg, so every once in a while I’ll notice that
they rolled the eggs to the other end of the box."
Remember Lucille (see post here)? Kristen continued: "One morning Lucille came around
to the front door to moo at me because I was taking too long to
feed her. Since she isn’t fenced in
she goes wherever she pleases, though she tends to stick near her chicken
family."
"Here's Lucille waiting in the garage for me when I got
home last Thursday after deliveries to St. Louis. She is as bad as the dogs about wanting to eat."
"Lucille also likes Anthony, the kitten, as you can see in the picture above. Lucille and the dog are licking Anthony like crazy."
Kristen Southworth, [email protected].
Meredith; your comment’s exactly what I wanted say about the produce from Shiloh Hill Hens. This whole summer, I enjoyed the taste of sunshine.
Thanks Nicki for introducing Kristen.
Nicki, I learned about Kristen in your first post, and I am thrilled to report that my family and I absolutely LOVE the service she provides. We’ve long been proponents of the “buy local” and “sustainable agriculture” movements, and patronizing Kristen supports both. Plus, it feels really good to know where your food comes from and how it got to you. I have an acorn squash from her on the counter right now, and I stopped to admire the fact that it has dirt on it. Real dirt–from the ground–a tactical reminder that food comes from the earth and deserves respect and admiration. Thanks for your coverage of Shiloh Hill Hens.