Downsizing – Poultry
Jonathan & Denise >
With a view to an eventual – and incremental – retirement from crofting, we are downsizing some of our activities.
First up is the poultry business – or at least part of it.
For some years we have bred and raised quality pure-breed Welsumer chickens, selling fertilized eggs(via eBay) for hatching. Seasonal surpluses of eggs have been sold as eating eggs to personal customers calling in at the walled garden, and on a more regular basis to local B&B businesses.
This has proved a very profitable enterprise, but it is also labour intensive and an ongoing daily commitment, especially when hatching and raising chicks for renewal of the flock.
The Buff Orpingtons are at home, in the walled garden, and relatively easy to manage. The Welsumers, however, are at the croft (they are much better suited to the more open and exposed conditions there), and although the croft is just a seven-minute drive away, that makes all the difference – in terms of both time and money. We have therefore decided to sell off our Welsumers through the course of this year, and in any event no later than the end of September.
That means we will also have a lot of surplus equipment, some of which we’re offering for sale now, others to follow later.
For full details, see our new For Sale page.
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Do you have mixed feelings about the downsizing?
J > Very mixed feelings! At one level, it seems wrong to be giving up on something that is genuinely profitable, in which we have invested money time and commitment, and is rewarding in the sense that we have decided developed our knowledge skills and judgment. At another level, we see that we are not so much giving up as adapting what we in response to changes – both imposed on us and those we want to make. After all, nothing is forever, is it? It’s better, surely, to make a change in direction like this when we can do so on our own terms and a position of strength.
D > There’s a possibility that we will be selling the whole flock, and some equipment, to one person, and helping them to get started in the same business – breeding good hens and selling eggs for hatching. That would be a good outcome indeed!
They do have beautiful plumage! I know you may miss them a lot. But if you feel you must stop having as much responsibility, then you must do what you have to do. Life changes can be difficult, but they are not impossible either.
J > Thank you – that’s such an understanding comment!
What darling chicks, but time to move on…
J > Reaching the point where we can go public about this has been difficult – especially for me.
Oh, sure! Change is often bittersweet. The right thing to do, but it often involves giving something up.
My poultry has also downsized, though unfortunately not on a voluntary basis but courtesy of the local fox population. I love the shot of the chicks and eggs in the bucket.
J > Yes we have Eagles, Ravens, etc, but at least those don’t try and get into the henhouse!
D > There are no foxes in the islands, but we do understand how frustrating it can be trying to foil such a persistent adversary. We begin to wonder whether it’s worth the effort and trouble.