Might Want to Get a Couple Chickens

[Nemo]

Specially if you like eggs.

Nemo


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/16/us-health-birdflu-usa-sysco-idUSKBN0O02AD20150516

Fri May 15, 2015 11:12pm EDT
Exclusive: Sysco sees U.S. bird flu hurting egg supply up to 18 months
NEW YORK | By Anjali Athavale

Food distributor Sysco Corp said on Friday that a record U.S. outbreak of avian flu would limit its supply of eggs and chickens that lay them for nine to 18 months, based on information provided to the company by its suppliers.

Sysco is the biggest U.S. food distributor, whose clients include restaurants, hotels and hospitals. The company is discussing options with its customers, including creating alternative menu items during the period, a Sysco spokesman said in an email.

It is too soon to tell whether the supply squeeze will have a material impact on financial results, spokesman Charley Wilson said. Eggs represent a small portion of the company's dairy products segment, which accounted for 11 percent of revenue in 2014.

The U.S. poultry and egg industry is grappling with the country's biggest outbreak on record of avian influenza, which has proven highly infectious and deadly for poultry. Governors in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa have declared a state of emergency, and the outbreak has shown few signs of waning.

Earlier this week, Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] said it has implemented increased biosecurity measures at its facilities receiving liquid egg tankers and shell eggs from impacted states and that it is working with egg suppliers to ensure they are employing measures to prevent spread of the flu.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Post Holdings Inc, calling the flu a "force majeure event," said it now estimates that 25 percent of its egg supply has been affected. Sysco is a major customer for Post's Michael Foods business, which sells egg products, according to filings.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher Growe expects Post's previous estimate of a $20 million financial impact in 2015 to at least double, according to a research note.

Growe said that Post's contracts require the company to go to the open market and to third parties to replace the lost supply at high prices. "We believe that by declaring force majeure, the company will be able to either pass higher prices onto customers or be relieved from the mandatory supply requirements," he wrote.

[JohnyMac]

Chickens are a great critter to raise and they are easier than one thinks. If you have no roosters there is little noise too.

Raise certain chickens for eggs and others for food.

Here are two examples of egg and meat producers.

[Kbop]

We have a small flock out here and have a couple of hens setting on some chicks (for meat and eggs).

Here's hoping that the wild geese (or what ever reservoir species carrying the influenza) stay far away from here!  I wouldn't want to loose our little flock.

[JohnyMac]

Back in the last bird flu scare around 2002-2004, it was mostly a Asian issue. Personally I do not remember of any large flocks having to be destroyed due to the flu in North America. Even if it does come to NA, IMO there is little chance for small family flocks to become infected.
 

[Nemo]

But the farms that produce 15 Billion eggs yearly and get cut down to 5?  Cost and economic affect?

Nemo

[Grudgie]

Perhaps a box of egg that costed $1 now costs $3?

[Kbop]

in Pennsylvania USA eggs are running between $3.00 to $3.50 per dozen this week - for free range $5 to $6 per dozen.
- reference Weis Markets (a local chain).

[JohnyMac]

Free range eggs at the cabin are running about $2.50 a doz.

Eggs are a funny food. I am pretty sure I wrote about this in the past but what the heck here goes....

If you buy eggs that have not been refrigerated, you can keep eggs for months. I keep them in our cellar which runs about 10-15 degrees cooler than outside in the summer and 38-42 degrees in the winter.  I just turn them over once or twice a week to keep the yoke unstuck from the insides of the shell.

[Grudgie]

Do you guys let your chickens free range or do you keep them in a pin?

[JohnyMac]

Free range here. At dusk they return to the coup on their own to get in their laying boxes. Some roost in the beams.

[Grudgie]

How many do you have, and do you ever have a problem with predators? I ask because I have 4 in a pin and one raccoon has already got in.

[JohnyMac]

First, I do not have any chickens our neighbors across the road at the cabin do. Because we split our
   time between the redoubt and our house in RI, it makes it tough to take care of the birds while
   away.
Second, yes their have been some predators mostly from the sky - Hawks. Roosters are a pain but
   they serve their purpose as they will take on many four footed predators. The barn cats & dogs do a
   good job too. The cats stay clear of the full grown chickens but you have to watch any chicks. The
   chickens while foraging, do a great job keeping the bug population in check.
Third, ~two dozen chickens, six ducks, five turkeys.
Fourth, my neighbors have ducks (Rouen) and turkeys (Royal Palm & Bourbon Red) too. The ducks are
   free range and they have lost several over the years, mainly in the late winter months from Bobcats.
   The turkeys are kept in a penned area as turkeys will not return to the turkey house on their own at
   dusk. You have to herd them in which is a pain.
Fifth, meat chickens are processed on the farm. The ducks and turkeys are taken to a local
   processor that charges $7- per critter. I hate processing a 15-25 lb turkey - It is quite a bloody
   and violent process where the executioner usually ends up with a black eye or black & blue
   bruises over their body. The ducks oily feathers are a pain to pluck. To process a chicken it is $3-
   each. As mentioned earlier, chickens are usually processed on the farm however around Thanksgiving
   we will bring turkeys, ducks and chickens (Usually all of the roosters) to the processor all at one
   time. The ~20 birds are then processed and put in the freezer for the winter months with the
   exception of the Thanksgiving turkey. We get a reduced processing price for 20+ birds.

I hope that helps Grudgie.

PS: I just ran across this article on Avian Flu that might shed some light on Nemo's original post.

 

[DMCakhunter]

This is from today:
Iowa State Fair, county fairs ordered to end bird exhibitions
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship ordered the Iowa State Fair and county fairs to cancel all live bird exhibitions this year. The move comes as the bird flu outbreak continues to expand across Iowa and the Midwest. The order also affects live birds being sold at livestock auction markets, swap meets and exotic sales.

Lots of angry farmers up here that believe the virus is being spread accidently by the inspectors. Example, several farms were clean when checked by inspectors, then turned positive within a week of the visit.

[Kbop]

How many do you have, and do you ever have a problem with predators? I ask because I have 4 in a pin and one raccoon has already got in.

we free range but are on open terrain and set back several hundred feet from the road - hawks are our current concern.  No losses yet.  The rooster is pretty good with most critters - if nothing else he makes a ruckus and lets us know there is a problem.  We had a local dog attack the flock once - a few lost feathers and pissed me off.  It won't happen again 
We also have a sturdy coop with hardware cloth protecting most points a weasel or other varmint can get in.  we currently have about 30 birds and will put about half in the freezer this fall.  to keep anything from burrowing into the coop I put a 6" skirting of hardware cloth and its on a foundation - 6" of crushed shale.  We don't clip their wings, so they can escape ground threats.  They all file into the coop in the evening around sunset and we lock them in for the night.