Page 43 - Adobe Photoshop PDF

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stead of delivering eggs to neighbors on Saturdays, Dad kindly asked
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like to buy my eggs. He agreed and soon became enthusiastic because
his pastry chef said that our fresh eggs produced better pastry. Dad very
kindly handled the delivery of cases of eggs for me when he went to
work at the Capitol Building.
I wanted a better return for the hens that were to be disposed of
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insides. Selling the hens this way produced about $1.50 per hen – a far
better return. The strawy manure I would clean from the chicken coops
would be spread about four inches thick over our entire garden each
spring. Dad, Sam, Gord and I would spend several evenings using dig-
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pictures of zinnias waist high to me, and African Marigolds four feet
tall.
I raised chickens until I was a sophomore in college. At that time
the cost of feed had risen but the price of eggs remained static, so I sold
out. Raising chickens was a great learning experience and had helped
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gagement diamond.”
The business lessons Dad had taught me through the hobby of
raising chickens has been a help to me in all the subsequent years. It
taught me:
1. Keep accurate records of production and expenses. Don’t rely
on memory.
2. Seek objective data as to results achieved by your capital assets
(the chickens). Invest in capital assets that provide the great-
est return. I learned that a productive hen will lay 250 or more
eggs per year – a poor layer, maybe 150. Each one eats the same
amount of food, occupies the same amount of space, and takes
the same amount of care.
3. Study the production methods of the most successful producers.
Use magazines in the industry to inform yourself.

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