On the first Saturday in June, L.J., Carl and I packed up eight of L.J.’s chickens and three of my rabbits and headed for Denver. Doesn’t sound right, does it? Heading to the city? With poultry?
We went to Earthdog, in Denver, to attend the monthly chicken swap that is run by Denver Urban Homesteading. As L.J. and I were unloading our trailer, I was a little amazed at how many people were standing in the parking lot almost a half hour before the swap started. Here is James Bertini. He is the guy that started Denver Urban Homesteading and I have to say, he’s a great guy. He has vision and follow-through, which is more than can be said for most.
As we set up our cages and stock, L.J. had a few people approach him about his chickens. We had discussed the fact that L.J. didn’t know if his chickens were roosters or hens and that he should probably sell them for bargain prices. However, at seeing the reaction that people were giving him at $5.00 a chicken, I quickly told him to walk around and compare his prices to those around him. He quickly came back and said people were getting $15-$20 for chickens that were the same age as the ones that he was selling. I looked him in the eye and told him to raise his price to $10.00 a bird.
“But I already told some people that they were five dollar birds,” he stuttered back.
“Tell them the price was wrong,” I said insistently.
He did change his price and within the first half-hour he sold all but two of his birds and was making money like a chicken pimp in the red light rotisserie district.
He swapped those last two birds for a black sex-link hen. Then he bought four more chicks, some of them rare breed.
Let me break down the math for you:
Arrival = 8 chickens
Sold = 6 chickens (One for $5, five for $10) – $55
Remainder = 2 chickens
—————————
Swap 2 chickens for one black sex-link (free)
Purchase four chickens, including 2-for 1 deals ($14)
Return home: 5 chickens and $41.00 in pocket.
So, the difference between when he left the house and when he returned was that he was down three chickens and up $41.00. I certainly could not have done better!
To learn more about Denver Urban Homesteading, check out their website - www.denverurbanhomesteading.com
Pax Domini Sit Semper Vobiscum,
Mike, Oscar, Hotel…….out.
P.S. – my apologies to the people that didn’t make the video. I had issues with the mic I was using and a lot of my footage was unusable without decent sound.
Man it sounds like LJ has got himself a little business! This could be the start of some great self-sufficiency skills. The best part is that it sounds like you guys are having a blast with all of this.
I don't stutter.