Ruminating on the purchase of chickens

I wasn't planning on buying chickens when I walked into the Family, Farm and Home store in Charlotte at 10:45 this morning.

I hopped out of the truck and was walking toward the front door when I saw a mother with two boys walking out of the store toward their vehicle. The older boy was carrying the unmistakable box that baby chicks and ducklings are packaged in for the ride home. 

Being nosy, I asked "What kind of birds did you get?"

The mother answered, "We bought the $1 chicks."

That piqued my interest. Earlier this year I paid over $65 for ten chicks.

I wandered back to where the chicks were incarcerated and found the sign advertising the $1 chicks. Unfortunately, they were all exotic, niche breeds that I had little interest in.

But then what did I spy with my  little eyes? A beaten down sign advertising $0.75 chicks. Barred Rock and Gold Lace Wyandottes. Both breeds have their own charms and neither breed is a mistake.

In spite of my super-human self-control, I left the store with an immodest number of chicks.

***

Before I made my trip to Family Farm and Home, I had negotiated a deal to purchase three, fully grown ISA Brown, laying hens. My intention was to "gift" them to Southern Belle and Handsome Hombre. Three ISA Browns (perhaps the best-of-the-best for home chickens) can be expected to produce at least two eggs a day if the farmer does her part.

While I really didn't need them, after all I had just purchased enough chicks to fill the student seating section of MSU's Spartan stadium, a deal is a deal.

It was a treat to meet the 11 year-old boy who was running the 200 hen egg laying operation. It was also a treat to meet his fifty-year-old dad who was the senior partner in the operation.

I know that con-men exist and I don't have any special abilities to discern them. But both individuals were a joy to work with. Oh, and those three hens turned into five hens...just because. Maybe they liked me.

As I was driving home with Southern Belle's windfall, it occurred to me that a likely outcome of Trump's tariff policies is a Renaissance in US manufacturing that equals the expansion before and during World War II. While there were bottlenecks and shortages at every turn, one that touched every industry was the shortage of management talent. A good, high-level executive has an amazingly diverse portfolio of skills that he or she can seamlessly activate as events demand. People like that are a rare commodity.

That fifty-year-old dad? He gave me that vibe. And even though his day-job is in the public sector, it seemed as if he had the potential to thrive in the time-urgent, results-oriented environment of manufacturing.

Bonus Link 

A 60W equivalent, LED bulb for every 100 square-feet emits about 8 lumens/square-feet or an average of 80 LUX which is WAY more than the minimum of 10 LUX.