Peck Order

"The pecking order theory explains the inverse relationship between profitability and debt ratios"
Wikipedia

We are further in debt but our future income source potential has increased. When I do the annual report on 31st December, I hope (fox, marten and harrier willing) to report to the German Finance Ministry that our assets now cover our EU allowed debt ratio. And we will then get an additional tax bill of 16 x 0.05 Euros amounting to 0.80 Euros/annum.

Did think of going the Crowdfunding route but the idea of packing up 6 eggs annual shareholders bonus premiums  and sending them to the UK through all the border controls, the VAT paperwork, the EU export forms never mind the UK "Import of goods from EU countries inside the Schengen Area", was simply too much.

I suppose with my daughter based in the northern part of the Irish Republic, I could have got her to do some nightly smuggling runs over the border.

Enough

Angie and I today went to the chicken breeder Josef Sauter who we have used in the last two years or so. A private, one man, but larger than hobby, operation run by a pensioner from his home, about 35km from here.


We could buy young hens cheaper and closer to home but they originate out of the mass factory operations run by less than a handful of companies worldwide and using exclusively hybrid lines rather than the old, often farmyard, breeds.

We don't need any more chickens if anything, fewer. However we simply can't keep up with demand from family and friends. The marten family did take 4 hens early summer but the 10 or so eggs we get a day are too few. It's never going to be a profit making business but somehow I like the idea of having people who don't have the facilities to keep the odd chicken in the garden but who appreciate the "value" of a true free range, farmyard egg, can get some. Most of our eggs end up in the hands of Mums picking up their children from a central Munich kindergarten.

Daughter Kate in Ireland keeps a few chickens and tries whenever possible to take a few "rescue ex battery hens" which are destined for the slaughter house. Fascinating to see how these totally mistreated, near naked animal machines are transformed in to wonderful hens. Long process and needs some guts simply to look at them when they first arrive.

We luckily have a wonderful large selection of free running girls to choose from. We ended up with 9 French Marans (chocolate brown eggs which people love to see even if contents same as any others), 4 English  Sussex, one USA Easter-Egger. That was one more than planned. But it got worse - in talking said we didn't have a full size cock just our two or three bantam Jap (Chabo) boys. The breeder gave us a fine young New Hampshire (USA) cock for free.

That still wasn't the end. Having boxed them all up and enjoying a beer on a bench at the side of the barn (left in photo), one of the German Blue Sperbers, similar to Plymouth Rock, came by to join in and for a stroke. She had done the same when we entered the paddock 90 minutes earlier and I had carried her around on my arm for a while. We simply couldn't say no and the breeder gave us a 33,33% discount on her!

So 15 girls and one boy. Incidentally the breeder took early pension from his employer after 25 years. Pfizer, the makers of those famous blue pills for men. He assured us his cocks were not secretly treated with the substance.

Good to meet Mr Sauter and see his very neat operation. The health and wonderfully quiet nature  of his hens is the main reason we will continue to use him.