stjorthotic Chapter 33: 100 laying hens arrive at the farm!
Chapter 33: 100 laying hens arrive at the farm!
Xu Ran signed a short-term contract with Yonghui Supermarket.
According to manager Yang Kaifu, if the extra-large red tomatoes sell well, the supermarket will sign a long-term contract with Xu Ran's farm.
From now on, we will be supplying them on a long-term basis.
Just make sure it can be grown consistently.
This is fantastic good news.
With a stable source of income, the farm's life suddenly improved.
It's like going from being a freelancer to having a guaranteed income regardless of circumstances.
It's much more profitable than selling it to the farmers' market.
The new greenhouses were also completed, and the five greenhouses were set up side by side, creating a spectacular sight.
Xu Ran planned to use two greenhouses to grow watermelons and three greenhouses to grow tomatoes.
If you work hard, earning 10 yuan a month is not a dream.
As life improved, Xu Ran's mood also improved.
That afternoon, Xu Ran drove his truck to the farmers' market. On his way back, he found a secluded spot and chose to claim the system reward.
[Reward: 100 baby laying hens]
Little yellow chicks appeared in the box.
Each one looks so cute.
As soon as these little yellow chicks appeared, they immediately started chirping.
Seeing their adorable appearance, Xu Ran immediately smiled.
Young chickens are quite cute, with round heads, short beaks, and fluffy fur like a doll.
They're not as cute as they used to be when they grew up.
Xu Ran drove the truck back to the farm and called Zhang Wen and Li Wu to come and help.
Seeing two large baskets full of little yellow chicks, Zhang Wen asked curiously:
"Boss, why are you only buying chicks? If you want to hatch eggs, you should buy adult chickens."
Xu Ran replied easily:
"Chicken chicks are cheap, and these chickens are easy to raise. I'll prepare some new breeds of feed so they can grow quickly."
Indeed, as Xu Ran said, the price of chicks is very low.
When I was a child, there were little yellow chicks sold outside the elementary school gate for 5 cents each.
Of course, those were all young roosters.
The chicken farm produces a lot of chickens, which are often taken to the farmers' market to be sold. A small yellow chick costs 3 to 4 yuan.
Ducklings and goslings are a little more expensive, but the price is about the same.
When farmers visit the market, they often buy a few to take home and raise.
Little Grey had heard the chirping of chickens early on.
It looked very excited, wagging its tail rapidly, and even burying its head in the basket, staring intently at the little yellow chick.
"Little Grey, don't touch them."
Xu Ran was worried that Xiao Hui would keep eating them, so she quickly reminded him.
These are all top-quality laying hens.
You can't buy it anywhere else.
I'm afraid Little Gray will stare at the chicks and say, "Brothers, you all smell so good!"
Hearing Xu Ran say this, Xiao Hui was still a little unsatisfied.
Finally, it stuck out its tongue and licked a little yellow chick twice before pulling its head back.
A chicken coop has been cleaned thoroughly.
The chicken coop is a red brick building with a closed space, and places such as the corners and windows have been inspected.
Raising chickens at the foot of the mountain is still somewhat dangerous.
There are too many chicken thieves.
For example, foxes, Pallas's cats, weasels, etc.
If there's even a hole in the corner of the wall, all the chicks will be eaten the next day.
There are countless examples like this.
Wild animals don't care whether these chickens are farmed or not. In their eyes, this is a challenge they need to overcome, and winning it will bring them a lot of food.
So we need to be careful.
We need to guard against not only small carnivores.
Herbivores also need to be protected.
Take wild rabbits for example. If wild rabbits burrow in the fields of a farm, it's as if the farm has contracted a disease.
These creatures can create a vast network of tunnels underground, full of holes, and they reproduce incredibly well, giving birth to a whole litter at a time.
If wild rabbits become rampant, it will be very difficult to control them.
Such examples are most common abroad, with some people even specializing in raising falcons and making money by catching rabbits for farms.
Xu Ran's farm is alright, mainly because there are owls watching over it, so wild rabbits don't dare to get close.
Zhang Wen and Li Wu each carried a basket as they walked into the chicken coop.
The temperature inside the chicken coop is suitable, neither too hot nor too cold.
The water trough was filled with clean water, and the feeding trough was full of feed.
Xu Ran redeemed this feed from the system store.
"Chicks are not easy to raise. This is the most vulnerable time. If they don't eat, they basically won't survive for more than a few days."
Zhang Wen has raised chickens before and is very experienced in raising them.
Chickens are very fragile; they can die very easily.
If the chicks don't eat or drink when they're young, they'll starve to death the next day.
When he grew up, he didn't seek shelter from the rain and died of illness the next day.
Some engage in group fights, or if they dislike someone, they trample that person to death.
If you can raise 100 chickens and have 80 survive, that's considered impressive.
Hearing Zhang Wen's words, Xu Ran remained calm and replied:
"I carefully selected this batch of chicks, and the feed is excellent."
"I'll keep an eye on things here; there shouldn't be any major problems."
Inside the farm, the employees are mainly responsible for the greenhouses and fields, while raising livestock is Xu Ran's own business, with Zhang Wen and Li Wu occasionally helping out.
So how to raise it is up to Xu Ran himself.
Xu Ran let all the chicks out.
These guys were hungry too. As soon as they hit the ground, they rushed to the feeding trough and frantically tried to catch the rice.
The little yellow chicks gathered in a row, chirping happily as they ate.
Upon closer inspection, each one was full of energy and vitality, showing no sign of being sickly.
Zhang Wen looked at the chicks for a long time, but he really couldn't find a single one that was problematic.
"This batch of chickens is really good. You have a good eye; I didn't see any diseased ones."
"I've bought them from home a few times before, and each time there are always one or two chicks whose eyes can't open and who can't even stand up."
Zhang Wen sighed.
Xu Ran just smiled.
His chickens are certainly fine.
After all, it was a hen awarded by the system, and a top-tier egg-laying hen at that.
It can lay eggs.
The chicks looked very festive; their little wings hadn't even grown up yet, but they were already flapping their wings.
They look energetic at first glance.
Xu Ran looked forward to them growing up.
At that time, I'm afraid I'll have to go around collecting eggs every day.
Just thinking about it makes me tired.
Zhang Wen and Li Wu had things to do, so they left.
Xu Ran stayed in the chicken coop for a while to make sure the little yellow chicks were familiar with the farm environment.
When he left, he found that Little Gray and Little Yellow were both outside.
The dog and the cow are inseparable best friends.
Of course, most of the time it's Little Yellow following Little Gray.
"Little Grey, haven't you heard the idiom 'chaos'? The chick doesn't like you, give up."
Xu Ran squatted down, stroked Little Gray, and spoke to it earnestly.
This guy always likes to play with chickens.
I don't know who I learned it from.
But chickens usually ignore it.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hui's smile faded somewhat.
Xu Ran patted its head. "It's okay, I'll find you some new friends later."
"It will come gradually."
Hearing this, Little Grey smiled happily again.
Over the next few days, Xu Ran completed a system task and obtained the item [Radiation Wastewater Treatment Device (Low-level)], which can treat wastewater after radiation, but its efficiency is extremely low, processing about 100 milliliters per day.
And it only applies within the farm area.
Xu Ran exchanged it for system currency.
In addition, he hired two new employees.
They're all young men, just graduating from university this year.
Xu Ran was quite surprised by this.
I learned that the current job market is very bad and academic qualifications are severely devalued.
In small cities, finding a job is already considered a good thing.
Moreover, the farm offers relatively good benefits, so many people want to come.
Xu Ran's principle is to do the job well, not to have too many miscellaneous things to do, and to take a break when necessary.
It's better to be younger.
More energetic.