chicken math, I'm at it again...

[Miss Red]

Well after the rescue of my neighbors chickens (total count was 40 for anyone who remembers), I managed to rehome about half of that flock. My own personal/keeper flock at the moment has been dropped to 67 from 99 after the extras left from the rescue.

So... 99-67=32 birds gone. I decided I wanted to order a few chicks from Ideals special order going on this month. Their minimum order is 25. I ordered 35. Oh, and I addd 5 keets for my mother.

99-32+40=99. Am I right? My mother is going to fall over if I'm at work and she has to pick the chicks up for me. Man, chicken math at it's best. XD... Now to hastily put together another coop before they're big enough to go outside. Roughly 8 weeks from their arrival date, eta 8/4 so that gives me until winter to get a coop together large enoug for 40 head of birds.

fwew. I have all the lumber I'll just need the wire. My birds free range almost all day anyways so my run doesn't have to be anything spectacular, just some t posts and wire. Fwew.

chicken math says I shouldn't have to build another coop, cause I'll have the same amount of birds. Kate math says it's just an excuse to build another coop!

 

[math ace]

Kate's right - - The new babies need their own NEW space. Show the girls you Love Them and give them a NEW COOP

 

[MrChicken207]

If you build it, they will come. LOL


Anyway, that extra coop could come in handy if you have to separate birds for one reason or another (special breeding, quarantine, refugees, rescues, etc). Besides, if you want to get even more in the spring (or if you want to try your hand at a different specie altogether, such as goose, duck, turkey, peacock, pheasant, ...., they could end up having their own space, if you wanted to)

 

[math ace]

If the new birds are babies - - you will need to keep them separate for a while anyway - - -

 

[Miss Red]

I'm just worried that the new babies at eight weeks will be attacked and or killed by the adult and late teen / new layer flock. The current coops youngest members are about 12 weeks old, and will be laying by the time the babies come around.

so logic says, build a new coop until they an go in with the other birds. I'm going to need one anyways with breeder pens for the aussies, d'uccles, silkie crosses, and true silkies. See, I DO need to build a new coop. I have an old building I've got set up as laying areas for the game hens and broody hen boxes... That's probably about a 20 x 30 building and the plan is to use it for the new coop and breeder pens. I'll post pictures of it and the ara I'm clearing for the pens when I get a chance.

 

[math ace]

BE AFRAID - - - I have transitional younger groups into older ones three times now. Each time - - - with different results.

The first time - - - Feather picking and disagreements went on for almost three weeks, but the new ones were holding their own with just one bird having to be removed for extra TLC.

The second time - - - NO PROBLEMS at ALL. . . IT was all fine within 24 hours.

The third time - - - Still not a success. The younger ones are 10 weeks old. There are 4 of them - - - same as last time. They were picked on so bad the first 24 hours, that I had to pull them out. They free range together in a LARGE area and still stay separate from the big girls. The big girls pick at them if they stumble anywhere near them ! ! So they are penned in a separate area of the coop at night so that they are protected. I will try to let them stay together unsupervised at night in another couple of months . . .

 

[farmerKEN]

Quote:
wouldn't chicken math say you need to build a coop to hold at least 60, if not 80, birds?

 

[Miss Red]

currently everyone is staged in 8x8 coops and I'm in the process of predator proofing the 15X30 coop for the new birds. I've got my rooms for individual breeder pens and a 10x10 grow out foom for the babies it's just halfway done gotta get on it.

 

[X2Farm]

Ahh, gotta love chicken math... I think I've done well for a newb

The original 4 or 5 we'd planned on turned into 19 chicks and 2 keets from Ideal; before they arrived, found 6RIR's for cheap.. picked them up; heard guinneas do better in bigger numbers, so today, I picked up 6 keets from a local breeder, and since he didn't have change for a $20, I used the extra to get 4 more chicks

I do love chicken math

Hubby.... not so much

Congrats Miss Red!!! Good luck finishin the coops and the new one!