Chicken math

[lereg15]

When I first came to this forum, I was thinking, how hard is it to get chickens and do simple math? I started out wanting to get 6 chickens, 3 rir's and 3 bo's, which I am still waiting to pick up next Fri. So then I found a guy down the road from me that has some barred rock's and some wyandonette's. I only wanted 6, mind you, but now it's looking more like 10-12 of them, and I havent even got started yet. If it's this hard to just get started, I can imagine how it would be for most of you that are already raising them. I will say that 12 will be my definite limit.....so far.

 

[n3kms]

Well you get a few chicks to raise so you can get fresh eggs. You go to BYC and learn all about chickens. You find out that they lay pretty well the first year but then the second fall they molt and don't lay as well so the next spring you have to have a few new pullets so they can lay eggs while the others molt. Then one hen won't get off the nest and you go to BYC and find she is broody and you see all those wonderful pics of moms and babies. You certainly can't deny your broody girl motherhood, so you let her set. You go on BYC and find out that sometimes they up and quit setting prematurely and folks just stick the eggs in their incubator. Well, you don't have an incubator. So, you study about incubators on BYC. You decide what you can afford and you buy or build one. BUT..,,will it work? You need to get some eggs and try it out. You hatch those little guys and it is so exciting! That is my chicken math and I think I might have to blame BYC. Can't be my own inabilities of self denial.

 

[21hens-incharge]

You all need therapy. LOL I cannot help you since I too suffer from this incurable condition.


Wanted 6
time passes and I now have 42

 

[Blooie]

I, my dear people, am proud to be totally immune to Chicken Math. Well, there were the four out of 20 we lost in shipping last year that we went to a feed store to get replacements for so we'd be back up to the even 20. Got two of those....hey, are those Marans? Gee, I love the idea of dark eggs! Oh, and those Speckled Susssex are sure cute. They'd add a nice splash of color to the flock. Came home with 6. But that doesn't count as Chicken math because 2 were replacements and the other 4 would have been in the original order if I'd thought of it. So they weren't really add-ons....they were shuddabeens.

Had to do some culling. Out of 6 feed store chicks 3 were roos. Then a neighbor lost her entire flock to a pack of dogs, so I gave her 8 of mine when they were just starting to lay. Down to 11. Our gorgeous Pearly Girl died, so we were taking care of 10. Agatha went broody, so we ordered eggs. One hatched. He's a roo. But he's Scout the Wonder Boy so he doesn't count either - he's a celebrity, not a chicken. But head-wise we had to count 11.

Lo and behold we decided to expand the flock. Now, again, that wasn't chicken math. That was carefully considered and executed planning. Got 12. Lost one right after getting them home, so down to 11. The next week we went back to the feed store to replace that one. Came home with 4. But one was a replacement and the other was a long awaited dream of Buff Brahmas. Woops, 3 Buff Brahmas turned out to be 3 RIRs two of which are roos. The Mama Heating Pad system for brooding chicks makes things wayy to easy.....and I still didn't have Buff Brahmas. But the hatchery did. Um, what do you mean I have to order a minimum of 8 for my zip code? Well, if it's only way to replace those 3 RIRs with Buff Brahmas, then a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. Once again, not chicken math - it was their rule, not mine after all.

So now I have 11 Bigs, 15 Littles, and 8 Tinys. But because I can control myself so well and because I'm immune to chicken math, that will be it. This year. For now.

Edited to add:

I went into the feed store
Just to buy a bag of starter,
I knew there'd be new chicks inside
So today it would be harder.

I walked right past the brooder boxes
Looked neither left nor right,
I heard the little chickies peep
And vowed to avoid the sight.

After paying for my order,
And heading for the door,
I opted just to take a peek,
A quick look - nothing more.

So here I sit in my orange suit,
Waiting my case on the docket-
How the heck do you suppose
Those chicks got in my pocket?

 

[dekel18042]

I will say that 12 will be my definite limit.....so far.

Until you bring the next batch home!!!!

 

[n3kms]

Originally I ordered 10 barred rock pullets from My Pet Chicken. I thought I had thought that through. But all the other people on BYC were getting all different kinds of chicks and they could tell theirs apart easily. I started checking out other breeds and learned about BLUE eggs! Oh my, I just had to have some of those Cream Legbars. Low and behold I found someone on BYC that lived nearby and had some. I got two pullets and one cockerel and some cheaper mixed breed that also would lay blue eggs aaannd... Have you ever seen a pic of a splash blue laced red Wyandotte hen? I just thought that was the prettiest chicken I had ever seen and she bred those too. So I ordered a total of 11, and she threw in 3 freebies. Thought my husband was going to have a stroke. I had only told him about 9. That was all last spring. I currently have 9 chicks in the brooder and 15 eggs in the incubator. Hubby says I have a problem.

 

[Scruffyfeathers]

We have all these crazy laws because people pay more attention on who to vote for on American Idol and not the politicians in Washington and state capitals

 

[rapturecidal]

This is my chicken story. in Aug 2011 i moved into a my wife's dead grandmas house. i hated animals. all animals. i had never seen a chicken and didn't want one either.

One of my Neighbors gave me Pedro. He hatched with his brother on July 11th 2011. He gave me a cage for him so i put a blanket over it, but he kept getting out, and sleeping in my trees. So i bought him a hen so he wouldn't be alone. Pedro is my Old English Bantam.

the hen i bought him turned out that she couldn't lay eggs. So i gave her away and bought him three more. Then i became a member here. Hired some people to cut a hole in my back shed to be a door on the side to the run, put a new roof on, build a window, and a run, and some egg boxes.

I made it up to 13 with 4 roosters before i moved to Yucaipa, then i gave them all away but Pedro and one hen.
this was because i didn't know the laws here. she is infertile. she is my American Game Bantam.

so then one of my wife's friends from church, her sisters kids did a science project for school and gave me 14 more. 4 died from a disease from a dead rat. i killed one. and 3 dogs killed another. these are my White Leghorns.

I bought 1 Rhode Island Red, then i bought 1 RIR or DR i don't know witch yet. And two turkeys.

And i have 15 Jersey Giants hatched on June 29 witch will be here between the 30th and the 2nd. and i will have 27 chickens and 2 turkeys.

I plan on buying 1 more bantam hen for Pedro so he can have more Children.

I love chickens and have i big love for nature now too. And Pedro was a big part of bringing me out of a big depression, only my Wife, and Jesus have done more.

 

[Chicken boi 30]

So last August I lost my 45 hens to a flood when our home barn ect was under 7 feet of water I didn't have time to react we had to go to the roof of our 2 story home so this spring I got 3 silkie hens and a roo. Lol thay started laying in sept by November I am up to 15 silkies lol my dh told me I couldn't buy any more chicks he said nothing about letting my sweet little girls hatching them for me ... He discovered last night that my show girl Mary had hatched 3 more lol yesterday he started counting heads looked at me and said um I told u that u couldn't buy any more I told him right I didn't buy them the girls gave them to me lol

 

[in2camo]

I went in to get 5 and ended up with 8. I blame the children.