Now is the time, drastically reduce your feed bill, drastically increase the harmony of the flock

[Mrs. K]

Now is the time, to thin your flock. Thing is you can cheat with the long days of summer. Often times, your new birds are chicks, smaller birds, more can fit in an area. But soon we are entering in the Northern hemisphere the long nights of winter.

Smaller flocks fit in coops better, you really should not plan on keeping the maximum amount of birds in the coop. It increases the manure load, increases the humidity in the coop. Often times, birds are confined in the coop from 4:00 pm to 7:00 am in the short days of December. The slightest of overcrowding can lead to ugly behavior. Do know that a little 'free ranging' will not make up for long nights in a too small coop.

This will reduce your feed bill.

Do know, that I am really posting this, because I myself have a pretty full coop, and I NEED to thin it by one rooster, and ...???

This is the other side of chicken math, the hard part!

Mrs K

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've assembled a mixed pen now labeled freezer camp. Would like to keep everyone, but all those extra males I hatched are just causing problems, so for the good of then hens boys must be thinned out. I officially have the making of Turducken. Definitely don't like this part, but husband eats meat, and gotta get it somewhere. Better we know how it was raised.

 

[aart]

Do know, that I am really posting this, because I myself have a pretty full coop, and I NEED to thin it by one rooster, and ...???

This is the other side of chicken math, the hard part!

This made me laugh!
Yes and yes, I know you can do it.

 

[K0k0shka]

My designated mama hen needs to read this! She hatches and raises my meat chickens for me (and by meat chickens I don't mean those monstrosities, I mean normal chickens that I intend to eat). The larger breeds that have good meat on them take their sweet time growing, and because she first starts going broody towards the end of April, it pushes everything quite late... so I can't thin my flock until later in the fall or early winter. They're still too scrawny, otherwise I would've cleaned up for winter by now. If only she could go broody in early March instead.......

 

[Morrigan]

Yep. Fall clean-out time is approaching for me. I have 28 chickens ranging from 8 weeks old to 10 1/2 years old. I need to get down to 17 (16 hens + 1 roo). The first 7 will be fairly straightforward -- 6 young cockerels and 1 delaware broiler hen.

The next 5 are hard. Probably a couple of my 3 1/2 year old naked-neck mutts, as realistically, their best laying days are now behind them. I had planned on a couple of pullets, who hatched late in the season from a broody. Already having enough new pullets out of earlier hatches, it makes sense. Of course just as soon as I made that decision, DH mentions at dinner how much he likes one of those pullets, and I like to keep his favorites. And since I'm keeping her, how can I not keep her hatch-mate as they are so tight.

I have a few weeks left, maybe the decisions will become more obvious by then.

 

[Folly's place]

I too need to make decisions, and it's hard. We have five cockerels and one rooster, and need to reduce to no more than three males. Then a number of older hens who aren't laying eggs any more, and this gets harder for me. I feel like they have paid their dues and deserve a retirement home...
Must get a grip!
Mary

 

[Morrigan]

Then a number of older hens who aren't laying eggs any more, and this gets harder for me. I feel like they have paid their dues and deserve a retirement home...

I so feel this! Those older hens are the very hardest decisions. They have given me so much. One of the reasons I'm targeting the 3 1/2 year olds is because, once they get older then that, I get too attached. A few do become "lifers" as I can't help myself, but I try to keep that number to a manageable level. I keep telling myself that they are livestock not pets.

 

[Chicalina]

I don't eat my chickens, so it's more difficult to thin out my flock.

I've never had any problem selling hens, even older ones, if they need a new home for whatever reason. Plenty of pet keepers round here.

Cockerels though, hmmmmm. It's much harder but they go to new homes eventually. I just have to create a bachelor coop each year that I hatch.

It's a process that takes a few months, but that's how I do it.

 

[Sally PB]

Then a number of older hens who aren't laying eggs any more, and this gets harder for me. I feel like they have paid their dues and deserve a retirement home...
Must get a grip!

I will have a hard time culling any of my older hens. I'm wussing out, hoping that I don't have to make decisions. In any event, I'll be spared that for the next chick season, at least. I don't have room or inclination for more birds before 2025.

 

[Brooks_]

I'm looking to add this fall. My math says I have room for a couple laying pullets or a handful of chicks. Planning both really, but one set would need to wait for spring.

But, yes, we must always consider the subtraction part.