And just when I was beginning to understand chicken math....

[KYTinpusher]

We have only had chickens for a little more than a month now. We had talked about it for the last couple of years, but didn't actually DO anything about it until our neighbors recently told us they were moving and offered to give us some chickens. Since then, DH and DS built the chicken tractor, added the BR roo and six BR hens, we ordered the classroom incubator pack from Brinsea, have 15 eggs in the bator due on Wednesday (BR, BCM, and SFH), we're looking at buying some electric poultry fencing to make a larger pasture for free-ranging, and are planning to build (but have not yet started) a bigger chicken coop. All is going great with the chicken math, right?.

Well yesterday our wonderful neighbors blessed with another gift - a 16-month-old Dexter heifer!!!

It is a wonderful gift for which we are very thankful, but of course, you cannot own just ONE cow, so now we are going to have find another miniature cow to keep it company, and build a barn where it can be milked, and fence off a pasture for it, and.... and... and....

DH spent the morning putting in t-posts and cattle panels only to discover that we really need more cattle panels to give her shade in the trees, but SS was already closed. So we took the dog kennel panels away from our chickens run (temporarily) and added the others we had sitting around to make a temporary corral for Sophie, until the temporary pasture is fenced off with the cattle panels, until the large majority of our clear acreage can be fenced off with electric fencing.

How come nobody told us about FARM MATH when we moved here!?!?!

 

[oceanwidedesigns]

ROFL!

This worries me for when we move to more acreage! My husband is already planning what cows and goats he wants...

 

[justbugged]

If we had told you about farm math, you would moved back to the city.

We are dedicated enablers around here.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Meet Sophie!

Quote:
At least if he is the one doing the planning, you won't have to talk him into it!

Quote:
Quite honestly, I don't think I would have moved back, because I wouldn't have believed it! It's all good though - scary, but good!

 

[crossgirl]

You won the jackpot on neighbors, that's for sure!!

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
that is correct!

see there's chicken math....
then there's species math... which you are just discovering. in Species Math, when you multiply chickens you get cows... you'll find multiplying cows will yield goats, or sometimes sheep.
and if you've got 3 species (chickens, cows, goats or sheep), the product of that is ... turkeys, rabbits and ducks. or you can substitue hogs for any of the above species.
pretty cool, eh?

once you've mastered sepcies math, please sign up for the advanced course in Breed Math. In Breed math you'll learn that you entered the Species territory, say chickens, at a randomized entry point. in this case, generated by your kindly neighbor. however, there is a naturally unbalanced state that occurs, and must be equalized by placing other breeds of the same species in your yard. for instance, if your entry variable is Rhode Island Reds, that must be balanced on the other side of the equiation by Polish chickens at a 2-to-1 ratio. Or of course, you chould stick to the 1-to-1 ratio by getting Barred Rocks instead.

anyway, Breed Math is the advanced course, so be sure to finish the prerequisite Species Math course before signing up...

Feel free to tap your friends here for support in studying, I'm currently working as a Teaching Assistand in the required Domestic Waterfowl Lab course while I get my masters in Species Math. This week's project is on ducks. in two weeks we begin on geese.

welcome!

oh, and feel free to mention to your outstanding neighbor that I'm ready to sign up for a course in cattle, should he have any other spares...

edited something like 47 times because, while I'm getting quite adept at the various math skills, I apparently can't type...

 

[BusyBlonde]

Quote:
that is correct!

see there's chicken math....
then there's species math... which you are just discovering. in Species Math, when you multiply chickens you get cows... you'll find multiplying cows will yield goats, or sometimes sheep.
and if you've got 3 species (chickens, cows, goats or sheep), the product of that is ... turkeys, rabbits and ducks. or you can substitue hogs for any of the above species.
pretty cool, eh?

once you've mastered sepcies math, please sign up for the advanced course in Breed Math. In Breed math you'll learn that you entered the Species territory, say chickens, at a randomized entry point. in this case, generated by your kindly neighbor. however, there is a naturally unbalanced state that occurs, and must be equalized by placing other breeds of the same species in your yard. for instance, if your entry variable is Rhode Island Reds, that must be balanced on the other side of the equiation by Polish chickens at a 2-to-1 ratio. Or of course, you chould stick to the 1-to-1 ratio by getting Barred Rocks instead.

anyway, Breed Math is the advanced course, so be sure to finish the prerequisite Species Math course before signging up...

Feel free to tap your friends here for support in studying, I'm currently working as a Teaching Assistand in the required Domestic Waterfowl Lab course while I get my masters in Species Math. This week's project is on ducks. in two weeks we begin on geese.

welcome!

oh, and feel free to mention to your outstanding neighbor that I'm ready to sign up for a course in cattle, should he have any other spares...

x2! That's our plan...

 

[KYTinpusher]

Quote:
Uh-oh, I think I skipped ahead in class. We started with Barred Rocks from the neighbors, and I just went into lockdown today with Black Copper Marans and Swedish Flower Hen eggs.

I am thinking of starting EE and more SFH next. And we have been disussing getting ducks in the spring. Does this mean I have to go back now and get sheep and/or goats?

Can I count the four dogs and three cats instead, at least for now?

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
well you know, it's like old-math and new-math. some schools teach the courses in a different order. in order to get to Farm Calculus you still need to cover all the base courses.

Species Math is like multiplication. in the same way you can rearrange the numbers in multiplication ( 3 * 2 * 4 is the same as 4 * 3 * 2) or in addition you can rearrange the parts (2+2 is the same as 1+3), you CAN rearange the species order... this is why the first equaition might yield either sheep OR goats, and occasionally both.

sheep and goats are roughy equivalent, unless you've introduced certain additional variables like excessive peak summer temperature (which creates a mathematical error when adding some sheep breeds) or an extended rainy season (which requires the addition of a a raised, rain-tight barn factor for goats) to balance the equation. (*see note 1)

*note 1: This is because, as you may or may not know, when wet, goats melt like brown sugar. only much, much louder.


now back to your current curiculum...

for not having taken the other course first, you're still showing a nice aptitude for Breed Math.

I can tell you are doing just fine with the Breed Math so far, as you've discovered the Prime Breed Multiplyer.
<Current Breeds> * <Prime Breed Multiplyer> = New Breed Count.
you did this exercise correctly as the Prime Breed Multiplyer is "3".

so... <one breed from neighbors> * <Prime Breed Multiplier> = <3 breeds of chickens in your yard>

You get an "A".

and yes, dogs and cats do count, but you'll need to review the section on Species Derivatives in order to understand the more sophistocated algorithms for determing the proper head counts...

 

[KYTinpusher]

zzGypsy

Thank you for the A! What grade do I get if I tell you we are looking for a different breed of miniature cow to keep Sophie company? Maybe a Miniature Jersey or a Dutch Belted or a Lowline Angus, we're still looking and debating. And of course, as heifers they will be doing their own multiplying! (with a little help from AI)