chick loss?

[dominiquePL]

Quote:
Well it can get even worse if you hatch them

I wanted 4 hens, hatched 10 eggs (counting on 50% pullets), only 4 hatched because of problems with my incubator, then I got another 12 eggs out of which 1 broke and I now have 9 chicks (most look like pullets). I also bought some coturnix eggs and the lady had leghorns, too... I bought 10 leghorn eggs

But only 2 hatched (detached air cell problem). The thing is, my chickens are illegal and all I wanted was 4 hens (later on decided maybe 6

).

I've never been good at maths, didn't take the chicken math class and it shows

 

[PetRock]

Quote:
That works! Although I like "Don't count your chickens before they lay!"

We started with 1 that was given to us then went and bought 3 more to keep her company. A month later, we bought 3 more because we wanted another Barred Rock and a couple Silver-laced Wyandottes. They all ended up being pullets so our total of laying hens is 7. This year we started with 3 Silver Ameraucanas chicks and lost 1. We added 1 Blue Wheaten Ameraucana and two chicks (a Blue Langshan and a Buff Brahma) from the feed store to add to the party and because in chicken math -1 = +3. We are expecting another 3 or 4 Olive Eggers that a friend is hatching for us. All this year's chicks are straight run except for the two from the feed store. We are only allowed a total of 10 chickens in our city so we are "really" only trying for 3 pullets out of this year's 8-9 chicks. Yah, right! I'm choosing not to count the chicks until they have grown into chickens.

Gotta love chicken math!!!

 

[Tikkijane]

And to further complicate this, lol, we are getting the chicks and going on vacation two weeks later! My friend is getting her chicks at the same time, so I'm pretty sure she'll be good for chick sitting while we're gone, but given that we don't know how old the chicks will be when we get them, I am not sure what all that is going to entail. And now that I'm thinking about it, I really ought to call and find out how old they expect them to be.

I *totally* love the chicken math, though. Original # was going to be 3, but dh agreed to 6 and is building for 12.

I think he'll be bitten, too, once we get them, although he is not convinced they are "smart" enough to generate lots of ♥♥♥ from him. I expect he'll be smitten within 3 months....

Tikki

 

[Nicole01]

I only wanted two and I now have 4.

I absolutely adore every one of them. They are different breeds.

 

[Cuttlefishherder]

Yes, chicken math indeed, we cant go to a feed store this time of year and not come back with more fuzzies! Our numbers have swung from 8 to 20 something in a matter of weeks before!