Chicken math - how do you allow for additions? How MANY do you allow?

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Oh yeah! I went from a almost year old flock of 10, plus 3 weeks ago I got 4 more chicks, plus the 2 I got today... I'm at 16 now luckily we are building a super large coop!

 

[Willowspirit]

When we bought our property i got two very large coops inside our barn that have a chicken yard partially fenced. My husband has cleaned one out and will be putting some upgrades in them. He has torn down the old chicken wire and replaced it with mesh, etc. Also I have two kit coops for temporary while we finish those and the yard. I have two more spaces previously used for goats that could be coops. Next year when I get goats I'm going to put them in a n already fenced area we have and get a shed for night. This is why i fear no chicken chickenn math!

 

[Old Philosopher]

When we moved to our current location, we brought 5 Golden Sex-Links with us, and housed them in an old existing potting shed on the property, with no run at all.
Three winters later we built them their Chicken Hilton. It's 200 sq ft with a separate 'nursery' for raising chicks. The yard is 320 sq ft. The most adult birds we've run is 12, and our usual flock is 8.
When we had 12 layers, I learned a lot about making my own powdered eggs, and sulfering 6 dozen in a batch. I still ended up selling about 20 dozen eggs that year. Too much like work.....

 

[schradersl]

I started last summer. Family decided to get three laying hens. We decided on silkies. Silkies were only available straight run, so we ordered four, just in case we got a rooster. Meyer Hatchery, the hatchery we bought from, also does this deal where they throw in a free chick. Nice, went ahead and got in on that. Five chickens isn't much more than three, right?

So last summer, we have a flock of five. Come fall it is apparent that our add-on chick is definitely a Plymouth White Rock rooster, and two of the four silkies may or may not be roos as well. Nobody is laying at this point. Androgynous lazy floofs. Gave the rooster away and kept silkies. Planned to give away two of the silkies, but it never panned out and I'm attached to them so I didn't care. We decide to order four more *sexed* pullet chicks to make the flock a bit bigger, got four different breeds. So now we have eight chickens.

Then the dogs got one of the silkies. So of course we had to replace that bird while we have chicks in the brooder, and while we were picking up a replacement chick, may as well get one extra since they're straight run. Just in case. I'm pretty sure I paid five dollars for another rooster I'm gonna have to give away.

And that's how we went from a planned flock of three chickens to a flock of nine. I just spent $550 in fencing to expand the run and I'm about to dump another few grand into building a larger coop and an aviary-style enclosure over the entire thing.

As my dad likes to remind me, a dozen eggs at the store costs about two bucks.

But it's still worth it.

Have you ever had to expand your coop due to chicken math?

Glad to hear we're not the only ones with that problem.

 

[schradersl]

Chickens are wonderful pets. I'm so lucky to live in an agricultural area where everybody has chickens and other livestock

They really are easy to keep.

 

[Old Philosopher]

When I became a horse owner, I was told, "The horse is the cheapest part of the deal!" I think the same is true of chickens.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When I became a horse owner, I was told, "The horse is the cheapest part of the deal!" I think the same is true of chickens.

I'll testify, that is absolutely true of horses! I miss mine so much! And yes it is also true of cacklers. But hey, the payback is real! If I was in it for the money I would need about 6,000 birds to break even and that would be work, not fun! A couple dozen feathered friends is just right for me.

 

[schradersl]

It can be an inexpensive hobby if you let them range and put together coops from scrap material. We tend to get a surplus of eggs, which we give away to friends and family, but we get a free comedy show.

 

[animalcule]

I want to breed my flock but don’t want to set up more coops, runs or pens. So I have to have a “1 in, 1 out” rule once I reach my max on adult birds, which is 15 (could maybe push it to 20 depending on how they utilize their coop and run space in winter with heavy snow). I’m going to be doing a breeding project with two source breeds so selling or eating the ones with undesirable traits/extra cockerels will give me plenty motivation. I do plan on keeping my best birds for a long time though, as part of my project is selecting for healthy and wary birds with longer lifespans.