Chicken Math. Or "The story of how I didn't want chickens and got hooked"

[azurbanclucker]

Olive Egger, ~9 weeks

 

[azurbanclucker]

Rudy the GLW, 5 months

 

[azurbanclucker]

Chickens can be dorks sometimes. The dogs stole a container of butter and cleaned it out completely. The Chickens, not to be outdone, all had to go over and check it out when I let them out of the coops this morning.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Cool snacks on a warm day

 

[MagpieDucks]

Wow! Are those yours? (The tortoises)

 

[azurbanclucker]

Wow! Are those yours? (The tortoises)

Yeah, we have a breeding quad of Sulcata tortoises. I've got eggs in the incubator and one single hatchling from my oldest girl's first clutch cruising around the brooder for a few weeks until she's old enough to go to a new home.

 

[MillersFarm]

Thats alot of chickens for a first-time chicken own! I'm finding this thread very interesting. Now i have a question for you, are you going to make a prophet out of these guys? Are you planning on selling their eggs? Or are you going to breed them and sell chicks? You seem to know what your doing so far but if your not sure dont be nervous to ask!

 

[azurbanclucker]

Thats alot of chickens for a first-time chicken own! I'm finding this thread very interesting. Now i have a question for you, are you going to make a prophet out of these guys? Are you planning on selling their eggs? Or are you going to breed them and sell chicks? You seem to know what your doing so far but if your not sure dont be nervous to ask!

Heh, Chicken math struck again tonight. I got a pair of Blue Laced Red Wyandottes and a Bantam Cochin Frizzle when we went to get feed. I'm a sucker for pretty birds.

So, plans are kind of all over the place right now as far as options go. We're going to grow this flock out and I'll probably sell off or trade off some of them for other birds as we figure out what works best for us in our climate and yard. Selling Eggs is definitely an option we've discussed, though honestly I'll probably end up giving a lot away to friends and family too so I'm not planning on a lot of revenue there. I'm also likely sending them to freezer camp when that time comes down the road, because we did pick birds that were dual purpose with that intention. I've been giving some thought to breeding some of them since there seems to always be a demand for them year round, but I want to see what they look like after a molt and figure out if what we have is worth the effort (either for looks or for production) before I make a decision there. We have a heck of a collection going as far as unusual breeds and colors go, so developing a line or 2 down the road is definitely something I've thought about. Baby steps though.

 

[azurbanclucker]

As mentioned, brought home some new kids. I'd been looking for Blue laced reds and by happenstance ran across a local breeder today. Needless to say, I got over there as fast I could after work and managed to snag the last 2 she had available right now.

BLRW #1, 2 weeks-ish

BLRW #2, 3 weeks. A little more flighty, so I had to hold her kinda funkily to get a photo.

She also had frizzles, and the Mrs. picked out one of those too.

 

[MillersFarm]

Selling your eggs is defiantly a good option. The best place i'd sell my birds/eggs would be any near by actions, Those things always sell whatever you bring in there. You have gorgeous birds and honestly wished i had those in my flock. How many acres of land do you let these guys roam on If they are pasture raised and you let them roam around you could sell your eggs up to 5-7$ a dozen each.