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

[azurbanclucker]

Lol...

Can I buy a baby tortoise from you? Can you ship to MD? They are gorgeous and we've been talking about adding a tortoise to our zoo for a long time!

Unfortunately, I'm not set up to ship interstate, and the costs for doing so are prohibitive (you thought shipping chickens was expensive). You'd pay 3x in shipping what I'd charge for the tortoise.

 

[azurbanclucker]

This story sounds very familiar... Chicken math is totally real. But I'm surprised you don't get more eggs...We have 15 hens currently, and 3 female ducks...I get an egg a day from each... I'm drowning in eggs!!!!

We had a very rough summer. I lost a number of birds to heat, fleas, and some effects of fowl pox. After all that, everyone more or less stopped laying until it started cooling off recently. They're all coming back on line now, but I've only got 17 who are mature enough to lay at this point, and 3 of them are bantam silkies. I won't see eggs from them every day. The rest, eh, we'll see. I figure 9-11 daily is probably our average, and extras depending on who lays that day.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte. Camera phone doesn't really pick the blue up too well. Love her color.

 

[azurbanclucker]

And then there were 21.

Tuesday night last week (before Thanksgiving in the US), woke up at 2 AM because my roo was going crazy in the yard. Jumped up and booked it down the stairs with the dogs, who shot out the dog door in front of me and started going ballistic. By the time I goth out the door, whatever they were after was headed over the back fence (pretty sure it was a coyote).

Unfortunately, there were dead chickens everywhere. Lost all of my Langshans (AGAIN), The BLRW, My Black Ameracauna, and one of my EE's . We found the remains of the EE ant one of the langshans in the green belt behind the house, the rest were in the yard. I hadn't locked the coops because we were planning on letting them free range while we were out of town over thanksgiving, and I wanted them to be used to the door being open. Glad it happened before we left, or there wouldn't be anyone left. Olive and one of my Svart Honas were also attacked, but both made it. Olive will never fly again though, her wing's pretty wrecked.

Anyway, the Bresse roo was out there trying to fight off whatever attacked the flock. His talons and beak were bloody, so he got some hits in, and he was grumpy! For bravery in the face of certain death, I finally found an appropriate name.

Here's a photo of My boy, now known as "Cluck Norris". Hai-Yah!

Ended up having my oldest stay at the house while we were gone to lock the girls up at night. Whatever it was came back at least once, but the dogs chased it off. Just have to keep them locked up at night.

And now I have to find BLRW and Langshans again. Grr.

 

[azurbanclucker]

The survivors list:

Buttercup: Delaware
Oreo: Barred Rock
Merry: EE
Olay: GLW
Buffy: Buff Bantam Silkie
Fluffy: White Bantam Silkie
Olive: Marans mix
Cluck Norris: Blue Bresse Roo
Splash Bresse
Blue Bresse
Lavender Ameracauna
Black Isbar
RIR
EE
Black Isbar
2 Barred Rock
2 Light Sussex
2 Svart Hona

8 eggs today from 20 possible layers.

 

[MagpieDucks]

Sad to hear that. Love the name!

 

[azurbanclucker]

Frizzles!

 

[azurbanclucker]

Cluck Norris hanging with some of the ladies.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Frizzle!

 

[azurbanclucker]

one of the TSC's near me had Orloffs when I was in picking up bunny supplies, so I got one.