Chicken math prevailed!

[Madie'sOddFlock]

Just figured I would put this in rather than rewriting my story:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/many-little-hands-farm.1327131/#post-21657277
Chicken math has definitely been... interesting for me in the last year, and for the whole family in the last two years.
I think that earlier in the spring we were up to like 170 chickens.... and most of them were in the house at the time...
Plus I was leaving the house at 6:40 every morning and not coming back until a little before 3 in the afternoon... It was difficult, but we got through, and now we're back to 99(I think), and we'll be getting more next year. Waiting on getting a new coop moved so we can get indoor chicks outside, can't wait for the smell to go away... And can't wait to stop having to chase puppies chasing chickens around the living room

 

[TropicalBabies]

Buffaloes are pretty common livestock where I live, so I didn't bothered posting pictures.
First pic is of the buffaloes in the fields, they only return to get milked. Second pic is of a first time mom. Newly delivered moms are kept home for extra care.

@Kabootar you live in such an amazing part of the world. I love that you shared photos- I love photos! I wanted to ask you at your earlier post if you would share your BIG
"coop" with us. 500 birds is some serious commitment (I have 13 and am exhausted lol) and some serious "chicken math"!!!

 

[Kabootar]

@Kabootar you live in such an amazing part of the world. I love that you shared photos- I love photos! I wanted to ask you at your earlier post if you would share your BIG
"coop" with us. 500 birds is some serious commitment (I have 13 and am exhausted lol) and some serious "chicken math"!!!

You are living in an amazing part of the world. Only you can think that Bihar is amazing. It is a poverty stricken and crime infested place, only thing spacial about it is that Buddha spent a good part of his life here.
Well where I live coops are very different from that you see in the USA, we call them hen house. They are only to hold the birds at night.

 

[Kabootar]

Here are the some pics that I have. Pics of inside, courtyard and outside.

 

[Dream Gold Farm]

You're definitely not alone. My chicken math is more like algebra as I excited started my flock with five CCLB pullets from a reputable breeder out west. My husband bought me the supposedly impenetrable universal poultry cage from TSC. Oh, the night before my babies arrived, a friend called to see if I would take her daughter's three, four week old chicks.
Older chicks went out first. No problems. Six week old $20 each pullets go out and they a rat snake eats one... Then coons ripped two more violently through the bars. Wrapped it in hardware cloth. Coon elimination commenced. They dug under the frame and ate through the chicken wire buried in the ground. Installed boards with sharp screws protruding. Went to TSC bought six Black Sex Link pullets, not what I wanted but the best of what they had. Go to TSC and they had Americaunas. Closer to what I wanted so six more. Meanwhile a friend gave me two laying spangled orpingtons and a six week old sex link. Two lost to migrating Hawks. Chicken algebra.

 

[Drex Chick]

I can't wait to add to my troop next spring! we live within a very short drive of heartland hatchery in MO, and have had a wonderful experience with him there, we got 2 turkey's and 10 chicks that my children hand picked with him throwing in an extra chick for free, and Everytime we go to the feed store or I see HH post on FB about chicks and or eggs for incubation I wanna jump in and get more, and it doesn't help that my enabling DH tries to talk me into more chicks and I have to be the voice of reason (since I am the care giver and culler) but I am in secret wanting to get more to satisfy my addiction ....soon very soon! I'm still waiting for my first group to start laying me some breakfast!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Here are the some pics that I have. Pics of inside, courtyard and outside.View attachment 1883670 View attachment 1883671View attachment 1883672

FANTASTIC!!!! Oh what fun, a sea of chickens That is some chicken math happening! Love it and thank you for posting. I'm not quiet sure what my husband is complaining about any more... and I no longer feel quilt. Thanks peeps !!!

 

[chkncrazy]

This is all so interesting!!! Seeing I'm not the only one.... I got myself in a big pickle a few years ago do two chicken math.. I live on 4 acres so I have tons of room I've had chickens for the past 20 years and the past 15 adult years, a couple years back I really got into all the different colors and breeds I went to three different feed stores and bought an array of baby chicks instead of always getting just sex links... Two of these two of those two of them that two of them... I had about 20, up until then I only used to keep around 8 to 10 chickens, then I lost a couple and I bought jubilee orpingtons which of course I couldn't pass up... Then while cruising Craigslist I saw that a farm was shutting down on me or me and they were getting rid of their 18-month old layer hands for real cheap like by 10 and I'll give you a special price kind of deal.... So somehow I left with 20... Which brought my account up to around 50 chickens when they only wanted a few for just eggs.... I also breed rabbits standard Rex... And it just so happened to hit around the time where are three of my females all gave birth in the same week tit 8 or 10 rabbits each.... Before I knew it I was waking up at 5 in the morning to take care of all these animals 3 hours before work...and then coming home and doing the same before bed literally living a farmers lifestyle hahaha... Then something struck and I had to get surgery....uh oh...well I had to put my animals up for sale and I cleared out my entire lot within a week and a half it was actually eerie... Surgery went perfect and I slllllowly got back into it I have 5 leghorns and that's all...when I got the LEGhorns Friends at the feed store they were already 18 weeks old... And I bought 350 lb bags that way I wouldn't be tempted during chick season heheheh.... It was a good learning experience... It's so easy to get carried away especially when they're small...every once in awhile I get the itch and then I open my refrigerator and see that I have 10 dozen eggs.... Just from the 5 years have... Just offering another view to chicken math/calculus
Good luck ...stay strong

 

[Patch6713]

My hopes were for 3.
My actual math in my first year or so has been 6 pullets + 1 rabbit + 6 (4 chicks and 2 ducklings) - 3 chickens + 6 chicks + 2 ducks. So we are at 15 chickens, a rabbit, and 4 ducks.

I had always wanted 3 chickens so I built a coop. My wife was wondering what I was doing and when I told her I got a firm no. A year goes by of talking and I finally get the go-ahead. In the mean time I have learned that New York requires chicks to be purchased in lots of at least six. So I head on down to TSC and much to my surprise the chick area was gone that was there just a week before. The employees said I was out of luck and all local TSC and Agway's were the same. Then a Facebook marketplace find lead me to find 6 eight week old pullets. Score! Go to pick them up and come home with 6 pullets and a rabbit. Still not sure how that happened, but it did. The rabbit, Butterscotch, lives happily in a little section of the coop that the chickens can't get to.
Fast forward to next late spring I convince the wife again to get 6 more chicks from TSC to increase our numbers. Head in down to TSC and, would you believe it, they just finished the week before again! So back home we go with nothing in hand. I do so research and find out about Cackle. So I order 6 more chicks, or that's what I tell my wife. A few weeks later they arrive and we open the box. Boy was she not happy to find what I actually ordered - 4 chicks and 2 ducks, plus a bonus of 2 chicks. What she was happy about was I got her 2 brahma chicks which she really wanted so I made it out alive. Unfortunately those 2 chicks didn't make it past day 2. But the rest have grown up to 4 month old pullets.
Just after the chicks arrived we had an attack in our coop and lost three chickens. So now we were down to 3 layers.
Then a few weeks later on a trip to TSC for food would you believe it, chicks were back! So head on back down with the wife and she picks out three brahmas and we get three others.
Then someone I worked with asked if I could foster some ducks for him while he was trying to sell them. Of course I can't let them go as that's just against the rules so now they are permanent residents. So our three chicks are now at 15, 4 ducks and a rabbit. Oh my.

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

I got my first six over the spring, but then I had to get four more when I saw different ones at a different feed store... then I got two more when new ones came in at the first feed store... lost all of them due to predators... Shored up our weak spots and got 20 via mail order that were born on 7/31 and just got another 18 via mail order that were born on 8/14. Lost 3 the first night from the second shipment. I am a full on addict. I will be ordering some Buff Orphingtons in the spring. Somebody stop me!

buff's are the sweetest chickens, i have 3..they love to be held and walk around the run with me, they peck my feet for me to pick them up....