Our chicken story started with a heart attack and an earwig problem.
I've been gardening for several years, but my husband's major heart attack at 37 years old prompted us to take the next step. A friend recommended chickens for the earwigs, and it made sense for the healthy eating as well. We planned to get 3, but the feed store required a minimum purchase of 5. We got 5, and one was a rooster. He got culled and eaten before he could start crowing. As the bug population plummeted and I realized how easy it was to keep my chickens from eating my precious garden, we waited for the pullets to start laying. 3-4 eggs a day was great for 4 pullets, but it wasn't enough for our 4 family members. Total: 4
I realized I was addicted when I planned the next year's garden around the chickens. If I put the chickens in the yard and wired in the garden, put all the greens in planter boxes out of reach, and put the cucumbers in the front yard, I could have the best of both worlds. And if I built a bigger coop, then used the yard as "run space," my chicken limit could go way up. City ordinances here don't limit livestock numbers, as long as they're not a nuisance to my neighbors.
In February, I finished the new coop and got 6 more pullets that were just weeks from laying. Total: 10
In March, a friend in California hatched some eggs, and I brought them home for myself and 5 other friends on our state thread. After 4 people came to get theirs, I now have 22 chicks in the house. Disclaimer: they're not all mine! I say that whenever people ask how many chickens I currently have. Half belong to a friend who is not set up for babies, and then I have to cull the roosters out of my other half. I expect to keep 5 or 6 of them. Total: 32, soon to be 15 or 16
It doesn't end there.
Before I made the deal with the breeder friend, before she set my eggs, I shared a hatchery order with another friend. My family flipped through the full-color catalog with zeal, marking chickens we each want to try. Realizing that there is a 10% sexing guarantee, and realizing that we'll have to cull out chickens that are mean or just too flighty for our yard, we ordered 13 chicks. Plus a pair of ducks for my daughter's birthday. Shhh, don't tell her. It's a surprise.
Do we have too many chickens? Yes. Are we going to? No. I have 3 friends lined up who want to take my "extra" chickens. When everyone is here, when the roosters are rehomed, when the personalities of the remaining pullets are assessed, we'll then sit back and count how many we have. Meanies will be eaten. Rare breeds will be sold or gifted to good friends. Spectacular girls will be kept... whether they're spectacular in personality or plumage or egg color. Older hens can lay eggs for someone who doesn't need the food as much. By the end of the year, we plan to have 20.
Total: to be determined.
I've been gardening for several years, but my husband's major heart attack at 37 years old prompted us to take the next step. A friend recommended chickens for the earwigs, and it made sense for the healthy eating as well. We planned to get 3, but the feed store required a minimum purchase of 5. We got 5, and one was a rooster. He got culled and eaten before he could start crowing. As the bug population plummeted and I realized how easy it was to keep my chickens from eating my precious garden, we waited for the pullets to start laying. 3-4 eggs a day was great for 4 pullets, but it wasn't enough for our 4 family members. Total: 4
I realized I was addicted when I planned the next year's garden around the chickens. If I put the chickens in the yard and wired in the garden, put all the greens in planter boxes out of reach, and put the cucumbers in the front yard, I could have the best of both worlds. And if I built a bigger coop, then used the yard as "run space," my chicken limit could go way up. City ordinances here don't limit livestock numbers, as long as they're not a nuisance to my neighbors.
In February, I finished the new coop and got 6 more pullets that were just weeks from laying. Total: 10
In March, a friend in California hatched some eggs, and I brought them home for myself and 5 other friends on our state thread. After 4 people came to get theirs, I now have 22 chicks in the house. Disclaimer: they're not all mine! I say that whenever people ask how many chickens I currently have. Half belong to a friend who is not set up for babies, and then I have to cull the roosters out of my other half. I expect to keep 5 or 6 of them. Total: 32, soon to be 15 or 16
It doesn't end there.
Before I made the deal with the breeder friend, before she set my eggs, I shared a hatchery order with another friend. My family flipped through the full-color catalog with zeal, marking chickens we each want to try. Realizing that there is a 10% sexing guarantee, and realizing that we'll have to cull out chickens that are mean or just too flighty for our yard, we ordered 13 chicks. Plus a pair of ducks for my daughter's birthday. Shhh, don't tell her. It's a surprise.
Do we have too many chickens? Yes. Are we going to? No. I have 3 friends lined up who want to take my "extra" chickens. When everyone is here, when the roosters are rehomed, when the personalities of the remaining pullets are assessed, we'll then sit back and count how many we have. Meanies will be eaten. Rare breeds will be sold or gifted to good friends. Spectacular girls will be kept... whether they're spectacular in personality or plumage or egg color. Older hens can lay eggs for someone who doesn't need the food as much. By the end of the year, we plan to have 20.
Total: to be determined.
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