Chicken Math Strikes Again

[Crabella]

I have fallen prey to chicken math as well. Officially we have "six" and that is the story I'm sticking with. Bantams don't really count, right? And neither do the seven six week olds, or the six we have in the brooder...Oh, and the old hens that don't lay well don't count either....

This spring, I started out by getting 8 new chicks. (Two polish, one mottled houdan, two barred rock, one black sexlink, and one black australorp). Well, once they were big enough to go in the grower pen they were out of the house. I was happy. Then, Alice, my favorite polish got out of the run and was killed by my dog. I was sad, but I had seven other chickens so I was ok with my loss. Then, I ended up at the local feed store. I came home with two frizzle bantams to replace Alice because you can't brood just one....A few days later I was at a local breeder's to pick up some organic feed. She had just gotten in a shipment of new chicks. I asked if she had any crested that were a week old or so. She did. She had a new shipment of Sultan and Silkies. So, I had planned to get a Sultan to go with the frizzles in the brooder. But, we saw the silkies running around and fell in love. So, we got two. Well, one didn't make it more than 24 hours. I was so sad for the lone silkie, so we picked up another one and a polish because she was the only one in the bin. So, with the loss of one, we ended up with six.

I really need to join a support group!

Hmmmm, hens that don't lay well don't count? That means that I have two roosters and 7 hens, the other 5 only lay 1 or 2 eggs a week. Chicks don't count? Super, I will be sure to tell my DH that. It looks like I have at least 2 and probably 3 roo's amongst my 4 buff orpington chicks. They are about 10 days older than the others, and twice their size. Think I ended up with 2 australorp roosters also. The barred rock, rhode island reds and silver laced wynadottes are all 'supposed' to be pullets. I hope so, because I have already exceeded my rooster quotient.

 

[Crabella]

Finally the camera is co-operating and I can upload photos of the new additions. It couldn't possibly have been operator error, nah... never
Anyway just a couple shots of the peeps. They weren't very interested in having their pictures taken.

 

[christineavatar]

LOVE IT!

 

[themadchicken]

Wait! Bantams don't count cause they don't get as big right? And i think you really only can count hens that lay. And since chicks and pullets don't lay they don't count right? oh ya don't count the roosters. Wow that was close i thought 22 chickens were to many but i guess i really only have 4. I wonder if there are any sales this weekend.

 

[CarolJ]

I don't want to be an enabler - but how could you resist getting the Easter Eggers (Ameraucanas)???? Don't you want some pretty blue/green eggs to go with all those brown eggs you'll get from the Barred Rock, Wyandottes, etc.? I think you should go back and get some EEs!!!

And (my favorite justification line) - you can ALWAYS sell any extras you don't want on Craigslist.

 

[Crabella]

I don't want to be an enabler - but how could you resist getting the Easter Eggers (Ameraucanas)???? Don't you want some pretty blue/green eggs to go with all those brown eggs you'll get from the Barred Rock, Wyandottes, etc.? I think you should go back and get some EEs!!!

And (my favorite justification line) - you can ALWAYS sell any extras you don't want on Craigslist.

I'm safe.... for now. Chick days at the feed stores are over, so unless I come across someone handing them out at the grocery store .....any way, with my luck my hens will all go broody now that I caved and bought these chicks. oh darn....

 

[AhyokaAcres]

I just found someone that is going to take 7 of my little cockerels and my 4 pushy pekins....however I have 8 Welsh Harlequins in the 'bator, and an order of 10 day old pullets and a salmon faverolle roo in the works from Ideal

 

[Kylling]

Haha! I can relate to this.
We went to our local Agway only planning to get six Rhode Island Reds because they had said that there were only Reds left.
'Course when we saw the Barred Rocks we had to get them. X3 We also have two broody hens, so...yeah.

 

[AhyokaAcres]

You can't deny chicken math exists. I'm disappointed in my lack of self-control, but to be fair, I DO have to replace the 7 roos that are leaving Monday....
Ideal got me this time haha. Does anyone know much about the babies I'll be getting? They are all pullets except the Salmon Favorelle roo and the straight run jap, which I HOPE is a little girl.

 

[The Red Rooster]

Chicken math struck me too when buying chicks.

I bought 6 chicks at runnings (all different breeds). Then I went back and bought 2 California Whites after I heard how good they lay. As I was paying for the California Whites, the cashier told me that they were moving into another store and that they would have more breeds of chicken when their new store opened up. So back I went to get more chicks when the new runnings opened up. I got 6 more chicks when the person putting the chicks in the box told me that they were having a chick day. He said that they would have rare and fancy breeds of chicken when they had the chick day. I was going to get more chicks at the chick day, but we had a family emergency. Thank goodness that broke up my craziness.