Chicken math

[OneMountainAcres]

Is It better to ask permission or beg forgiveness? I promised my hubby no more chickens this year but I found two bantam cochin hena on CL and I really want them since I most likely have three roos and only one hen out of the chicks I got 6 wks ago. oh and I live In N MI and don't want the two Im keeping to get cold this winter.

I promised my husband the same thing, until I saw that the local feed store had LF polish (gold and buff laced). They only had 5 so I had to get them all lol

 

[yochickiemomma]

I should have asked for forgiveness I got told NO WAY! :,(

 

[21hens-incharge]

All I ever wanted were 6 Black Australorp.
Through many attempts and a long long long journey I still only have 3. Now two of them are 6 years old so the journey has been LONG.

There are as of today 32 hens on the property.
I was NOT going to add any this year BUT.......
Dh agreed to take in 6 hens that could no longer be where they were (another LONG story)
I got busy and built them a coop of their own.

The count went from my 28 to 34.
One of the new gals did not survive the transition and passed from egg binding (stress related I think). Then I had one of my BO that was only one year old fall over dead on me in the heat.

That brings the count to 32.







Did I mention I am in the middle of town.

I still only have the 3 BA's as the new gals did not include ANY of those.



OH and it is probably wrong of me to know what is on special at Ideal Hatchery isn't it?

 

[curious chickee]

So I just added a quality black/blue Ameracauna trio, and my turkey eggs should hatch tomorrow, but I put some of my EE juveniles up for sale from my spring hatch so only a little addition, of course that is not adding all the hatchery pullets I bought this season.

 

[clickdb]

My flock has started growing on its own now, I gave in to a hen that was determined to go broody and yesterday two little mutts hatched into this world. Potentially 4 more in another week with another hen that decided she had to one up the first broody too, but I won't count those until they hatch
Current total: 34 and a newfound love for letting the birds do their thing lol

 

[Jensownzoo]

Went in for scratch grains to mix into the ice blocks I'm giving everybody to get them through this awful heat...came out with that and a box full of chicks. They had just gotten in a new shipment when I thought they were pretty much done for the season. I was weak, they were cute, plus I lost some chicks in an awful storm last week (I think they panicked with the high winds and thunder/lightning and ran out into the rain, getting soaked).

Got partridge Silkies, blue Silkies, White Capped Blue Polish, I think mottled Cochin ("assorted"), Salmon Faverolles, Welsummers, and a few Easter Eggers.

I am going to do a little bit of subtraction soon. Got a Mille Fleur trio that I really don't need from a bantam assortment, some extra roos, and what will likely be too many guineas. Everybody is very nice so will try to sell them, prob on CL.

 

[FlyWheel]

My main problem (currently) is that my housemates' appetite for eggs is growing faster than my acquisition of laying hens!

I started with 3, and was considering a few more when I joined BYC and discovered there was this pseudo-'breed' with the ridiculous name of "Easter Egger". Thinking "Pre-dyed eggs! How cool is that?" I got seven, supposedly all pullets. I figured I would lose a few, always have with store bought chicks. And I did; although to be fair, one turned out to be a Black Aussie and one decided it would rather crow than lay eggs. However I had figured correctly and I now have just the number I originally planned on. Then along came this thing called "Chicken math". Add that to my housemates' increasing egg cravings and now I am planning on getting a few more to offset the extra I had gotten just in case I lost a few!

And the band plays on.

- - and on - -

- - and on

 

[silkiechickens8]

Just added-
2 splash Dutch bantam hens
2 bantam Cochin hens (1 barred and 1 black)
1 unknown (thinking a Marans or Sexlink) who survived a fire.
And going to be picking up a barred bantam Cochin roo on Friday. And I thought I was done for the year!

 

[Peeps61]

My Silver Spangled Hamburg hatched out four chicks last Friday! With my original 31, my 3 Easter Egger Chicks and these 4 newbies, I'm up to 38! A new record high for me. Good thing I have a ten acre spread for them to range .

 

[chickendreams24]

Well guys this is going to be a long post...

We began this spring with 33 birds of various breeds and slightly different ages all under a year(they began turning a year this May)

Pre Easter hatch a long we were given another BYCer's test hatch that included 5 English Orpingtons and 1 white sport cream legbar. I was thrilled! A little disappointed when three of the orps turned out to be cockerals but I knew that was an average of 50%. I think we all hope for better but still I was happy. I rehomed one of the cockerals that's color didn't fit with my breeding program.

Then came the Easter hatch a long, four broodies and me and my incubator participated. Of course out numbers wen up up up! But we sold many of them very quickly. We also ordered through the feed store twice this year + approximately 20 birds many of which were sold but some had another fate.

Starting in mid-May we have had major issues with predators, that are still continuing. We lost our flock master roo. Some of the boughten chicks. Some of our favorite birds. Some of our hatched chicks, and some more of our favorite birds. It's been rough.

We lost over 16 birds to predators since mid-May. We keep the birds in when we can but the heat lately has made that impossible and our flock is unhappy cooped up. They're used to free ranging and it's a more natural healthier life I feel for them. We are trying to remove the predators that we can legally remove.

We had another broody hatch three chicks.

All the while doing periodic hatches to fill orders and try to replace the birds the predators were taking.

A bird went missing... We found her broody in the silo.

We tried to move her and she broke. The little dancing embryos were forming(about day 5) and we didn't have the heart to throw them away. Into the incubator they went. +9

I just did the math and so far year to date I believe we have had something like 162 chicks in our possession that we either, hatched, bought, or were given. 78 give or take found new homes.
22 give or take died of predators, cocci, failure to thrive, unknown causes, or had to be euthanized due to suffering(IE hatching with intestines outside the body etc)

We have also rehomed approximately 7-9 adult birds this year.

We have a large number of cockerals we are growing out for freezer camp.

Our fall/winter numbers goal is 40-50 approximately. We have less than 30 permanent residents right now chosen. We also have only 14 of the original 33 left that began the year with us.

And the math continues.