Chicken math

[yyz0yyz0]

OMG, How does it get to this point!!!!!

started out with 6 wyndottes 4years ago. Last year I tried giving a broody hen a doz eggs, got one hatched a Roo of course. the wyndottes had reached the end of laying so I bought 5 pullets and thinned the wyndottes.

So last fall I culled the last of the wyndottes and picked up 3 red sex links to fill out the flock.

This spring I decided to just buy chicks in case the broody was a bust again, so I got 5 day old chicks. Then a hen went broody and I thought I'd give it another try so gave her a doz to sit on. Then a guy at work asked if I wanted 5 chicks raised at the school where his wife works. So of course I said yes!

Well when I picked up the school chicks what was supposed to be 5 turned into 8 and the same day the broody hatched 10 out of 12 eggs. So in the span of a month or so I went from 8 hens and one roo to 31 hens and a roo.

Of course I have a coop that is only 4x8. DOH! CHICKEN MATH REARS IT'S HEAD.


I was able to get rid of a couple of the school chicks to a neighbor and I assume I'll have some roos in the broodies chicks but even thinning half of the 10 will still leave me with 25 birds in a coop built for 8.

We're waiting to see how things shake out but I see either some CL sales or neighbor give aways in my future. Either that or another coop which the wife is against. LOL!

 

[yyz0yyz0]

I just noticed my posting Category under my username.

"Overrun with Chickens" is sooooo true right now.

LOL

 

[yochickiemomma]

I have a 4x8 & a 4x6 coop and Im building an 8x8 w a 7.5x20' run to acomidate my Icies.

 

[blkjak]

So I just sold 4 but the fellow who bought would like some guineas so I fired up the bator and loaded it with guinea eggs and all the colored eggs from the last 6 days of collecting.

 

[yochickiemomma]

I don't have a bator yet maybe next year If I don't end up w a broody hen.

 

[JRNash]

I don't have a bator yet maybe next year If I don't end up w a broody hen.

As a kid we hatched them on the kitchen counter. We put em on a dish towel with a light bulb close enough to tell it was warm to the touch. Id mist them with water every morning and roll them before and after school. Some allways hatched

 

[OEF5]

So here is my math, first the wife posted a story about her chickens growing up, she really really hated them and was scared of them. When I approached the subject of getting chicks I said we will just get a couple next year. Well as we started planning, and she started watching videos, and looking things up here she decided that she really wanted some blue orpingtons, and I said perfect until I saw the price. She has a knack of picking expensive things. But hey it would make her happy to have pretty colored chickens that will lay eggs and whatnot. So the hatchery had blues available for May 4th and I talked her into getting 1 barred, 1 BO, 1 Blue, and 1 Light Brahma as we thought this would give us a chance to see what breed we liked. Well the first call, NO light brahma's, bummer, ok, make it two blue orpingtons then. May 3rd, DOH problem at the hatchery no blues double bummer. So we asked for 2 bo's and 2 barred.

We get to the store after work on the 4th and walk out with 3 of each, I was worried that we might lose one or two as it's known to happen. Now mind, the store I got these from isn't your local TSC or farm store, it's in the middle of Downtown Indianapolis and caters to rich people who want to have pets. I also took a class there on raising chickens so we wanted to support local small business so we paid a premium price at $8 each chicken. I know I know! We could still get blue's in July, but we felt that was too late, so here we are with six chicks and already plan on making a direct order from Meyer Hatchery, making a road trip next spring to pick up 8-10 blues on a straight run so we can get some roos and figure out which roo to keep. Cull our current ladies, and go with a blue flock. So see really I'm only going to spend like $200 just in chicks in less than a year so I'm good right?

Not to mention the chicken moat we are building that's going to give the girls over 400 sqft of run around our garden with fall forage access to the garden as well. It's 720 sqft raised bed garden. The are going to take over 80 sqrft of my barn as the indoor coop so there is that, and it can be expanded, like ALOT.

So yea I like chicken math and guess what, my wife adores the chicks, she pets them every day, they come to her all the time even if she puts her face to the glass. It's awesome. It's also a great thing that I got that chicken app for my phone to be able to track all of our expenses we have put all of it in there and I'm not even to a grand yet!!! Drat I've only got fifteen feet of one side of one run done, le sigh.

 

[Peeps61]

Last year, I ordered 25 from McMurray's and I got 27 - 2 free. I lucked out and all of them were pullets with the exception of the free straight run chick - he ended up being a Polish rooster with a cool tophat. I expected to lose a few along the way, but didn't. I don't know how that happened, and there were some critters that certainly tried to get them! I already had some grown hens, so I had a total of 32 altogether. I am proud to say I only bought 3 EE chicks this year! They are two weeks old, and I have been working with them so that as soon as they are able to be integrated into my smaller coop and run, I can get them out there and put the older girls in the big coop and run. I free range them on the weekends, so it's all working out well. Room for 10 more at least, right? Maybe I'll let my broody sit on some eggs as the rooster has been busy.........

 

[yochickiemomma]

JR that is really cool Ive been researching simple bators cuz I know the hubby wouldn't go for expensive and Im all about keeping It simple and cheep.

 

[Tika75]

It's awesome. It's also a great thing that I got that chicken app for my phone to be able to track all of our expenses we have put all of it in there and I'm not even to a grand yet!!!

An app to track expenses?? Where? (but do I really want to know what I spend????LOL)