Hello Judi,
I approach chicken farming as a food expense. I raise dual birds. If a dozen of eggs cost me more in feed than buying them in the store I am doing something wrong. My other expenses, like electricity, fencing, maintenance, equipment costs need to be covered by the chicken we eat and sell. I keep expense records of all purchases and log them. I have a yearly projected budget for expenses that I try really hard to keep to. If I am short because of feed price cost increase I do another hatch out and sell birds at the end of the year fair. I have a plan/and back up plan and I stick to my plan.
I do not always have a specific number for wintering. I cull out the old, non productive, injured, cockerels, and irritating (flock stupid) as soon as possible. I do not cull questionable until full spring. Sometimes birds need a longer rest and some pullets are sexually slow developers. Some of my best and longest eggers have taken a bit longer. As a matter of fact I have a 6 year old hen I should cull. She lays an egg a day. She molted out last year and never regained her feathering. She is in constant quill. I know I have to cull her soon. Does it make sense to winter her and feed her only to cull her in spring? I have never kept one of her offspring, yet she is a great egg producer. A bird that has been such a great producer you simply hate to make those types of decisions. I tell myself, she lays an egg a day, it makes no sense to cull her, yet, I see her and know she has given me good years of eggs, and no chicks worth keeping and I am grateful for the 6 years and its time. I know I am going to cull her, I just fight it. I have wintered 6 hens and I have wintered 30. This year I will have my trio of Orps, 6 layers, 4 pullets, one roo, 2 hen Muscovy's, and one drake. At this moment I have over 60 birds. 20 of birds are freezer bound. 10 are holiday gifts, and the rest are for the market.
My Orps are the only birds that I breed to standard. They are for show and 4H. They taste good too if they are non producers, bad foragers, or simply don't look stunning. They are good egg producers and meat birds. If not, they are pot bound. They are chickens, I treat them like chickens. They earn their keep one way or another.I have a Trio and keep the original Trio. I have not decided or made next years plan for expansion for housing for the Orpingtons. I will not keep more until I have the housing, and resources to do so. I will hatch out a spring batch and make further plans after the hatch out. I control all of my hatch outs, be it with a hen or the bator, or a combination.
My chickens are NOT my pets. I understand the need for someone to have a chicken for a pet. They are lovely creatures and I spend hours with them everyday. I am not as reluctant to sell a chick for a pet, although that took me a long time to get used to. I thought people were crazy to want a chicken for a pet. Now I just ask tons of questions to make sure the person has knowledge. Funny thing is I have less problems selling my chickens to the snake man. He buys a chicken from me every few months. I know my chicken is going for feed, not kept in a rabbit hutch in the back yard, or worse yet in the house or basement.
The new generation is going to keep chickens. They are smart and economy savoy. They know what a budget is.They love to work and have great work ethics. The future of chickens is in good hands.My grandchildren will make great chicken farmers.
