Explaining Chicken Math

[kamir]

8 AM today...the phone rings. Sally, the postmistress, tells me she hears the sounds of chicks. I'll be right there, says I. Cool, my girls are here, all 10 of them, as I take them out of the carton and place all 11 of them in the "rearing area" (in my ham radio room)...did I just count 11? Oh yes, hatcheries often (always?) send an extra, just in case...

What started as 5 chicks became 10 chicks ('cause it's only $10 more - such a deal). And now it's 11. All appear healthy. Chicken math...don't look, it's coming after YOU!

 

[Talbott Poultry]

OK I love every one of these stories.

I however, am sad to say that NO ONE here knows how to do "chicken math".

The way it was explained to me was:
1. Eggs do not count because you never count your chickens before they hatch.
2. Meaties do not count because they are dinner.
3. Extra Roos do not count because they are dinner.
4. Roos that are for breeding do not count because they are breeders.
5. Chicks do not count because the might be male or female, never sure till they lay an egg or crow.
6. Broody hens do not count because they are incubators and not laying eggs.
7. Hens that have just hatched off chicks do not count because they are new mothers, the chicks see #5
8. Hens that are molting do not count because they are not laying eggs.
9. Old hens do not count because they no longer laying eggs but are great mothers of step chicks.
10. Any chicken that is for sale or trade does not count because they are leaving.
11. Never have an odd number od chickens because no one wants to be the odd chicken out.
12. Bantams only count as 1/2 because they are small.
13. ANY ANIMAL that has a name is not counted because once you give them a name they are family, and you can not count family.

So the way I see it most of you need buy some chickens because most of what you have DO NOT COUNT.

So says the guy who 3 years ago started with 11 hens and 1 roo,
Last year had over 600 mouths that were taking in food.
Today I only have 32 chickens, even though I am feeding close to 200 mouths.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Oh no! I told myself that the last 3 chicks I got would be my last. Well, I was wrong. My mom feels bad for me because I didn't get all the breeds I wanted, so i may be getting 1 to 3 more! If it weren't for my city limit of 12 birds, who knows how much more I'd be adding!

 

[heybarb]

My story is very similar to everyone else's...I wanted a few chicks - like maybe 4 chicks, but had to take 6 from TSC. Two days later a friends posts adorable picture of mama hen with 12 babies, so I talk my husband into 2 more. 4 + 2 = 6 + 2 banties = 8 total. Ooooh, not looking good 3 possible roos, 5 hens. Definitely needed to balance out the ratio, so I went back to my friend and got 2 more girls = total of 8. Definitely 3 roos in the mix, with 7 girls when an acquaintance says, I've got 2 girls - Easter chicks for my kids but DH won't build a coop, do you want them? Well, they ARE girls and they'll help with the ratio, right? So 4+2+2+2+2= 12 chickens. We did lose 2 to predators, so now we're down to 10 and I'm thinking we might need to add more...

 

[cobbyhobbyfarm]

LOL!!! I am so glad I read this...I was thinking there was something 'wrong' with my math as well! The wife and boys knew I was very good in math but thought maybe I had just caught something from having moved from the north to down here...like 'Clemson' math or something. Well, now they can rest assured that's not the case...it's the 'chicken math' syndrome...LOL!!!

 

[SusanRenee]

Hehe... I am sitting on my hands so I can't do chicken math, if I do any more my hubs is gonna kill me. I started out just wanting hens. I wasn't even done renovating the badly thought out coop that came with our property, an old three side shelter that someone thought putting a tarp on one side in a North Idaho winter would do fine for a chicken????? Anyway, my friend is moving and was illegally rasing two chicks, a Light Buff Brahama pullet and a RIR cockrel. She said if I took the hen, I had to take the cockrel, as they are pretty darn attached to eachother. Ok, I can manage two until I'm done building. Pick them up on Friday. Sat night, I see a craigslist ad for pullets the same age. I convince hubs to let me go get 4 as we wouldn't want a poor hen to rooster ratio when they are grown. There was no saying no to the older gentleman that was selling them to me, so somehow 4 became 6, and as I'm leaving he convinces me that I should buy 3 of his laying hens so I have eggs in the meantime until the little ones were grown. So 4 became 9 as I left. Last Monday, I see another Craigslist ad for two Ameraucana hens that a local breeder was selling as they didn't quite fit her breeding program. So I go to check them out and I really did want pretty blue eggs... And she shows me the rooster that she also needs a home for... Note quite the right color white, he's got a bit of silvery tan to him. Frankly, I think that he's gorgeous, and I can't let someone that handsome be dinner??? So we went home with three. I'm at 14 and I was supposed to be at 6 right now. I've also been BANNED from Craigslist. June 1 = 0 June 18 = 14

In the meantime, since June 1 I've also gotten 4 Angora Goats and a Llama. Let's just call it Farm Math, huh??

Here's Moe the rooster and his ladies Snow and Golden Feathers, with a few of the others in the background... Pretty on the chair, far back are the first two Houdini and Lucy, middle are Hinky the crossbeak and Topaz, and black to the right is either Bridget or Noisy....

Chicken Math strikes again.... I brought home four more today!

A Splash and Blue Copper Maran, a

Blue Laced Red Wyandotte and a Welsumer. 10 weeks old and adorable!!

 

[slabcrappy]

OMG!!!!!!!!! I feel soo much better after reading this thread! What is this strange, normal, infatuation, hobby, way of life, illness, commonality that we all have called chickens?!?!?! Really, there is a very real addiction to this thing. I think I am going to become a counselor for people that suffer this "disease"...wait a minute...I AM ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy addiction everyone, carry on!!!


(This is not me, just how I feel)

Sal

 

[chicken pickin]

HA I love all these stories. I right there with everyone with this chicken math though I do agree as someone else put it farm math lol. We started out only wanting 6-8 chickens so I went online and started my order with the hatchery. Well as I was finishing up my order I told hubby well maybe we should just order 12 ya know incase I dont do good and we have some loses. He said ok. SO 12 little chickies arrive happy healthy and all survived . I fell in love instantly. So now we have the 12 girls almost laying age. Just 2 weeks ago I came home with 4 turkeys(had a hard time doing it but gave 2 to family friends). Now we are in the process of decideing what kind of turkeys to get next because I decided on getting some herritage breeds 1 tom 2 hens for breedding. We are also getting meat birds havent decided that number yet and this is all going to be this summer. We still are talking about adding more breed varieties of laying hens to our flock and maybe starting a small bantam coop also. And we cant forget the goats that were first on my list but bumped down to the bottom for a little while, 2 nigerian dwarf goats will eventually be added to all this animal chaos. Oh and hubby is now trying to work me and says he wants a cow

.

 

[Mellisa]

We're plucking away at the chicken coop one project at a time. The chickens have been living in it for a couple of months but it has no floor so they crawl in through the joists and roost on one 2X8 we have tacked up temporarily.
The coop has 3" foam insulation in the roof, 3 dual pane windows, a security screen door built for homes in bad neighborhoods, a large run (still to be fenced), and is located inside the goat pen. I think the goats are helping to keep predators away from the chickens.
The interior walls will be covered with siding of some sort. I think I'm going to insulate the south and north walls. It gets up into the 100's in summer and down into the single digits in winter.
My husband is an engineer so when it's done it will be up to code as a residence for California.

I fully expect my grandchildren to ask if they can sleep in the Chicken Fort at some point.

I will post pictures when it's done.

The biggest problem I see with the coop is that it's not going to be big enough once my 25 layer pullets are old enough to join the the flock.
We built it so we can add another row of nest boxes if we need more than the 8 we have. Oh yeah, we'll need more! I have 5 egg layers & 1 Silkie hen laying now and also have 3 Silkie, 2 RIR & 3 Americana pullets who will be laying soon. Once the pullets start to lay, I'll be ready to retire my oldest egg layers to the orchard. I may even bring the Silkies over to the house to live because they will be my brooders. Yes, I plan to raise my own chicks as soon as the 25 roasters I ordered (arriving next week) are mature. I'll be butchering most of them but I expect to keep at least one each BPR & RIR cockerel. That will make my pullets and hens very happy.
Oops, I just realized something: Once I have my cockerels, I'll need to separate my flock to keep the hens with the right roo's. Oh dear. My husband might put an end to my chicken addiction when I tell him this.

 

[Mellisa]

OY! I wanted 3 hens, just 3 hens. I had been raised around chickens I knew the work so I just wanted 3. My husband didn't want ANY! He was very grumpy about my building a little coop. THEN, THEN! He picked up one of my chicken catalogs..................... Long story short 8 yrs later I have built 7 coops for his show birds and am in the process of building a turkey coop. He has hatched 50 to 60 chicks so far this spring to add to his 40+ birds he already had and the 3 new turkeys plus the dozen welsh harlequin ducks he got in April. At some point this year he wants me to build him real breeding pens. Right now I have 4 hens of my own.

My husband is just as bad as me, if not worse!
He bought the last batch of pullets & the Guinea & pea fowl when we went to the store for feed. We were in the process of moving at the time. And since he'd just bought a goat kid, I requested he NOT bring home any babies that would make moving more difficult. He brought them home anyway.
Now he wants to add ducks and geese to our flock. I keep telling him they will want to live @ the pond and they'll muddy it up, get butchered by predators, and add to his work load. He doesn't care.

I do so love that you stuck to your guns and only have 4 chickens!
And I love that your husband, your GRUMPY husband, fell in LOVE with chickens!