Explaining Chicken Math

[BullChick]

I was supposed to sell nine chicks. My "helpful " husband had me handing the new owners one of my first borns. A BCM pullet that is about to lay. Now I have to hatch at least another dozen eggs to make up for the eleven week old barnyard mix cockerel I ended up with.

 

[Critter Crue]

We have always wanted to keep chickens but had not lived where we could do so. We moved last fall and could finally keep chickens. We are a family of 3 so I figured 4 chickens would be a great number to start with as we had never kept chickens before. Just about the same time that we had decided to jump into the chicken game an acquaintance posted on her facebook page that they were moving and in need of rehoming their flock of 6, six month old hens that were already laying. I jumped at the chance to help her rehome her flock and to start off with young laying hens. Telling my mom about our new adventure reminded her of the fun she had raising chickens before I was born. She said we just had to raise some chicks for the experience as it was too fun. I did a little research and knew I really wanted colored eggs. The flock we adopted was 2 SLW's, 2 BR's and 2 EE's. only one of the EE's lays green. So before we got the big girls, we headed to a hatchery to get a quick education on chicken keeping and walked away with 2 EE chicks, you know, for the experience.

So my math works like this: Said we'd start with 4, agreed to adopt 6, bought 2 chicks for "the experience". We now have a flock of 8, double what we were going to have. At least we have enough eggs to sell a couple dozen a week to the girls can pay for their own feed.

Oh and we may have built the coop big enough, but I have already decided the run needs to expand. You should hear the groans that come out of my husband when I say that!

Ha Ha, never mind that I have since done more research and now have a lengthy list of breeds I'd like to try. But I promise, we are at our max for our city lot now, New breeds will have to wait until we relocate to some land at some point in our future.

 

[BLT79]

well I said we would only get 4, ended up with 5 chickens, 2 ducks, and possibly getting two 2 month old chicks this week! hubby wants more ducks next year! so there is duck math too! then if we end up keeping our roo, well we all know what can happen with that next year!

 

[CyndiChick]

LOL welcome to chicken and duck math

 

[kmollyhughes]

We set out to get 5-6 chickens...then I wanted a colorful flock....then I wanted a colorful egg basket...then my daughter saw silkies...then we saw an add for sizzles...then my husband brought home RIRs because they look cool next to my Blue Copper Marans...theeeeeennn the feed store was giving away free chicks with a bag of feed. I resisted the chicks...but brought home 3 ducks. Whoops. So now we have 2 huge coops, around 40 chickens, and 3 ducks that think they're chickens. Haven't done an official count. Heeheee. Bet Hubby regrets telling me I can have as many chickens as I want as long as we don't have another baby.

 

[BLT79]

LOL welcome to chicken and duck math

Thank you!

 

[BLT79]

We set out to get 5-6 chickens...then I wanted a colorful flock....then I wanted a colorful egg basket...then my daughter saw silkies...then we saw an add for sizzles...then my husband brought home RIRs because they look cool next to my Blue Copper Marans...theeeeeennn the feed store was giving away free chicks with a bag of feed. I resisted the chicks...but brought home 3 ducks. Whoops. So now we have 2 huge coops, around 40 chickens, and 3 ducks that think they're chickens.

Haven't done an official count. Heeheee. Bet Hubby regrets telling me I can have as many chickens as I want as long as we don't have another baby.

chickens instead of another baby sounds like a good trade off to me! haha! I prefer chickens and ducks to another baby!

 

[Sallysec]

I haven't fallen victim to the chicken math yet, but for some reason, I am feeling compelled to want more chickens today! We agreed to get 4 chickens but my friends broody only hatched out 2. one of them is an ee rooster, and the other is a cuckoo maran/rir mix. Had them for couple weeks and we said we need more. So we went to a local farm and came home with 3 maran hens, and 2 mixed ducks both males. Now that I know our ee is a male, I want an ee hen, a rir or new Hampshire red hen, an australorp, a brahma! lol, do you see where this is going? I want a colorful flock and colorful egg basket, so now I need olive eggers! someone help, I need an intervention!

I have a EE Roo that is 5 weeks old if you want him He came from a pretty blue egg I incubated in July. He hatched the 21st.

We set out to get 5-6 chickens...then I wanted a colorful flock....then I wanted a colorful egg basket...then my daughter saw silkies...then we saw an add for sizzles...then my husband brought home RIRs because they look cool next to my Blue Copper Marans...theeeeeennn the feed store was giving away free chicks with a bag of feed. I resisted the chicks...but brought home 3 ducks. Whoops. So now we have 2 huge coops, around 40 chickens, and 3 ducks that think they're chickens.

Haven't done an official count. Heeheee. Bet Hubby regrets telling me I can have as many chickens as I want as long as we don't have another baby.

My husband must know your husband! LOL

He thinks chickens are cheaper than children and how crazy could I go with chicks?

.

I swear he looks like this half the time

but he smiles and keeps building...he even turns the eggs when I forget and lets the chickens roam before I wake. I am not sure which one of us is more addicted to chicken math. Our poor children

 

[BLT79]

I have a EE Roo that is 5 weeks old if you want him He came from a pretty blue egg I incubated in July. He hatched the 21st.
My husband must know your husband! LOL

He thinks chickens are cheaper than children and how crazy could I go with chicks?

.

I swear he looks like this half the time

but he smiles and keeps building...he even turns the eggs when I forget and lets the chickens roam before I wake. I am not sure which one of us is more addicted to chicken math. Our poor children

oh no thanks, not even suppose to have the rooster I do have!

 

[sepaditty1]

My coworker laughs at me and my chicken addiction. It sort of came out of nowhere and took us by surprise.

Well today she found out that I ordered 4 EEs and they should be delivered next week. She said, "4 more? really?"

I said, "Yeah. One died. I need to replace her."

Sounds totally logical to me. 1 dies, get 4 more.

I got 4 golden sex links first. Decided that if I wanted to sell any eggs, that just wouldn't be enough. Went to get 3 more. Son went with me.

"Oh, they have cochins! Can we get some of those, too?"

"Sure, pick 2 out."

"Hey, there's 1 black sex link in there with all the red ones. She must feel left out."

"Grab her and let's go."

Turns out she is a he. so is one of the cochins. So is the neighbors lone chick that moved in with my girls.

So, 4 was 11 then went to 10. Will soon be 14....for now.