Explaining Chicken Math

[mynamesjenelle]

You... people... are... not... helping!

My lovely man said THREE chickens, but I wanted four different breeds (actually seven, but I was heart-set on four) so we got four. Now we have five because we found a big fluffy silver-laced cochin pullet on craigslist. I called him from work to ask for "just one more, please please please" and drove straight over there before he could change his mind. Our coop is only 4x4 so that's the limiting factor, BUT if you take into account the next boxes that actually adds another four square feet right? Because it's like a second floor? Oh and did I mention these five chickens have TWO tractors, AND I want to build another one to fit our raised beds?! Since the cochin has a reputation for going broody I'm already thinking about what eggs to put her on when she inevitably starts wanting to be a mommy next year...

lemon cuckoo orp

Oi.

Oi, indeed! I just spent 15 minutes looking that breed up and now I want one of those too!

Me, the fluffly little "oh we can't harm any little living thing" city-girl-wuss is now The Terminator, Rambo and Margaret Thatcher all rolled into one. I take no prisoners.

I love this

 

[columbiacritter]

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.

 

[Fam project]

Chicken math...I have to admit defeat even before my first little chicks arrive. For years we lived in town and I would lament that "someday" when we move I would like a few chickens. My husband encouraged me only because he figured tha I would forget all about it. We moved about 2 years ago out of town. After 2 years of making the house livable, I decided it was time for chickens... I also had just finished a genetics class at the local college and decided that I would also like to do some genetic breeding experiements... so I let each of my 4 kids choose a breed, and I choose one breed to do my breeding with. I ordered 3 of each of the kids breeds, and then an extra six of the breeds I had hoped they were going to pick. When I was looking at the marans (for genetic breeding) I decided it would be more fun it I raised all three lines and compare my results... a dozen of each to start should be fine. It gets better.... chicken fever caught with my two oldest children. They then decide that they would like to show chickens in 4-H. So NOW, I need quality breeding stock and different breeds for each of them to show so they do not compete against each other. I break it to my husband that I now need 4 coops, a couple brooder coops... and perhaps I can call my dad to see if he can offer some space for "grow out" room once I begin having chicks of my own...... Finally my husband heard me excitedly talking about the project to a friend... and he said WHOA.... I THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING 6 LAYING HENS.... I break it to him that we still have 18 ordered from the hatchery (which I may call and cancel), 12 breeder chicks, and about 72 hatching eggs coming next month... with the possibility of raising a couple hundred chicks of our own next year.... he only mildly hyperventalated...turned a few funny shades of blue/purple/red. I think I may have to gaurd the incubator for 21 days so that it does not mysteriously have any power failures!

I have had a blast reading everyone elses stories! However, I am going to keep them away from my husband!

 

[mynamesjenelle]

THEN, THEN! He picked up one of my chicken catalogs..................... 

Haha! My mother came to visit two weeks ago, and she was SO impressed at how tame my girls are and how they just come right up to you in the morning looking for treats. She went home with my Meyer Hatchery catalogue. This is how it spreads...
:cd

 

[vannaHaines]

LOL, I don't have nearly as many chickens as all ya'll, but my three chicks turned into 10! *giggle*

 

[ducklover700]

I don't have any chickens, my mom has those. However, I DO have Duck math going on. My number isn't too dang high all things considered, but I've also had a lot more subtraction, along with my addition. So, here it goes.

I started in march (2012) when I was out with my mom, and my sister was out with my dad. we each were going to different stores, having some fun shopping when my sister, and dad send us a text letting us know that they're at Cal Ranch, and oh look! they have chicks in stock. Now, we have recently moved onto an acre and a quarter where we have space for chickens.. so mom and I decide to go meet up with the other two and take a look at the cuties. to LOOK, not buy. We had no idea how to take care of chickens at that time. So, we get there, and we see five or six tubs full of the spring chicks. We're having a blast figuring out what breeds they are and deciding our favorites... I walked away a little bit, and that's when I spot them: DUCKLINGS. I literally let out a gasp, and ran over to the large tubs. All I know is that they're cute, and fluffy. who cares that I think they're feet are weird, or that I have NO experience. I wanted them and that was good enough. I beg and plead a little, and we go home empty handed...the parents talk about it over night and it's decided that the next day when mom goes to pick out her chickens, I can bring home two ducklings.

So, I get two Rouens. After intense research, I learn that my rouens will grow up to be pretty large, and fat looking. I decide I don't like that, so we sell them to a nice guy with a huge pond. two weeks later, my heart is set on Anconas; I've found myself a lady who has several, and is a BYC member. So, we take the hour drive up to her place and I buy two of them. they grow up, become fully feathered, and I end up selling the female because of her aggression issues. just two weeks before I sold her, I went to Cal again and came home with a runner. had 3, sold 1, have 2. Then I find out I have two drakes. I go to the country store with my sister yet again, and I see a Blue Swedish. I'm not suppose to be getting another duck, but I can't resist. So I call my parents and tell them i'm coming home with another duck. I'm sure she's the one I want, and she's a keeper! So I have two drakes, and a female. uh oh! I can't put my swedish outside because the boys go crazy and want to mate with her. not gonna work! So I rehome the two drakes, left with one four week old duckling..she's unhappy on her own so I keep my eyes open on KSL for another duck close to her age. No such luck. Mom buys and incubator...she hatches chicks. i decide I want to hatch ducklings to I have to buy some. I do buy some, from a BYC member and order 8 (I get four extra so 12. 9 are good and growing) my swedish is still alone, so I place an order with Metzer Farms, I only want to order four ducklings but I do some investigating and I realize that after min fees and shipping, that i could get 10 ducklings for the same price as 6. I order 10 and get 11. SO I have eleven 1 1/2 week old ducklings, one 7 week old swedish, and 9 anconas in the bator.

here's my math:

2-2+2+1-1+1-2+9 eggs+11 ducklings=12 ducks and 9 eggs. Oh and BTW? I'm considering keeping a Welsh Harlequin drake for my females, instead of just keeping females. hmm looks like i'm hoping for Blue Belle to go broody for me.

 

[gussie398]

I have chicken math! We had 6 (two more than we originally wanted) and lost one due to eating Datura (spelling?) which is poisonous to chickens. We didn't have enough room for 5, so we sold two. Now we are left with three. I WANT MORE!!!

 

[Whittni]

Showing chickens, leads to HARSH chicken math. I'll explain later.

 

[1876 Farm]

Susan Renee,

I understand! I started with 15 chickens in 2009 with 1 coop and today I have 51 in 2 coops. I think I have reached my limit.

Now my husband wants more rabbits, at 1 time we had 3 rabbits, but due to age we now only have 1 and he is 6 years old. So it's time to get some more!

Enjoy your chickens, they are a ton of fun to have around.

 

[Marty1876]

Gotta love chicken math, especially chicken multiplication!

I started with a few khakis campbells. Then, wanted a giant duck breed, so out with the bator. While those eggs were incubating, some folks from "hatch day is today" got me to be hatch buddies with them for goslings. Then another hatch buddy situation. Then I found those darling birds on ebay (eggs). Well, we were up to lots of ducks and geese, when DH brought me home a "bouquet" of babies from the farm supply store - all chickens. Well, naturally, we needed a few others, since these were mostly sex link hens, a milli fleur, and a bantem barred rock. To make a long story short, we're up to 60 now, and I had a bunch of quail hatch last night, havn't counted them yet.