Hi for most of the day i've been giving advice in predators and pest. figured i'd say hello. i have a family farm in lower rural Alabama. At any given time i have anywhere between 25 to about 150 chickens. mostly "yard birds" just kind of mongrels of what ever new roosters i could get that could co-exist with all the other boys. the reason my flock fluctuates so much is because if a hen gets broody i stick her in a brood box and slip 8 eggs under her. personally i've had the most luck with 8 eggs per brood. i select for hens that tend towards being broody. extra roosters and bad layers go in the pot first, then older birds, broody hens especially good mammas live long happy lives. everyone else can go in the fryer. i lose a decent number to predators. all my birds are free range. i try to re-locate predators away from my farm or kill them off. but i still lose a good number. the hogs eat their share as well. can't keep the chickens out of the pig pen. i tend to be a survival of the fittest type. i don't help chicks out of shells and deformed chicks are eliminated. if mamma doesn't take care of her chicks i can sometimes graft them onto another hen. a hen that abandons a clutch tends to be named extra crispy shortly after she walks away. haven't delt with very many diseases. not sure if this is what you wanted to know about me but this is how i manage my flock.
