Is this what you talk about when you say 'chicken math'?

[LarryPQ]

Quote:
I have forsaken Facebook for BYC as well........nothing going on in my Facebook is as interesting as BYC....

I never got into FB--but had a page for friends and family. Then one day, after neglecting it for months, I went on and posted, "People still use facebook?" And was chased out by a bunch of villiagers carrying pitchforks. Now it is BYC for me!

 

[PhilErvin]

 

[xyresicchick]

a year and a half ago i started growing organic vegetables. i read in "Mother Earth News" and in multiple gardening books that CHICKENS make really great gardening companions- they eat bugs, slugs, and other unwanted pests, help fertilize, and till the garden in the spring to prepare for new seedlings, etc.

so i freak out! i want chickens!

Joe says NO, we cant get chickens! no room!

a year later, he says "i was thinking about getting chickens"

WHAT!!? OKAY!!!!!!

so i research all about chickens, breeds, temperaments, laying productivity, cold hardiness, etc. and decide on 4 breeds i like the best. he's like "whoa whoa" 4 chickens is too many. "well i'll just get 2," i say.

but then i read about how they are social, and if one dies, you need a backup... you know, the other'll be sad and lonely. "if we get chickens, we need 3" i tell him

the more i read, the more convinced i am that 4 is a better number. actually, 4 is a way better number, you know... in case 2 die.

but i want to hatch them out of eggs. that way i will be mama, rather than just some lady who takes them AWAY from mama whenever i want to pet one...
BUY SELL AUCTIONS turn into me getting 6+ eggs from one person and 9+ eggs from another person!.... sellers send me 9 and 12 eggs! 21 eggs!!! 8 hatch + live.

they're now 11 weeks old.... and no longer babies.

and here i am every day, looking at the buysellauctions for hatching eggs i want... and posting looking for other breeds i want...

*facepalm*

it is even worse that my coop isn't even finished being built yet...

me and joe now=

(i'm the giggly one!) but he secretly loves them... heh eeh heh...

 

[sammileah]

it is a support group. i'm on here at least twice a day.
my chicken math is
meaties don't count.
chicks don't count till you know 100% that you have hens or roos.

for every chicken you get rid of (because of culling or roos) get 2 or 3.

that being said by my math i have 7 hens and a roo. out of my math my oldest had 4 blue ribbons at county this week. (little proud)
my hubby's math 28.
yup like my math better. it doesn't make me sound crazy that i'm picking out my next yrs breeds. which shouldn't count if for 4h right?

 

[LarryPQ]

Trying to count my chickens, instead of doing my work....

Patchwork
Nugget
Chip1
Chip2
Chip3 (Nosy)
Runt
BattleAxe
Stoopid
FunnyHat
Dozer
Daphne
Dottie
Spottie
Banshee
Gimpy
Violet
Curry
Sesame
Sassafrass
SaltyDog
Pepper
Oprah
Tofu
Wayne of the Mohawk
Cinnabun
Runtling
BlueBerry
MFC Pullet
MRC Roo (B/W)
SwellyEye
Snowshoes
SS/BR cross
Cochin pullet
Yokohama Roo
SS Roo/Pullet
Elda Roo?

Plus there are the cockerels from local breeders. These were given to me to grow out for processing, but they had losses when the disease went through.
HAD:
7 MFC roos
11 splash BWA roos.

I think I am down to 4 and 5, respectively. To be processed this week, with some of the above listed, anyway.

Plus 4 turkeys...so ~50 birds, total? With 3 broodies currently and eggs in the mail?

10 of the named birds are banties. So if 3 banties= 1 LF, then you can say I have closer to 40,

With 15 or so heading to freezer camp you get:
50-15=35
10 banties=3 LF
35-7=28.
8 are not yet laying
28-8=20
10 are Project birds, and dont count
20-10=10.

10 total birds.

TOTALLY manageable.

I have a sickness.

 

[LarryPQ]

OOPS! Forgot Olivia. 10+1=11

 

[HobbyFarmHopeful]

This is all so funny and I'm coming to realize so true! I had my first chicks ever delivered two weeks ago and they are precious. I thought my husband went completely overboard when he sent me 30 chicks and 15 guinea keets. I thought he'd nearly lost his mind...but two weeks into this and everyone is doing wonderful and I'm ready for more.

They all have names, which concerns my husband...he says "I did not order those for pets" to which I reply "you cannot seriously think about eating Cindy Lou." I told him to order his own chicks and slaughter his, but he better not touch mine.

and he thought the children were gonna be his problem.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Oh, ain't that the truth!

And I SO ignore my FB stuff now, unless it's to post something chicken-y. All those Farmville players just make me laugh - c'mon, get some REAL chickens, folks!!

 

[JustOneMore]

Too funny!

We wanted a "couple of hens" and brought home 3. They lived in a pen in the garage this spring while we built the coop. Well, the coop was plenty of space for 25.

So we ordered 8 chicks.

But not all of the breeds we had hoped for were available at that time so we placed another order for 12 more. Well, after reading up we decided that not all the breeds in the 12 of that order were really what we were looking for so we cancelled THAT order and made a new order for 10 with plans of adding to the family NEXT spring.

Once everyone got into the yard, partner realizes there's nothing in her favorite bird color out there. So 8 more were ordered and are in the brooder now.

Working on plans for the second coop.

Who knew that having a couple of chickens would be so hard?

 

[Pineywoods Peepers]

I started out wanting 6 chickens. My husband and I eat 4 eggs per day (at least), and I wanted a healthier option for eggs. So I broached the subject of getting chickens to my hubby, and his immediate response was NO. (He had chickens as a youngster, and still carries the mental scars.) After trying to convince him several times, I finally gave up. (Honest. I had. I wasn't even mentioning it anymore) Then one day he actually approached me about getting chickens. He'd even been online to look at coop plans, and this is the man that NEVER gets on the computer. Oh happy day!

So I started doing more fervent research - what breeds did I want, what would do best in the heat and humidity of East Texas, etc. When I told other folks about my plans to get chickens everyone wanted to buy eggs from me (and I hadn't even bought the chicks yet!). So based on potential demand from egg buyers, a desire to provide eggs for family members, and a slight miscommunication with the hatchery, I now have 26 chicks. And I still want more.....

Now I'm beginning to realize why my husband didn't want chickens. He understood far better than I just how addicting they were.

Rachel