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

[wsdareme]

I'm becoming very familiar with 'chicken math'. Here's how it works for me...

I start with 12 chicks from MyPetChicken.com (Meyer Hatchery). Oooooh, they're so cute! I start looking at incubators (wouldn't hatching your own eggs be FUN!) and buy one. Hide it from the DH for a couple of weeks. Finally admit to buying the incubator. Hey, I here are some Black Copper Marans hatching eggs on craigslist! Buy 7 (that's all my 'bator holds). Wait 21 days, have a 100%, then lose 4 of the 7. DH says, "Why don't you get some more of those eggs and try again?" Yahooooo! In the meantime, my DH comes home with 12 EE chicks the same age as our 3 BCMs, so all of the sudden I have 15 in the brooder. I buy 7 more eggs from the same lady, this time 4 Splash/Blue Marans eggs and 3 Ameraucana eggs. They all hatch and are healthy. Hmmmm, I've suddenly gone from the 12 planned hens + 3 survivors from hatch #1 + 12 donated EEs + 7 more chicks = 35 chickens. That was NOT the original plan! However, that IS 'chicken math'! LOL!!!

 

[Tala]

Chicken math is like losing 3 chicks and replacing them with 4 new ones. Before you know it......

 

[KimberlyJ]

Quote:
HAHA! Honestly, I do this and Facebook. That's about it! And I work from home, so it makes it all that much easier!

You USED to work from home....now that's just an inconvenience that takes you away from your chickens.

More chicken math. I odered from MPC when they had the hatchery problems, so they gave me a credit for 2 free chicks. But shipping is expensive, so the more chickens I order the less they cost per each ...so I'm not buying more chickens I'm saving money. Besides any chicks you get for free don't count, right?
I'm just wondering, does anybody have any advice on how to teach chicken math to the animal control folks when they tell me I can only have 12 chickens????

 

[chicknerd]

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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!!

I told my FB friends that I took Farmville to a new level.....


By the way, lost two chicks to freak accidents over the weekend. The 4 (lost 2 therefore need to increase right?) new babies arrived today. My first time with day old chicks. They are SOOOOOO cute. Perhaps I need more

 

[iluvsedward]

yes thats chckn mth

 

[Layira]

Too funny! And so true. Well I started with my 6 girlies and then decided that I was going to sell eggs when they started laying. So of course I had to get brown egg layers as well. There's another 6. And then I saw pictures of exchequer leghorns and fell in love...so I had to get some. Now I've got 14...only problem is, I made sure to order a roo in my exchequer trio so I can breed them. Oh boy. Good thing my coop is built for at least 30! hahah! Yay chickens!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

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One year a friend of ours ordered 50 assorted BANTAM chicks. They arrived in the mail, losing a few that spring.

The next year, they had lost a few to predetors and such and were down to 30 adults of which 7 were roos.

SO, they ordered 50 more that spring, was going to cull 4 of the roo or give them away and they sat and waited.

When the BANTAM chicks came in the mail, they lost a few and now had about 70 or so chicks and of course the roos (all of themand of course not counted), that was until 5 mama BANTAM hens came out of the woods with 10 or so babies in tow.

So now they were up to and OVER 100 chickens.

MORAL of the story, don't count your BANTAMS, Jus watch the multiply with "chicken math".