We usually keep a flock of between 200-300, but amazingly we are down to below 100 right now. We keep a large closed flock for several reasons: 1) to have eggs to incubate 2) to have eggs to eat and sell, and 3) to have enough birds to sell and not affect numbers 1 and 2. Ours are all purebred and penned seperately to keep them that way. If I get tired of a certain breed, I sell it out completely and get another kind to replace it. Now, this Summer when feed was out of control ,stupidly high, it about killed us. I also DO NOT deal with live birds when I want a new breed, I search and search to find the hatching eggs and hatch them myself.