So about this whole 'Chicken Math' thing...

[Sustained]

I've had my 6 hens, BPR's, since February. Originally I had 12 but that's another story. Now, I went to my local feed store to get them. Actually my wonderful husband decided to get me into the chicken biz after realizing what a ridiculous amount of eggs we consume in this house of 7

(and I thank that man every day lol). And I've always been perfectly happy with my little flock (except for the sadness of having to cull my roo). They only had 2 breeds to choose from at the time and I went with BPR based on the info the lady who was in charge of ordering gave me. I can't remember what the other breed was. Anyway, I recently found out that the woman knows NOTHING about chickens lol. Not that it matters but I was a little shocked that she not only works in a feed store but is in charge of ordering and providing customer service on something she has no knowledge of. Okay I'm rabbit holing again.

My point IS.... after haunting BYC for a few months and finally becoming a member

, I realized how many wonderful and GORGEOUS breed are out there!

I now have a list a mile long of breeds that I want to add to my flock! And once we get a house with some decent sized property my husband will let me have whatever I want as long as I can show him on paper that it won't require a major budget allowance. Believe me... I'm going to WORK those numbers!! Maybe I can use Chicken Math?

So last week I was offered some silkie eggs to hatch, no charge, so what did I do? I ran straight to town and got all the stuff to make a homemade incubator!! No premades were to be found anywhere I looked locally. I'm trying to justify having more chickens to myself because I lost about half of the original flock. Um except I was given 26 eggs. So I'm just planning ahead for half not hatching and half being roosters right? Heehee! No enabling needed here... I'm my own worst enemy

How in the WORLD does everyone else not end up overrun with fuzzies and adults???? Does this Chicken Math thing wear off? Perhaps there are recovery groups? I'm in danger. I think I've caught the fever

I'm determined to add at least one silver laced Wyandotte next (love at first sight) and then from there a phoenix of some breed that I haven't narrowed down just YET but oh my gosh are they beautiful and then from there..... Oh my....

 

[Mrs. K]

Join the crowd..... hope you are not squeamish about a sharp knife...... a sharp knife can really help you justify yourself, hey, you are feeding the family.

Mrs K

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Ummm, I have way too many birds (20 something Silkies, 8 turkeys and 16 guineas AND I hatch all the time) so I'm probably not the best person to answer here....

How does everyone not get overrun with fuzzies? Ha! They totally do, me included. Or, they live in towns where ordinances only allow for so much. And most members who aren't allowed to have more than 5 or 10 chickens because of town laws end up having way more than they should anyway
Does the chicken math thing wear off? Let me put it this way, I've been at this chickening thing for about 10 years or so, and I still can't help myself. You won't find any recovery groups in this place, maybe enabling groups. There are lots of enablers here. AND, you have an INCUBATOR! Good luck with that whole chicken math thing, you're gonna need it, but believe this, you're in excellent company here.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Well, considering I went from 45 birds at the start of the year to close to 200 now... I don't know how others avoid being over-run. I justify having so many birds because I sell the eggs and I plan on butchering most of the roosters for meat. I have begun entertaining the notion of becoming NPIP certified so I can sell chicks and juveniles on a large scale, but I'm waiting to see what local interest is in my rare breeds before I bother. Nothing would make me happier than to be able to earn a real income on my chickens, but I'm realistic about the area I live in and don't expect to see a lot of local interest.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes to everything! I have NOT bought an incubator, and that's the only thing that's kept my flock down to 35 birds overwinter. BUT I'm planning to enlarge the coop this fall, so who knows... Have you looked at feathersite, or the Henderson poultry chart, or those great picture books? There are SO MANY interesting birds out there! Mary

 

[Sustained]

Join the crowd..... hope you are not squeamish about a sharp knife...... a sharp knife can really help you justify yourself, hey, you are feeding the family.

Mrs K

I raise meat rabbits and was a butcher in a grocery store for several years so no... I would not say that I'm squeamish or a stranger to sharp knives.

 

[Sustained]

Yes to everything! I have NOT bought an incubator, and that's the only thing that's kept my flock down to 35 birds overwinter. BUT I'm planning to enlarge the coop this fall, so who knows... Have you looked at feathersite, or the Henderson poultry chart, or those great picture books? There are SO MANY interesting birds out there! Mary

And I thought that I was was my own worst enemy

I haven't ran across those yet but now that I've been enlightened....

 

[BrendaJ]

O chicken math.. lol... It does not really go away. You are always finding ways to add or finding new breeds you want to add - & fuzz butts don't count - giggle ....This is your recovery group - only problem is that its full of enablers

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Thank you! That's Wendy (or Wendy 2, I have 2 that look just alike and I can't tell them apart ) in my profile pic. One of my many favorites