Understanding Chicken Math

[Bweis13]

I have
13 chicks between 2 and 3 weeks old
 7 chicks that are 7 weeks old
 1 EE Rooster
 1 Broody Australorp (mothering the 13 chicks mentioned above)
 7 hens that are laying eggs....

So I only have 7 chickens not 29 ????

Cool, maybe I should get more.....

Oh one of my hens only lays half the time.....so can I count her as only half a chicken?

So maybe I really only have 6 1/2 chickens divided by the square root of the 50/50 ratio of possible hens to roosters multiplied by the 80% hatch rate plus the number of eggs I get a day minus the 4 sq ft per chicken rule ..... oops I think I forgot to triangulate somewhere in there.....

 

[Bweis13]

I think you also need a logarithm in there just to be sure...

 

[flyladyrocks]

This is my first time with chickens and I totally get chicken math!

Our coop I picked up for free has space for 4 standards.

I ordered 15 assorted breed hatching eggs. I knew some would break in transit, maybe have a hatch rate of 50%, and about half would be male, which would give me 4 pullets. Perfect.

Come hatch day, 5 chicks made it to lock down and hatch. The only true Ameraucana to hatch was deformed and sickly, and died within 24 hours. So now we have 2 wheaten marans, 1 black copper marans, and 1 BCM x Blue Isbar. 4 pullets. Perfect!

But what if they are all male??

Earlier today, my 3 year old son mentioned we have 5 chickens. I had to tell him, "no honey, we only have 4 now." He said, "Oh, how about 6? Get 2 more."

So off to the feed store we go and come home with 2 sexed female "Ameraucanas" (most likely Easter Eggers).

Now we have 6 chicks who may possibly be all female and only have space for 4.

We need space for 20, because baby chicks are so darn cute!

Oh and did I mention, these will be housed at my mother-in-law's house because we live in a townhouse that we can't sell...

Sorry Mom!


Just for sharing purposes, here is the sick/deformed (severely crossed beak, malformed eye/eyelid, most likely blind in the other eye, respiratory distress) one that died. It was heartbreaking after spending hours with an assisted hatch after he couldn't externally pip/zip only to see that poor deformed beak sticking out:

Just wanted to say how cute - and how totally jealous I am that you scored a free coop!!

 

[dmbnj]

Funny Chicken math, I thought it was just a myth. I am new to chicken keeping. I wanted to start with 3 pullets, so I took the kids to the farm stand two days ago to pick out three cute chicks and came home with four (RIR, SL Wyandotte, two Buff Orps). You know when the kids pull the "but Mommy card". So 4 is close to 3. I really wanted blue eggs but they didn't have any Ameraucanas. I wanted to start the chicks together and not have to deal with difficult introductions later. I finally found someone who had true Ameraucanas, so we took the 1.5hr drive there tonight with the intention of adding one new chick. They are a straight run, so two might increase the odds of pullets plus the 1.5hr drive back would be cold and lonely for a lone chick. The guy was very friendly and you could see he took pride in his flock and tended them well, all 11 breeds. Gulp.... It was like a trip to a candy store.

Two chicks in a box, and oh wow, your RIR's are gorgeous, chick three in the box. Oh, that pretty girl is the one lays the beautiful chocolate colored eggs, chick 4 in the box. Then i get the buy 5 and get the 6th for free.... What's two more, but which ones? Lavendar Orp is cute (#5) and OK the blue cochin is so sweet, #6. So that is how my limit of 3 chicks turned into 10.

Of course I'm not the lucky and they all might turn out to be roos, but for now I have no chickens.

 

[cuckoo4chickenz]

thats how it starts!! I love it!

 

[jujub41482]

  Funny Chicken math, I thought it was just a myth.  I am new to chicken keeping.  I wanted to start with 3 pullets, so I took the kids to the farm stand two days ago to pick out three cute chicks and came home with four (RIR, SL Wyandotte, two Buff Orps).  You know when the kids pull the "but Mommy card". So 4 is close to 3.  I really wanted blue eggs but they didn't have any Ameraucanas.  I wanted to start the chicks together and not have to deal with difficult introductions later.  I finally found someone who had true Ameraucanas, so we took the 1.5hr drive there tonight with the intention of adding one new chick.  They are a straight run, so two might increase the odds of pullets plus the 1.5hr drive back would be cold and lonely for a lone chick.  The guy was very friendly and you could see he took pride in his flock and tended them well, all 11 breeds.  Gulp.... It was like a trip to a candy store.     Two chicks in a box, and oh wow, your RIR's are gorgeous, chick three in the box.  Oh, that pretty girl is the one lays the beautiful chocolate colored eggs, chick 4 in the box.  Then i get the buy 5 and get the 6th for free....  What's two more, but which ones? Lavendar Orp is cute (#5) and OK the blue cochin is so sweet, #6.  So that is how my limit of 3 chicks turned into 10.    Of course I'm not the lucky and they all might turn out to be roos, but for now I have no chickens.

Totally agree with the kid in the candy store. I can't go to the chick section of the feed store anymore because I'm afraid of what might come home with me!

 

[farnorth]

I went to the feed store yesterday and they had baby chicks.....I left the store with pine shavings.....only pine shavings...... it was very very hard ....


and no I did not name a chick "Pine Shavings" lol

 

[Gingersnap722]

farnorth, are you sure???

 

[Peggy O]

Here are our THREE chickens.






We decided to get 3, as our coop is small.
Found out you must buy 6 in NY....OK.
Decided to keep 4, just in case.
Considering expanding the coop, and keeping them all. Also building a run big enough for a 2nd house this size in it next to this one, ummmm, you know....if something comes up and we should happen to need it next year.

I get chicken math now too.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Here are our THREE chickens.






We decided to get 3, as our coop is small.
Found out you must buy 6 in NY....OK.
Decided to keep 4, just in case.
Considering expanding the coop, and keeping them all. Also building a run big enough for a 2nd house this size in it next to this one, ummmm, you know....if something comes up and we should happen to need it next year.

I get chicken math now too.

The ol' "expanding the coop" deal. Boy have we done that, lol!!!! You're in trouble now!