Understanding Chicken Math

[subhanalah]

Don't set her up in the coop, it defeats the purpose of quarantine.

 

[Nupe]

This has been an awesome post to be a part of!! I'm glad to hear that I'm really not all that crazy

It isn't so much that you're not crazy, it's just that you have lots of company.

 

[JekkaLynn]

I meant the mini coop we are getting with her

 

[subhanalah]

I meant the mini coop we are getting with her

oh, haha.

 

[JekkaLynn]

The person decided to keep the chicken :'(

 

[subhanalah]

The person decided to keep the chicken :'(

all by herself? How sad

 

[Peeps61]

I've been in the chicken business a little over a year now. I have 5 of my original 8 hens. One died last summer, a predator took one and one hitched a ride home with my dad and took off to parts unknown. My husband and I have plans for a bigger run for the girls and have the supplies at hand. It will be built in the next 3 to 4 weeks. I managed to avoid the feed stores during chick season, but one that nomally doesn't have chicks was advertising them. I decided to get 3 more to replace the ones I lost. Well, 7 chicks later, I finally understand the concept of chicken math! I did replace my RIR and added an Ameraucan to the mix, but I bought two Buff Brahma hens and 3 cochins. I figure they will add some interest without overloading us with too many eggs. What fun! The chicks are already learning to come to our hands to eat - very curious and friendly. Cute, cute, cute!

 

[Demidog]

Well my two 3 week old chicks are getting big now and flying up onto my shoulders! They're such characters
I added 4 more babies last Saturday, 3 black and white and one reddy brown. These are all 'village chickens' - just mutts. And i picked up another 3 chicks yesterday which have stripes down their backs and the guy said they're Italian chickens mixed with village chickens. I don't know the English names for the chickens that are here (in Macedonia) so i haven't a clue. There was these other chicks for sale which were really interesting looking but they were 3 times the price and i didn't have enough money with me or i would of gotten a few of each, but my husband wouldn't be happy about that! lol I have to try to control myself! Unfortunately the guys selling animals at the market said yesterday was their last day and they'll not be allowed to sell anymore (police enforcing more regulations) so I'm not going to be able to just brows past and pick up more chicks if i see some i like.....but there's always the Internet

So now i have a grand total of 9 chicks - two 3 week olds and another seven 4-7 day olds. I want more......

 

[Mammahen71]

So we got 12 chicks last year, and thanks to "my pet chicken" they were all girls... 3 Easter Eggers, 3 barred Plymouth rocks, 3 RIR, and 3 silver cuckoo Marans. We ordered 6 more for June delivery... 2 white leghorns, 2 olive Eggers, and 2 welsummers. -1 EE who died in late may due to being egg bound, called MPC To see if they could add an EE to the bunch (because I can't be low on blue/green eggs!) none available, but they had an over hatch of welsummers, so they added one more. (7 on the way...)

Friend was hatching and NONE of the eggs hatched. Talked to another chicken friend at church, got him a dozen fertile eggs, 2 of which were blue (all barnyard mix.) Since I had paid 2 jars of homemade jam for the eggs, I told hatching friend that 1 blue is mine if they hatch...

Order comes, and there are 8! One was a bantam that they snuck in there! 3 days later, found bantam dead.

Back to friends hatch... 8 successfully hatch, one of the blues and 7 others. So, my girls from MPC are 2 weeks old now, so I can't put my new baby in with them, and she will be lonely by herself, so he offered me another.

Sooooo.... I am now officially a "crazy chicken lady" since I have 20 chickens! (And want to hatch some next spring.) HONEY!!! WE NEED A BIGGER COOP!!!!!

 

[boyswillbeboys]

I'm butchering meat birds on Saturday, but the odd and unusual sale is on, they always have rare breeds of chickens, and chicks for cheap, possibly even an incubator or two. I'm sad I can't go, even though I have no where to put anyone right now. We are only doing half the broilers, so that coop is still occupied and will need to be cleaned, I have 8 eggs going into lockdown tomorrow (expected hatch Monday), so my basement brooder will be occupied. I have 4 breeding hens coming from the hatchery next Thursday as they have strict bio security quarantine is not required, but they need the crate for awhile, to introduce them to the flock , and their eggs should be fertile, the set date for those eggs will be about July 3rd, so the incubator will be occupied as well, and at $13 a hen, I won't feel the price was good unless I at least try to hatch the eggs. Tell me missing the auction is a good thing, I don't believe myself, I'm arguing in my head that I could set up a second brooder, as I have 2 brooder lights (need one for the incubator though, as that's homemade) I'm going to need to buy more feeders/water jugs before I pick up the hens already.