Chicken Math

[Ridgerunner]

Moxies, since my main goal is meat, I had a good hatch ratio this year, 21 male and 13 female. One hatch this year was 9 male 4 female. A hatch is as straight run as you can get. Other years Ive had similar ratios going the other way. I once averaged out my hatches over a four year span. I was one chicken off of a 50-50 ratio on sexes.

I know the way the odds work what happened in the past doesnt matter. You are only looking from this point forward. But you have to have better seasons ahead. You have to.

This is from someone that once ordered straight run Buff Orps and got 7 out of 7 pullets. All I wanted were a couple. Id have been happy if the rest were male.

 

[jomoncon]

MontyJ, I had good luck integrating my old and young chickens by keeping them separated by fencing for a few days while the little ones had "outdoors time" and stayed in a brooder in the basement at night. I then moved the little ones to the chicken coop which was divided by chicken wire, separated from the big ones. After about two weeks, I took the wire down, and have had very little trouble. I don't know what I'll do with the old ones when they quit laying. Can't envision processing them. Just have an Old Chicks Home, I guess.

Monty. Thanks for the info on integrating additions to a flock. I plan on getting about 5 new chicks to add to my existing 10 month old group & wasn't quite sure how to do it.

I'm on my 2nd group of chickens. When the first group starting slowing down, I knew I had to do something. Like you, I couldn't see myself processing them, although I had no problem with someone else doing it. I put an ad on craigslist. What I really wanted was someone to process all of them & give me a share. What I got instead was meeting a really nice local farmer who had plenty of room for these non-laying hens to roam. And made a good friend.

 

[Just-Moxie]

We have been struggling to acquire some "chicken math". Yeah, we need roos for meat...but we can't get the roos if broody only has so many available spots under her fluffy butt for eggs. We need more broodies!!!!

Anyway...I'd rather watch a broody do her thing with babies.....then deal with chopping roosters heads off.....just sayin'


We need more hens...for more eggs.....to hatch more pullets. ****grumble -grumble****


Just got to 9 hen count..

1}broody

4} Plymouth Rocks- {1 just developed ascites }

2} pullets..1 @ POL the 2nd is a game/EE...dunno when she'll pop an egg.

**however...she has a chance of going broody!!

2} pullets too young for POL

 

[baymule]

The numbers have changed again. A couple of weeks ago, we ran into some friends in Tractor Supply. The short version is that they had 3 ancient hens that no longer laid eggs and they offered us $100 for 5 laying hens. I sold 5 of the 6 Silver Laced Wyandottes I got last March from a feed store. I kept the sweetest one that lets our grand daughter lug her around and love on her. OK, so I had 28.......minus 5 equals 23. Then I invited the kids across the street over for a chicken butchering and their mom wanted to come too! I butchered our first 2 laying hens that we bought, they were 5 years old and had softball sized gobs of fat inside. I thought something was really wrong with them-their vent area protruded and hung down-it was all fat! The kids had a blast. I let them pull out feathers, I cut off a wing and pretended it was a fan, then they all wanted one. LOL At one point the dog got one of the wings and took off around the yard followed by 4 little kids. What fun. I didn't tell DH until AFTER he ate chicken soup that he ate Stella and that the neighbor lady took Lola home and fed her family. LOL LOL LOL

Ok, so 23 minus 2 elderly hens equals 21. I have ordered 10-12 SLW pullets from a breeder so I can get my numbers back up. There are 3 old hens that I need to send to the soup pot. That will get me down to 18. Waiting on new SLW's..........

 

[Ridgerunner]

Bay that fat sounds like the fat pad. A hen stores up a lot of fat in the pelvic area, a great gob of fat. That’s what she lives off of when she goes broody. I’ve butchered some that had so much fat I don’t know how they got an egg through there, but they did.

I'm down to 13 right now. I have 4 from a late hatch that will go into the freezer about the end of next month, which will get me down to 8 hens and one rooster. About March I'll crank up the incubator and start the climb back up to somewhere around 40 again.

You realize how you've traumatized those kids. Why would they ever want to be around another butchering? Well done.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Heh, sounds like a better experience than my poor husband had when he was a kid...his ma made him chop their bunny's head off...at easter. Nojoke!

 

[canesisters]

Sounds like Bay and the kids had a great day and I'm sure they will remember it for the fun (and the dinner).
I took my 2 giant roos to a neighbor this past weekend to butcher. I had helped another friend about a year ago do a bunch of hers but I wasn't confident that I remembered enough to get these 2 safely into the freezer.
Well.... talk about traumatized. The deal is done, and there is a little over 12lbs of roo in the freezer...... I'll just say that there is a great deal of difference between slauthering methods.

 

[journey11]

That's too funny, Bay. $100, that's pretty slick for 5 hens! Is there a chicken deficit in your area? lol

That big ball of fat...I've heard of folks deliberately saving that and rendering it to use in cooking. They say it has a lot of flavor. I've even heard of someone who put it on their mashed potatoes instead of butter! Not my thing...

 

[baymule]

Canesisters, 12 pounds of roo?? Them wuz sum bodacious roosters!!

Journey, on selling those 5 laying hens, that couple had bought hens that were over 2 years old, some body really put the screws to them. Not nice at all. I showed them pics on my cell phone of the SLW's and they were amazed at their beauty. The husband was quick to offer $100 for 5 of them......how could I disappoint them??? I got them as chicks in March, so they just hit their prime as layers. Have already ordered replacements from a breeder.

Ridgerunner, the fat pad......well let's just say the dogs had some yummy snacks.......

 

[so lucky]

That's too funny, Bay. $100, that's pretty slick for 5 hens! Is there a chicken deficit in your area? lol

That big ball of fat...I've heard of folks deliberately saving that and rendering it to use in cooking. They say it has a lot of flavor. I've even heard of someone who put it on their mashed potatoes instead of butter! Not my thing...

The farm store where I occasionally work sells frozen baggies of chicken fat. Some people use natural animal fats rather than manufactured fats. This place also sells chicken feet.