Lets see how many chooks we have.......

[frias]

Minus another one. Bluebell aged 5. Right as rain Monday. Passing blood Tues, had a prolapse. Vet said impossible to treat so put to sleep. I'm now down to two hens. Not looking forward to when it's just one but going to give up when they've all gone.
Total now 3254

[Scarlet]

Sorry to hear that friars. Are they all the same age?

[Small pumpkin]

Lost my nutmeg to bl@@dy mink 3254 -1=3253

[frias]

Sorry to hear that friars. Are they all the same age?

No, the Columbian blacktail is 3 and the Welsummer 7. The welly was hatched at home and is very big and strong.

[Lisasbolt]

3253-1 =3252, bye bye Mrs anonymous

[Nicos]

3252 -1 = 3251
Bye bye. T'uther'un

And yep....she's the other light Sussex I was talking about earlier on this morning....just found her dead in the coop!

And she got her name cos we bought 2 at the same time...the other one was called Twin and she popped her clogs last year.
The last remaining LS is one year older so ....

[Lisasbolt]

Sorry Nico�s, hard when they get old xx

I forgot to deduct my Quiffy aged almost 4 (i think)

3252-1=3251

[frias]

Had Poppy the Columbian Blacktail put to sleep last night. Egg peritonitis. That's the second one this year with it and they both came from the same place. So now I have one hen left. Rose the Welsummer. hatched at home 7 years ago. She's following my husband around the garden today looking lost and lonely. I know you're always going to be left with one when giving up hen keeping but if I could find an old hen to keep her company I would.
3251- 1 = 3250

[Nicos]

7 years?
That's a good age!

[Snoop Puss]

We've got a pair of Rhode Island Reds, Bonnie and Blythe. I know you're not supposed to have only two, but changes to the hen area are planned. And rather than have no hens, we have two. Proper wanderers they are, which is new to us. All our previous chickens have stayed close to home. Relatively new arrivals who don't recognise much as food except their feed and grass. So, they have full free range from about 11 am onwards (once they've laid their eggs where I can find them). They've spotted the vegetable patch but are quite happy with all the grass growing elsewhere and just like exploring. Long may that continue.

So 3250+2=3252

[Mrs Bee]

We did have 11 but the electric fence died without our noticing and the *******ing fox got 2. Luckily OH got up early and noticed the security light and saved the rest of the chickens. He ran out wearing nothing but his trollies and made the fox drop Daisy.

Inky had already been eaten. So that left 9 and in the past few weeks we have had 3 drop off the perch from old age. So we are down to 3.
Will have to get some more after the holiday. The neighbours are sad that they have to buy supermarket eggs instead of ours.

3252 + 3 = 3255

[Snoop Puss]

The neighbours are sad that they have to buy supermarket eggs instead of ours.
3252 + 3 = 3255

Sorry to hear about the losses, Mrs Bee. And I understand your neighbours totally. We were without hens for a few weeks and weren't planning on getting more till the hen compound was sorted. But we and even the dogs missed having them around. So we caved in and just got two to fill the gap. Proper eggs again!

[Lisasbolt]

Had to go to the chicken man, i didn't really i was just a ploy to get the OH in there and then spoke in Spanish which the OH does not!! he knew what i was up to and brought home 3 new little white girls. Whoops how did that happen.There was a beautiful white and black chicken but apparently he is a boy, if he was a girl he would've come home with me as well. They are not layers yet but will be in the next month or 2 so that brings me to 7 layers in the gang (what will i do with the eggs!!) and 3 oldies.
So wonderful seeing them take their first dust bath, amazing how they know to do it

3255+3= 3258

[SongThrush]

OH has four Welsummer, two Sussex and two banty hens (one of the banty hens is about 7 years old and a real character, she bullies the rest of the girls).

We are not getting so many eggs now as some of the girls are getting on in years but as long as they are healthy we just let them be. Most of our eggs go to friends.

3258 + 8 + 3266

[chloris]

I thought 'chicken math' was a myth, until I found myself with 11 of 'em! We rescued four ex-battery hens last year, and then couldn't resist rescuing some more from a recent run by the same rescue. We thought we'd take four more, but ended up with seven, because people weren't turning up to the drop-offs and so many hens weren't going to find homes. 11 is far too many for us! We do have the space, but... so many eggs! They're the most adorable, funny little girls, though. The newbies are just starting to get their feathers, although they still look pretty ragged next to our original four, who are fat and shiny and fluffy and spoiled. It's so, so rewarding seeing these poor, skinny, featherless girls learn to scratch and preen and dust-bathe.

Hens! I love them so much. <3

I, er, do need some tips about protecting the crops from them, though. I thought I'd netted off my lettuces, but they just pushed the netting in and gobbled them all. Gah.