06/18/2026
I always tell my students if thereās one thing Iām not great at, itās math. However, there is one type of math that Iām pretty fluent in. Have you ever heard of chicken math? If not, let me teach you. Ready?
I lovingly convinced my husband that getting chickens would be āso much cheaper than buying eggs.ā (I knew better, he did not- at the time.) He now knows he has been lied to, LOL. Anyway, we started our flock with a handful of chickens. A manageable amount. Six fluffy, yellow chicks. No big deal. A week later, I called my dad and we searched every farm store in the tri state area for a couple specific breeds. Boom- nine more chickens became mine. Fifteen chickens in under fourteen days, my husband was not impressed. THEN, two ducklings and five chicks needed a home. By that, I mean my dad bought too many and didnāt want to take them all to his house, so they ended up at mine. Okay. Twenty chickens and two ducks, twenty-two birdsā¦thatās it!
Spring 2026 rolled around. Weād had your typical livestock happenings. A couple illnesses, losses as chicks, etc. we were down to about sixteen birds. Less birds=less eggs. A mink slaughtered my grandpaās flock, so he no longer had any eggs. The bakery was starting to take off, I needed more eggs, too. Clearly, I need more birds, right? Soā¦Letās buy five at Tractor Supply. Thatāll be good. Brings us to twenty-one birds, right about where we started. Butā¦.the online hatchery has the rare really cool breed that you love right now. Sexed. Order three? At least you know theyāll all be layers. Twenty-four birds. Thatās a lotā¦but itās fine because the seven leghorns can go to grandpaās coop and then youāll be back down to just seventeen at home which is manageable for you. It all works out, right? (We have since lost 3 birds for various reasons. The other 21 all still live at my houseā¦)
Today, I walked out of Walmart with 120 eggs, even though there are 21 laying hens in my back yard. My initial thought wasnāt āman, my hens are slacking!ā My initial thought was āwow, the bakery is doing great, the hens canāt keep up- I guess we need more!ā
& that my friends, is how chicken math works. š
Thank you for keeping me so busy that 120 eggs (and more chickens?) are needed!
P.S. Nobody tell my husband that I had to buy eggs todayā¦heāll say $14 worth of eggs is much cheaper than maintaining 21 hens. Who knewā¦?šš
