How many chickens do you have and why?

Why do people keep chickens? I asked about the egg consumption and a few families are large egg eaters, while the majority of chicken people do not seem to keep the chickens for that reason. Why else then do people keep chickens? One would think buying meat birds in spring and raising them until old enough for butcher is one reason. How many chickens do you have on a regular basis though?

Very Simple I keep them for the eggs for the meat and for my Enjoyment and my Health.
They are enjoyable for me and I get outside more Taking care of them. I am on Oxygen most of the time day and night and my doctor said to keep doing what ever I am doing as it is making a difference I said all I do is Poultry Chores (thanks to a special person I can get outside more now) and he said well if thats it than keep it up
Can I live with out my Poultry Probably. Do I want to No!
Do I have to many Yes.
Do I want more Yes.
I am cutting back to more Bantams but I still have my Large Fowl and the Turkeys and Ducks and Geese

i have about 65+ ( some will go to butcher soon) and basically the same as appway..i find them relaxing, sheer enjoyment and a bous is the eggs and meat. if i am havimg a srtressfull day i go and sit in my chicken yard and "zone"out and watch them my blood pressure goes wayy down.

What a good question! I have about 20 hens. I only need one, really, to provide me with eggs. I love the variety in my yard. I watch them free-ranging and they're so varied and beautiful, it really is like moving art. I sell excess eggs, but I don't have that many birds so I can sell eggs, I sell eggs because I have way more than I can eat. I made most of the birds in my yard. There are (almost) no two alike. Other than the few I hatched out from CynthiaM's eggs and the mob I got from Coopslave, most of the rest are mutts.

I usually have about 100 (layers) and 600 meat chickens and 100 turkeys on the property at any given time. Between the months of February/March and December. At various ages.
Presently after my recent coyotepocolypse I have about 100 meat and 25 layers.
I have birds for a lot of reasons, mostly for food and the selling of that but I also use my birds for land clearing and bug control.

We have about 100 chickens at present. Twenty young Wyandottes roosters could make the move to a freezer soon. Meat is a reason why we have these. We sell some roosters and hens occasionally as well as hatching eggs. Our extras eggs are sold at the Farmers' Market at Sun Peaks.

We have about a dozen Black Cochins because some family members find them attractive. The Gkids show these at our local fair.

We have about 50 Delawares, and Cornish chickens that we are raising as meat chickens because we got tired of raising Cornish Giants.

Our poultry help us maintain our farm status.

I keep chickens as a teaching/research tool. The teaching part is to teach my kids about where their food comes from, the responsibility of keeping livestock (I think live creatures help to instill a sense of compassion in kids. Learning to be kind, gentle and that if it squawks, you hurt it...). I take an incubator to the school every year so each new kindergarten class can enjoy the miracle if life. Each child puts in an egg and we candle 3 times and they get to watch them hatch. I leave the incubator in the capable hands of the teacher and class and they keep the babies for a day or 2 until every child gets a good cuddle and them I take the chicks home. It is always a hit.

I also keep chickens as a way of keeping some kind of touch with the geek part of me. I love the science of genetics and learning how to naturally select specimens to better my flock. OK, I will also admit, watching chicks hatch NEVER gets old.

I also like to do feeding trials etc to see what kind of feed works best. I miss University so much. I loved the challenge of learning new things every day.

I have 30ish I think. I never count so when hubby asks 'How many chooks do you have anyways?' I can honestly say I don't know.

The eggs and meat are great bonuses for me as I like the challenge of breeding them. I am interested in breeding chooks that I can get as close to the SOP that I can without losing any of the production qualities the breeds I have chosen are noted for. I always tend to pick tough breed and varieties too.

I also like to breed for my own interest and the challenge of developing a chook that meets the needs I personally want. That is why I am undertaking the winter hardy, dark layer project.

I like to have long term goals and enjoy the excitement every year of what my breeding choices will produce. The good, bad and the ugly.

Like I say, the nice meat and eggs I get are bonuses for me, the enjoyment of the birds is why I have them.

I've only been without chickens for a few years during my lifetime, while attending college and then getting set up on our farm. I've always felt a farm wasnt complete without a few chickens to scratch around the yard and recycle kitchen scraps so efficiently. Up until just last year I would buy 25 broiler chicks each year to butcher.
It is only in recent years that I discovered there is this whole other world for chicken enthusiasts like me that includes raising, breeding, showing, and even having a part in preserving purebred poultry. I was ready for a new challenge and new learning opportunities but I never would have imagined how much I would love this hobby!

So, on to the question of how many chickens...at this point in time I've culled (processed) all those that did not make the grade. I have kept back 15 beautiful roosters, and 50+ hens (some breeders and some that will only be layers, but just as valued. )
Good question, Ewe. I think we will find there are a lot of different reasons! I especially loved reading Appway's reasons of improving his physical health. I can attest to that! I have never been more fit than I am now! Hauling feed & water pails and mucking out coops is the best kind of workout!!

I have about 80+ birds right now. I have various breeds. I have both chickens and turkeys. I keep them for eggs (which most I sell) and meat. I do sell some meat birds, I generally have a waiting list of people wanting them, but always make sure I have enough for my own family first. I generally will hatch and grow out about 400 chickens and 50 turkeys a year. I sell live poultry on occasion if it is birds that are layers, but do not meet what I want for breeding. My family usually eats alot of eggs, but with this pregnancy, I cant seem to eat any. Most of my costumers are repeat costumers. Anything extra I take to the farmers market in the fall, but it is rare that I have extra of anything. They pay for themselves with what I sell. So I get free eggs and can supply my family and my husbands parents with chicken to eat for free.

I have no idea of the number. I have enough of each breed that I can continue my breeding programs in the spring. Perhaps a better question would be how many breeds. I have 7 breeds right now. Yikes! Too many!

We have about 150 birds total (chickens/turkeys) right now. I keep 8 different breeds right now in the chickens, 3 in the turkeys.
The reason we have birds is for consumption (meat and eggs) and also it is my small business. It is my way to contribute to the farm and keep me busy during the day. We sell hatching eggs, chicks and started birds. We also make a small amount selling eating eggs and some meat but most of my money comes from baby chicks.
We also keep the birds to teach the kids responsibility, they each have two breeds of their own in the 8 we raise, they are responsible for collecting eggs, and helping when they can with feeding and watering and cleaning coops. They know alot about how to incubate, and take care of baby chicks. I think my girls at 5 years old knew more about where babies come from than their 10 year old cousins in the city. They can also tell them how much work it is to care for animals and that you can't just decide one day you want something and the next you want to give it away, they know what dedication and hard work is about.

I have roughly 50 chickens, 2 pigeons and 1 Bronze turkey tom. I mainly keep standard Polish and Houdans.
My birds are kept mainly as pets, for eggs and for exhibition. I am likely one of the few here that doesn't eat any birds I raise. The turkey also is a pet. The moment I saw my first turkey, I KNEW I had to have one.

I keep chickens because you can't buy a better therapist. For me there are no better stress relievers than to cuddle with my birds. It feels good to pick up one of my roos and to hold it close to me and hear it go into roo song, a series of whistles a roo does with a hen.

Lastly, with my birds I am never alone. No matter where I go, there is always a bird following me around. In the hoouse Bradley is always there and when I am outside, my turkey BigGuy is always around to offer support [well as much as a turkey can.]

I have about 40 standard and 10 bantams that I will winter. We do eat a lot of eggs and we much prefer "home grown" eggs over store eggs. We have several neighbors who prefer farm eggs too so we sell a fair number. Over spring and summer we have about 150 birds. Some we eat, some we sell. I know we should cut back but we really enjoy working with different breeds and we have a number of pets who will stay with us until they die of old age. We currently have five breeds, three standards and two bantams (bantams are purely pets).

We have about 40 hens and one rooster (a huge blue Copper Maran Roo). The chickens are an assortment of girls from Copper Marans, Cuckoo Marans (my favourite), 12 Isa Browns (the production department), some pullets that I hatched in July, and some Ameracanas that I bought from a neighbour two weeks ago (hoping for some more blue eggs)the bantys and Dot big white chicken that lays turquoise blue eggs now and then. We eat the duck eggs use the Banty eggs that range from 0 a day to 3 a day, and sell the rest. I sell to a guy that owns a bakery (he buys two dozen a week and says they are for his own use and I have regular customers that buy eggs weekly.

When we were planning our move into the country, one of my first questions to the potential landlord was, "Can we keep chickens?" We could, and I was so excited. One and a half years in and I still love my chickens (though I would also like to get a call duck, too - wish they weren't so hard to find). The main reason I wanted chickens was for their eggs - for them to be colourful and nutritious. It has turned out to be good for the children as well, as others have mentioned, helping to clean and care for them. We are really missing the eggs right now, as last year's group are molting and the pullets haven't started yet. And we reluctantly sent the extra roosters to freezer camp, where I will sneak them into soup once in a while throughout the winter. I also love to give away eggs to friends and family to enjoy. We tame the chickens as much as they will allow, and enjoy watching their antics. And I can't but help feel appreciated when they get so excited to see me come with some treats. In fact, I am usually greeted as soon as I step out of the house in the morning with just their food and water. They know the sound of the door opening and that fresh water and food will soon be arriving. I also really like the variety - it is a lot easier to have 46 chickens than 46 dogs or cats!

We have 18 chickens now and we are a family of 8 so we eat around 7 doz eggs a week.
I don't have any fancy breeds. I stick to Isa browns and meat kings these days. I had a bunch of fancy ones a couple years ago and it just didn't work for me.

I will have to make a list and add up, not really that many when I hear how many other forum friends have. I used to have more breeds, but Hubby made me decide what I really like and it was a hard choice. I only have three breeds now. I recently gave my buckeye flock to a friend, as I wanted to try to get many mottled java breed birds going. The buckeyes are around, so I can get them (or progeny) back anytime I so wish.

I have:
3 mottled java pullets, one cockerel (4)
13 buff orpington gals, pullets and hens and 1 cockerel and 1 rooster (15)
6 cochin hens, 2 cockerels (

That is a total of 27

I did have 14 buff orpington cockerels and 10 cochin cockerels until very recently, but they are all my freezer now

Why? Not sure why what. But I love big birds, fluffy birds and two of my breeds fit the criteria. The mottled java, not sure what they are going to be like, but certainly not big, nor fluffy, but they are very pretty. I have always loved the speckled sussex and this breed is black and white, speckly kind of in a non-speckly way.

My numbers are not very big right now, but next year I plan to have a good many more that will be in the groups for breeding. For now I am focusing on smaller numbers of a higher quality bird. This has meant alot of culling. Females are not culled in the freezer way, but given away as a wonderful layer to lay eggs. Some cockerels have been given away too. Easy to manage numbers for the winter, and with not much chance for free ranging, less birds means less money extended for food. Beautiful day wishes for us all, CynthiaM.