Clutch Decisions: How We Accidentally Doubled Our Chicken Count

How many chickens is enough?

A rational person, perhaps someone that doesn't impulsively bring home livestock might say, "Probably fewer than we currently have". But what I really meant was, "do you think we might already have enough chickens?"

Spoiler: Anita does not.

We are already producing more eggs than two humans can reasonably eat (even with the help of Stampa). We give them away. We brought some to our neighbours in the hope it might help compensate for the noise of a rooster. I was pretty close to standing at the end of the driveway with a sign "PLEASE TAKE OUR EGGS (I BEG YOU)". And yet, Anita approaches the problem like a confused Pokémon trainer, determined to collect every colour of egg.

When Celeste started getting broody, Anita saw an opportunity: a side quest to fill out her PokeDex. She donated eight of our precious eggs for Celeste's first clutch. Celeste, young and inexperienced, sat with the fierce determination of someone who absolutely believes fertilisation is happening, even if she's not clear on the details. I, on the other hand, was not expecting much.

Two weeks in, disaster struck with one egg being crushed. There were condolences. A moment of silence. Reassurances that we still had seven that were potentially viable. Meanwhile, I found myself staring forlornly at our growing bounty of eggs uneaten.

And on Day 21, six little fluff balls finally hatched, announcing their arrival with a peeping unbecoming of a creature so tiny.

And that is when I realised, we had just doubled our chicken count. Just like that. No discussion. No planning. Not even a flowchart. We are now well on our way to producing so many eggs that we might need to start looking at chicken egg storage options. Anita is probably already eyeing which future hens and rooster combinations might finally complete her collection.

We still don't know how many hens we've got, nor what we'll do with the resulting rainbow of eggs when they eventually appear. But for now, the chicks are a joy to watch play and grow into troublemakers.