From Three Chicks to Fifty: Our Journey with Chicken Math

Every chicken journey starts with a simple plan. For Andrew and I, chickens were a part of our childhoods, so it felt natural to want them around again. When the itch finally returned, I had a beautiful, calculated vision: I wanted a basket of colorful eggs.

So, I ordered exactly three chicks. Just three! One Olive Egger for green eggs, one Ameraucana for blue, and a French Black Copper Maran for those deep, dark chocolate brown eggs. A perfect, manageable little trio.

Then the shipping box arrived. And inside were five chicks.

The Evolution of the Coop

Right out of the gate, our plan was rewritten. We had started with a small, modest coop, but with a couple of additional unexpected arrivals, we immediately had to buy an extension to make it bigger.

We fell completely in love with our birds, but as any poultry keeper knows, this hobby comes with real heartbreak. Over time, we lost three of our original girls, including both of our Marans. One of them had actually started laying a stunning, purple-tinted egg, which made losing her hurt even more.

Suddenly, we had an extended coop and only two chickens left. Naturally, the only logical solution was to get more.

The "One of Each" Trap

This is where the infamous "chicken math" officially took over. I wanted to try hatching my own true Ameraucanas, so I bought an Ameraucana rooster, another Ameraucana hen, and another Maran. I also ordered a few other unique breeds I was incredibly excited about, but sadly, they didn't make it past the two-week mark.

Setbacks like that are disappointing, but they only fueled my new obsession: I wanted one of everything.

I started choosing birds based on a wishlist of traits: pretty feathers, breeds likely to go broody so they could hatch their own babies, strong winter layers, and of course, every egg color under the sun.

Along the way, the universe kept throwing us curveballs. Tardis and Nameless were supposed to be hens... but surprise, they’re roosters. That other baby roo running around? He was another "free extra" surprise chick from a shipment.

Enter: Coop Knox (The Coop Mansion)

With the flock exploding, that extended starter setup wasn't going to cut it anymore. We officially moved past store-bought kits and built a massive, heavy-duty fortress. We call it Coop Knox (or the Coop Mansion)—and trust me, we needed every square inch of it.

Today, our flock stands at 28 chickens.

And the math isn't done yet. Right now, we have 22 eggs tucked under our broody hens, just waiting to hatch.

We went from a tiny backyard hobby to a beautiful, loud, colorful flock, and we wouldn't trade it for the world. Welcome to Cheerio Chickens—where the math never adds up, but the joy always doubles!