The new recruits

I have been terrible at posting lately! Life has been busy. I thought I'd post quickly the new 3 week old chicks we got today. They are Speckled Sussex, a breed I wanted to get when we began our flock last summer but they were quite an elusive breed to procure. I'm feeling lucky to have a few! They will only be in these cramped quarters for tonight, tomorrow they move outside into the house we are building for the broody hens we will have someday. They'll be separate from the main flock for a number of months still, I think at this age they would be pecked to death. These new chicks bring our total up to 28. Once I get a feel for the good layers and friendly breeds we'll start culling out the "undesirables" to reduce the flock size. I'm still trying to figure out how many chickens we need to not only keep our growing family in eggs, but provide enough chicks who grow into chickens to make yummy dinners. I have absolutely no experience with this, so getting a handle on the exact perfect number is still fairly elusive for me. It's all a work in progress, this life of ours!