I have always wondered why the news and entertainment media ran their year end reports and summaries and lists starting in the month of December. Like the month didn't count. The wisdom of this was borne out in a rather macabre sort of way with the earthquake/tsunami that hit the Pacific rim's Ring of Fire on Christmas day - probably the biggest news story of the year, and one that didn't make any of the year-end lists that were already compiled before the year's end.

So anyway, here's a look at some trivial numbers that was for me the year in chickens:

General Population
Number of chickens I started with: 2
Number of chickens I have now: 17
Most chickens at any one time: 24
Chickens raised as meat birds: 9
Current number of layers: 10
Current number of roosters: 2
Current number of pullets: 5

Chicks
Chickens raised from chicks: 27
Chicks lost: 1
Chick mortality rate: < 4%

Chickens Lost
Mysterious disappearances: 1
Predator attack: 2
Culled: 3

Eggs
Total eggs in 2004: 1363
Best Egg Month: September (229)
Worst Egg Month: March (1)
Average Eggs/Month: 114
Best Egg Week: September 5 - 11 (65)
Average Eggs/Week: 26

Producers
January - March: Ross
March - Present: New Hampshire, Production Red, Rhode Island Red
August - Present: White Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Red Sex Link, Silver Laced Wyandotte
Future: Silkie x Cochin

And just because I can, here are a couple of spiffy charts I created to make things look official and graphical. You can see the difference a few birds makes; the first group of four Reds started laying in April (around week 16); the nine pullets I bought as chicks in late February started laying in August (around week 31).

One more little farmland incident before I sign off. In the coop gathering eggs on Sunday, I heard what sounded like the brief sound of tires screeching. We live on a fairly well-used state road, so that's not unusual. What was unusual was that it sounded like it came from the nursery where the Silkie x Cochins are.

So I stopped and looked at them for a moment, puzzled. And one of the two white ones stretched out its neck and made the same exact sound. Then he did it one more time for good measure. Eight weeks and the little cuss was trying to crow. I thought Rocky (the second string roo, a RIR) had a pathetic crow (he sounds like a party horn).

Well, this little fella can only grow up. Hopefully his crow will grow up with him and not sound like an impending collision.