I can't say I'm sorry you got laid off IM when I know you hated the job.You know how the Universe likes to throw you a curve ball every now and then? Well, we caught a doozy...I've been layed off, my last day at work is 2/28. I'm terrified of course, and angry and hurt. I've been there 16 years.
I'm also relieved in a way. I hated my job. I'm not at all pro corporation and people are horrific. When you don't have to look a person in the eye you can say or write whatever you want. The interwebs are the worst, but working a phone is a very close second.
As a result I'm downsizing my flock. I've decided to keep only the 2 Nn pullets from my last hatch and process the rest of those chicks at 16 to 20 weeks. Jr will have 6 girls and the whole flock will be Nn to some degree.
I'm stepping back from processing our birds for meat. If we get a broody we'll hatch and process or keep pullets for eggs but I'm not working to produce larger birds as a project.
I'd already been considering these changes. Having this many birds is a LOT of work. Coop chores, yard cleanup, feed costs. I can't go anywhere without finding a sitter and it's getting old. I'm not enjoying my chickens so it's time to cut back. Also, my diet is already heavily plant based and I'm gradually moving Igor in that direction with meat as a side. This is both for cost and health reasons really. I have nothing against eating meat. Killing something to eat it has had an impact on this decision too. I can do it, I will do it if necessary, but I don't like it.
The chickens will help with weed control and they're wonderful for helping with the compost pile. Maybe I'll finally get an automatic pop door from all that savings on feed and we won't be quite so tied down. Maybe I'll expand my gardens and put a bunny in the mini coop. We'll see where life takes us...
What I can say is I hope something turns up to relieve any financial stress and provide you with something you like doing.
It does tend to make one think.Killing something to eat it has had an impact on this decision too. I can do it, I will do it if necessary, but I don't like it.
Even with the advantages that free ranging gives people look very surprised when I tell them that the chickens here and the way I manage them is a lot of hard work. Apart from the stress of all the chicken dramas and the grief when they get predated, there are the chores and they need to be done whatever the weather and however one feels. 7 coops to keep clean and maintained for me.
I think downsizing, if you are not overly attached to your flock, is an excellent idea.
In another life I would probably keep three hens and a rooster and see how I got on. The option to let a hen sit and hatch is there for most breeds given time. I don't need the eggs and here, they are cheap to feed.
You hang in there IM.