<p align="center"><em>A Guest Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
When people ask how many chickens we have, I usually say 30.

I hadn’t officially counted them, as they don’t stand still in the yard making it very difficult. It is like counting preschoolers.

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/roosting1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3877" alt="roosting1" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/roosting1.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="168" /></a>However, one evening last week, as I closed the coop, I counted them. They were all roosting on various spots in the coop and were settled down for the night.

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/roosting2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3878" alt="roosting2" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/roosting2.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="168" /></a>

It was then that I made a shocking discovery.

We have <b>40</b> chickens not counting the bantams in the little yard.

There are six bantams so that makes 46 chickens on the Miller Farm.

I’m not really good at math but I know that 30 does not equal to 46.

This means that I have been misrepresenting our flock for months. Some might even call it lying although my son assures me that I was only saying what I believed to be true.

It's still a disturbing thought.

Some might considered 46 chickens over population, but the chickens don’t seem to mind. As long as they have food, I suppose they would rather be crowded than be dinner.

Knowing the exact count does explain something, though. When I go into the yard, I feel like I am struggling not to trip over chickens.

Now I know why – there are 40 chickens in the yard.

I could let Bella into the chicken yard. She would gladly dispatch several. However, I’m somewhat attached to the lot and would feel sad to lose even one.

So I guess I’ll just keep walking carefully through the chicken yard. And when people ask how many chickens we have, I can honestly say – not 30.