When is the best age to get chicks?

Ridgerunner said:

There is no clear cut answer. You can get them as soon as they dry off after hatch, you can wait until you can tell the sex, or any time in between.

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Ahhh hence the lack of replies as it is an answerless question lol! At what age do they no longer need a heatsource and can live in a coop (spring / summer temps) is probably a better question then maybe! then they could stay with thier mum until they dont' 'need' to be anymore.

I have had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks in the heat of summer. I’ve had a broody hen not wean her chicks for over nine weeks, in the heat of summer or at cooler times. There is no set age for when a broody hen will wean her chicks, but they should be able to handle the temperatures when she weans them.

Taking them when they can be on their own is certainly a good approach.

Ridgerunner said:

I have had a broody hen wean her chicks at three weeks in the heat of summer. I’ve had a broody hen not wean her chicks for over nine weeks, in the heat of summer or at cooler times. There is no set age for when a broody hen will wean her chicks, but they should be able to handle the temperatures when she weans them.

Taking them when they can be on their own is certainly a good approach.

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Thanks Ridgerunner I think I'll say that to her then, that give me plenty of time to get my coop sorted in the meantime. So next dumb newbie question, how do you know when they have weaned them - what does it mean in chicken world?

Weaning them means the mother has left them on their own to make their way in the flock. She no longer protects them, finds them food, or keeps them warm. The chicks are no longer her total focus but she goes back to the rest of the flock to eat and roost. She will build up her reserves and start laying eggs again.

Normally a hen does this all at one time, but I’ve seen hens continue to take care of her chicks at night while leaving them on their own during the day. I’ve seen hens take care of the chicks during the day but leave them on their own at night. The standard method is all at once but like everything else in the chicken world, there can be differences.

I have seen hens wean their chicks at 3 weeks, though that is really young. Four to nine weeks seems to be standard, but some will continue well after that. The hen will have integrated the chickens into the flock before she weans them but the chicks still have to manage the pecking order on their own. Since they are immature the older chickens (practically always the hens, not the rooster) may beat up on them if they intrude on the hens’ private space, so the younger ones tend to form a sub-flock within the flock and avoid the adults until the chicks mature.