17-week pullets

[dachick]

Hello Chicken Family

!

I am new to this website and raising chicken alltogether! I have read a few documents and books and I am gearing up to get my first egg laying chicken order placed. However, I wanted to start with 17-week pullets instead of baby chicks.

I am going with the White Leghorn pullets. I have looked around and noticed that the price for the started pullets vary from 5.75 to more than 10 dollars . Are these the best prices that I can get? I was hoping for something a bit less expensive and was thinking about buying 1000 of them.

Anyone knows any good hatcheries with a great price for started (17-week old) white leghorn pullets?

Any comments, suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[da-cajun-angla]

i paid 12 bucks for my year old dark brahma, 12 for my year old ee, and 10 for my rir(recently deceased) i have 2 black sexed links and 1 production red that are about 13-14 wks old i bought for 2.50ea...im curious if they are more docile if raised from chicks, which im pretty sure they'll be...but all in all, a big time saver and eggs almost immediately is a definate upside...and im sure in that time span they eat more than 12 bucks worth of food. if ur going to get only a few hens, i would go with the pullets.
hope this helps,
shaun

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

If you are going to order started pullets from a hatchery, be aware that they will probably have their beaks trimmed.

Also check the shipping charges. They can add up to a lot of money. You would need to call the different hatcheries and see if they will work out a deal with you on that many head.

1000 is a lot of Leghorn hens. I hope you have a place to sell all those white eggs.


Jean

 

[herechickchick]

Murray McMurray sells them but they do trim thier beaks. I think you would do better costs wise to just order babies. 17 weeks is not that long.

 

[dachick]

Thanks for the advice guys. Indeed, I checked with a few places and the shipping prices are indeed pretty hefty ! Almost as expensive as a chicken!

This being my first flock, I am a little scared of messing up and having all of them dead :| . I thought that 17-week pullets would be easier to manage. But with those prices, I dont think I have a choice

.

Thanks a lot and if you have more suggestions or questions, please feel free to comment.

 

[herechickchick]

Chicks are really easy and may be a good idea to start with, lets say 50. Get them raised and laying and then get more. That way you can judge the amount of work it will be in a more realistic number.

 

[Double-T-Family-Farm]

you could order a free catalog from mcmurrayhatchery.com and check teher prices on started chickens and chicks..
i bought a black austraorp roosters for $40 last week but that isnt a barnyard rooster thats one that i showand use for breeding.. perices like that u dont even want to take them out of the barn.. lol

 

[Brian]

Hey...that's nothing ($). Look into the shipping cost! It's more than the cost of the birds. And...most hatcheries sell 17 week pullets that have been de-beaked on the top beak (to prevent pecking). This makes them look freakish.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Wow, 1,000 leghorn pullets is quite a start.

You might see if there are any hatcheries within driving distance. We have a couple of small hatcheries that deal in numbers like that for the commerical production chicken farms.

They might give you a better price on 1,000 and you'd save on shipping.

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, if you think you got all the chicks in a row to get 1000 of them at once, I think you'll be able to get a good discount from a major hatchery. With numbers that large, you'll have to practice good flock management and keep a good eye out for picking and such. Point of lay pullets out here are going for between 10-25 each. I just rehomed 4 for 15 each.