I live in New England and I can't start building a coop until all the snow is gone, can I wait until April or May to order chicks? How late is too late?
Another alternative - order your chicks now, while selection is at its best, but specify a delivery date in the spring. Your future chicks will be better off if you wait to have them shipped when there's less chance of cold weather anyhow.
If you get day old chicks, they'll need to stay inside for at least a month anyway, so I'd go ahead and order chicks for March or April delivery. My chicks spend their first several weeks in a big box on my three season porch, which isn't as warm as the rest of the house, but never gets below 45 degrees. As your chicks develop the ability to jump up to the edges of your enclosure (and then out), that will be strong inspiration to finish their coop! You can start putting the coop together before the ground is ready and then take it out in pieces. Coop building is a good activity for mud season!
I live in New England and ordered last December for a mid-April ship date. Worked out great because the chickens were out of the brooder (and out of my house!) before it started getting too warm. If you have your heart set on certain breeds, I would definitely order now.
Thanks,I really do want to wait for warmer weather. I'd love to start building the coop now but the only place that doesn't have knee deep snow is the driveway, and we're expecting three more storms this week
I would definitely place your order now for a later delivery. I know that the hatcheries will run out of popular breeds at times especially in the spring when everyone is ordering.
Commercial hatcheries are not the only place to get chicks, either. I got our original five from a local breeder and I'm so glad I did. The chicks were not stressed from shipping, and I believe I got better stock from someone who breeds for quality and not just for quantity. I got to see the parent birds and the husbandry conditions they were kept in, too. Plus I made a local "chicken friend" who has provided me some valuable pointers about what breeds of chickens do best in our climate and what temperaments to expect from them.
I made the mistake of getting chicks before the coop. Bad idea! They grew out way faster then expected and I was left with coop-less free-range birds that I was never able to confine after that! You can place the order now and reserve the breeds you want and get them delivered when you want, but my personal opinion is to build the coop first!
Have you got a garage you can work in? I've seen people build a coop on skids or wheels and then pull it out when the snow clears.
