chicks or adults?

[backwoodschick]

I am going to add white egg layers to my 6 NHR's which are about 6 months old right now, should I go with chicks or adults? I am going to probably get Leghorns.

 

[new2chickens2011]

Hmmm....
Well of course I would say chicks, because they are so darn CUTE and you can have a chance to bond with them and socialize them more....however, it may be harder to integrate chicks that are so much younger than your other birds into their flock. I don't know though, I'll leave that to the experts....

 

[eggdd]

i always vote hatching your own, or getting day old chicks. never any older. never.

there are risks involved in getting older birds.

 

[backwoodschick]

Quote:
Is it to close to winter to go ahead and get chicks I would like to have them in the coop with the NHR's as soon as they are big enough which I am not sure about when that would be either?

 

[so lucky]

If I were going to add to my flock right now, I would opt for POL girls. If you can find a reputable dealer/breeder I think adults would be much easier to integrate, and more quickly. You would need to quarentine for a while, but still that wouldn't take as long as keeping babies separate till they were the right size. You would know the sex at POL, too. No accidental roos.

 

[RedDrgn]

Quote:
Is it to close to winter to go ahead and get chicks I would like to have them in the coop with the NHR's as soon as they are big enough which I am not sure about when that would be either?

They will have to be fully feathered in before you will be able to place chicks outside. Depending on the breed, that's usually around 6-8 weeks of age. While in the summer time, in climates where the temperatures don't dip below 70-80 degrees or so at night, you can put chicks outside a few weeks earlier. In the winter, that won't be the case and you may have to wait a little longer before moving them out.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I would hatch my own unless you just want the eggs and not the cudly little chick.

 

[backwoodschick]

Quote:
We plan to do that later I dont have a roo right now and I am just wanting 3 white egg layers for personal use for me and family, I am going to get a roo for my new hampshires