Dumb FAQ? Why not generally hatch chicks in fall, instead of spring?

[DanIndiana]

I'm probably exposing my ignorance, but in weather sensitive areas, why not generally hatch chicks in Sept./Oct. so that they will be cranking out eggs come spring? I was thinking that if I get baby chicks now, they will be ready to lay about the same time in late fall that all my hens stopped laying last year-isn't that a problem, or am I missing something obvious? Is it tradition that everywhere sells them so cheap at this time of year?
Thanks

 

[Higins00]

This way they are hearty for the winter, here in Ct anyway. You can hatch them anytime but it's so nice and warm outside now they can be put outside sooner. I alway do a hatch in fall as well, but it's so nice to do it in spring.

 

[33yardbirds]

I do it in the spring because by the time I cut them loose for free range there is an abundance of bugs for them to bulk up on along with feed. The breeds I like are strong winter layers so that really isn't a concern to me. Rocks started laying last Sept and never quit.

 

[gryeyes]

I bought my first chicks in October (2009) and brooded them in the house until after the first of the year. When I started incubating/hatching, it was July 2010. There hasn't been a week since without at least one incubator working on a clutch. I have chicks and chickens of all ages!

 

[AmIafarmeryet]

Its tough keeping the chicks in the winter if you like to free range em. If you just want to keep them in a coop and run supplemental heat all winter I guess you could hatch in the fall. Interesting thought I suppose, its probably at some deeper level, spring is the birth of everything in the colder climates, makes sense to hatch chicks then.

 

[matimeo]

My chucks were born in August. I live in a relatively mild climate and it worked great. Hey started laying in January. Since it doesn't snow much here they were able to free range through winter.

 

[KirstenJL]

I decided late last summer to start with chickens. By the time the coop was ready it was late October, but I didn't want to wait until spring to start out. I'm in Ohio and all our local hatcheries were done for the year, but I took a chance and got an order of day-old chicks from Privett in New Mexico. I made a point of choosing cold-hardy breeds. It was COLD the day they came, but all 29 made it alive with just one pasty butt. I split the order with a friend who took 23 of them. I brooded my 6 inside, then moved them out into a make-shift pen in my unheated sunporch until after Christmas. They went out to the coop just before New Years and of course, we had an unrelentingly awful winter this year. They have a big shed-type insulated, but unheated (and unelectrified) coop, and they spent the winter nights piled in a corner to sleep. I worried about them A LOT, but they all came through the winter fine, and now they're just starting to lay. My friend put hers in her unheated barn after about 4 weeks, kept them under heat lamps for a week or two, and then left them to free-range with the rest of her flock. She lost one. The only downside to this experience was the amazing amount of dust left on the porch from the three weeks they were out there. We had to completely hose it down to clean it. The other downside I can foresee is that they will go into their first molt in May of next year, so I might be eggless for a while next summer.

 

[ChooksChick]

It's PRECISELY the reason you quoted!

The Spring Chickens are less likely to go into a molt in their first Fall, whereas a Fall Chicken is very likely to go into a molt its first Fall. If you do the math, that's a lot of egg laying time that one has to gain over that 6 months or so extra before their first molt. Further, since the older birds are going to molt in the Fall, the fact that you have young pullets laying all Winter is very positive, since your older birds won't be doing so- simply an economical thing.

Fall chicks also mature more slowly, as part of the oviduct maturing is regulated by the length of the day. Spring Chickens have the days growing longer as they go through their first months, and they'll lay younger than fall chicks, who spend their first months in ever decreasing daylight.

Brooding through the Winter can be difficult and messy, whereas brooding during warmer months is more likely to be outside and not so much a pain and mess.

The hens which provide eggs to the hatcheries are naturally going to crank out the eggs in the Spring, not so many in the Fall; shipping said chicks is far less risky for those hatcheries when temps are milder in the Fall, but supply may not be there. Fall can be exceedingly unpredictable and variable, as well, with very hot temps in some states and cold in others- that's hard to prepare for when shipping live chicks.

Lastly, many of us end up with broody hens in the Spring, and if you want to take an easy route to fewer roos to rehome, buying pullets from the feed store is a great solution to satisfying a broody's need to mother.

 

[DanIndiana]

Wow. Thank you everyone for your well informed advice. I'm always amazed at the amount of quality help. Thanks

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
Glad to help- we all start out with less knowledge here, and accumulated knowledge is the blessing of a cohesive virtual community such as this!

I love my BYC!!!