Easier to start flock with full grown chickens?

[Chelps03]

Is it easier to just start with full grown chickens? I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of horror stories from raising baby chicks.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Each has its challenges but integrating older hens is harder than raising a flock together from hatch. You can always order chicks with a friend who has more experience and have them raise yours until you're comfortable taking over. I find once you get through the first two weeks chicks are easy.
Another disadvantage of building a flock of adult hens is worrying about disease and quarantining birds and all that stressful stuff.

 

[NatJ]

Is it easier to just start with full grown chickens? I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of horror stories from raising baby chicks.

The horror stories tend to be the noticeable ones.

The people who just have a small problem make a post, get an answer, and the thread does not keep going on and on because the problem is solved.

The people who have no problems at all do not make "HELP!" posts. They do sometimes mention it in other threads (like an ongoing flock thread might mention, "I got new chicks from ___ hatchery last week. One died in the mail, but the rest are doing fine.")

One thing that IS easier with adult chickens: knowing what breed and gender you are getting. It can be hard to recognize breed, and usually impossible to recognize gender, when chicks are young.

If you order chicks from a hatchery, there might be a few of the wrong gender, or occasionally the wrong breed (substitute or accident). But if you buy the chicks at a store, there appears to be a higher rate of mis-labeled chicks. It's probably a combination of hatchery mistakes, employee mistakes with the labels, people picking up chicks and then putting them back in the wrong bin by mistake, and the chicks flying themselves over into another bin. All of those add up to a higher rate of errors, as compared with having the hatchery put your chicks in a box and mail them directly to you (no chance for your chicks to mix with any others or get mis-labeled.)

 

[rosemarythyme]

If getting 100% hens is a must (i.e., you couldn't bring yourself to cull a male), or getting specific breeds is a must, or getting eggs much sooner is big bonus, then get adults.

Otherwise chicks aren't nearly as hard to raise as most people think. I brood mine outdoors with a heating pad, check in on them a few times a day but otherwise minimal mess and minimal fuss that way. I prefer chicks because I know the likelihood of them coming in with any diseases is minimal, and I have control over what they're eating and how they're being socialized.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Such good posts already! I'll keep mine short because I don't have much to add.

Chicks are good because your flock will get along, they will likely be tamer, they will come to you healthy if from a reputable source, you have a reasonable shot at getting the sexes you want (mostly), and the cuteness factor!

Started pullets/hens are good because you know their sexes, you don't have to wait for eggs, you avoid the occasional chick losses, and you don't have to worry about brooding.

Personally, I prefer chicks because they are pets first and egg producers second, so getting to know them and seeing them grow up is important to me. But you do whatever better suits your reasons for "chickening."

 

[3KillerBs]

There is an in-between -- getting "started pullets" or "point-of-lay" pullets. That is, chicks old enough to be off heat and to be reliably sexed or pullets who are soon to lay their first eggs.

That way you're through the fussy stage but still have young, vigorous birds.

 

[RubelliteRose]

It depends upon what kind of flock that you want. If you only want them for eggs and not pets, then it may be easier to start with older birds. If you want pets, I would start with chicks so they will know you from the beginning. If you start with chicks, you have to accept that you may lose some. Many people don't, but there is that chance.