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I personally would not buy year old hens for three reasons. First, unless you know the person you are buying from, and know that they are trustworthy, you can't be sure that the hens are only a year old. They might actually be quite a bit older. Second, you have no way of knowing what kind of care they've had, particularly in regards to nutrition, that might afffect their lay rate in some negative way. And third, even if you know for sure that they are only a year old, you've already lost half a year of laying, and if they are egg laying machines like White Leghorns or sex links, both of which typically have a shorter length of prime laying rate than other hens before they burn out, that lost six months is likely to be half of their prime laying rate. I would either buy chicks or look for hens that are six months or less in age.Thanks Michael, I have heard of the Austra Whites, I was kind of thinking I would like the California Grey as I also really like Barred Rocks. But finding a hatchery with either of these birds in Canada has been tough. I was thinking of maybe trying my hand at incubating in the spring....
I have just found Leg Horns that are a year old, I was thinking of buying 6 of them in hopes to breed them to a Barred Rock Rooster in the Spring... Any thoughts on buying year old birds?
Lots of good points to think about. Thank you
Our local feed supply will bring in chicks from a large hatchery in Alberta, but would only bring in 25 as the smallest order. I don't want 25!