Hey all, Its Farm316 again, this time I'm seeking help on when to "buy" more baby chicks for 2017, Were hoping to pick up more chicks sometime in the spring and are unsure when we should really pick them up. Thanks Farm316
laying birds, were going to do with all Rhode Island Reds.. I was thinking sometime between March-April, but I'm totally not sure
I have one heritage Rhode Island Red " big mama " she is a sweat heart and waits by the feed trough for a scoop of fermented feed each morning, she is beautiful too!!
can i ask what the benefit of getting them in march to april would be? I suspect by the time they start laying it will be late fall with shortening days and you might not get that many eggs...too early to get them now?
If they approach sexual maturity as the days are getting shorter, they are more apt to delay laying until after the Winter Solstice.
When i first got my Buff Orpington hens a year ago in April, they layed more in July-August. Now only one hen is laying, the others stopped a few months ago.