How often do you get new birds?

[Mark Armstrong]

I started my flock 4 years ago with a dozen 2 day old chicks, 4 rir, 4 black sex links and 4 easter eggers, I still have one of each, I have an assorted bunch with 10 more hens and 3 roo's, with my current coop and run I'm near capacity, planning on starting a new coop and run that will be at least 3 times as big, if I have a hen go broody i'll sure let her do her thing, I've tried to incubate a dozen eggs with only 3 surviving, I've bought chicks 2 different times from Ideal here in Texas with excellent results, I kind of like the idea of collecting the eggs and choosing them for the incubator, I love watching them hatch and grow!

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

Hello!
I've had chickens for ~3 years, and I've always gotten new chicks in the spring to replace deaths. However, since I restarted my entire flock last February (after a predator got all of my previous girls at once) I've had no deaths, and so I have nothing that I need to replace. However, it's spring, and... I want chicks. So, how often do y'all get new birds?

And, a very connected question, how long do you let your birds live with you? I was very connected to my original flock- treated them like pets- and I was devastated after losing them. I since decided not to get as attached to my hens, and my current girls are much more eye-candy & egg producers than family members. As such, I'm considering transitioning from my plan when I first got chickens- keep them for 6-8 years and replace only as necessary- to getting three/four new chicks every spring and processing my least favorite of the adults every fall once the newbies started laying. (I live in an area with an eight adult hen limit, so this would mean that I'd consistently have 8 layers). How long do you keep birds before 're-purposing' them? On one hand, it feels kind of cruel to cull healthy, laying birds at a year and a half because I don't like them. On the other hand, they'll be better for eating when they're still young-ish, and some of my hens haven't been laying as well as I'd like (I've had at least three that stopped laying in November and still haven't started back up yet. While they'll be fine layers again in March or so, I don't know if I want to keep birds that only lay eight months a year). Also, raising chicks is one of my favorite parts of chicken keeping- and I'd get some good stew hens at least once a year.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts and what you do with your own flocks.

I GET VERY ATTACHED,,I STARTED ONE YEAR AGO THIS MONTH....i have a question about some feed i have medicated that i bought for some silkies the didnt make it past 4 days...so now i have all this feed...i have three 7 wk old buff orpingtons and two 12 week old silver laced wyandottes all 5 are on starter grow feed...is it too late to mix some medicated feed in the feeders for them to finish up the medicated feed.....i was heartbroken when my 2 silkies died,,,,and im not ready to take on any new babies at the moment

 

[fur-mum]

How old is the feed?

 

[FlyWheel]

Used to be I would get new chicks whenever one of my birds went broody (and I let her keep them). Last ten had no rooster and never went broody. Not sure what I'm going to do with my next "flock", as I can only have four.

 

[TheAmundsons]

We got our first chickens last year around this time and we're having the same debate. We definitely want more chicks, but don't have the room for them right now (that will change this spring/summer, but not in time for getting more chicks now).

We are trying to decide if we should wait until this fall to get more chicks, or if we should get some now and send a few to freezer camp. When we got our first chicks, I said they would be egg layers then would go to freezer camp. Now that we;re having to make that decision, I'm not so sure. There are definitely a few we would keep, especially our rooster because he is the best! But there are probably 5 of our 9 hens that we wouldn't be heartbroken parting with, so we might try to find someone to process them to make room for new hens.

 

[SouthofEden]

I used to keep about 25 consistently for about 20 years replacing as I lost them. Was not especially attached to them. Now I live in a place where I can only really have 4 and I have 6. I am very attached. I can tell you who's talking because I know the sound of their voice without even looking. I can't imagine replacing because they're part of my family now and so special. It will be difficult to replace if something happens to one of them, but I will probably wait until a few have passed on from old age or illness until I replace, (eggs or not) .

 

[avianmom]

I'm a vegetarian, but my husband does the same with chicken (not my chickens, of course) and our instant pot.

INSTANT POT = AWESOME

I use it almost every day. Totally off topic, but it needed to be said.

What is INSTANT POT???

 

[Jack Speese]

My wife doesn't like to eat anything I've raised, so I generally just get pullet chicks and keep them as long as they are productive (3+ years), then sell them cheap and restart the flock with new chicks. I enjoy hatching my own, but you always wind up with a lot of roosters and they fight when they get older. And the modern broiler industry has spoiled me. Even a heavy breed chicken has more bone than meat in my opinion. And as I said my wife doesn't want to eat anything I raise anyway. So I generally just get pullets every so many years.

 

[woodmort]

My second shot at keeping chickens started 30 years ago (I kept them back In HS). My original plan was to keep a couple dozen layers for 3 years,then sell them and get new ones. Did that twice but missed not having them around while new ones came up—missed the roosters too. So I started adding a few every year depending on losses so, eventually, I had some 8-year old hens. (I was butchering in those days, something I no longer do.) since I free range and live in the country I’d lose a few to predators, primarily dogs, as well as natural causes. So I managed to keep the flock reasonably in bounds.

Then this past winter a mink got access to my coop and, before I could stop him, I went from 36 birds to 8(3 roosters). To make a long story shorter, I’ve just put 6 Tractor Supply pullets in the brooder and ordered a couple dozen more chicks for May delivery. Since I turned 80 last fall, this will be the end of it. 50 lb bags of feed are getting just a bit too heavy.

 

[crystal spencer]

I don't ever cull mine. I started with 10, went to 4, ordered 4 more chicks, lost one and am now at 7.

I just ordered 10 to be split evenly with a neighbor, each one a different type and will transition my older girls to just plan pets (though they've always been that anyway). They've earned the rest and whether they lay or not, they bring me great joy....