Just starting--chicks or chickens?

[Egghead_Jr]

Pro's and con's of either. The best thing about chicks is if your a hands on poultry keeper they will be very friendly and even lap birds. If your not inclined to the "pet" side of poultry keeping then it's really cost effective to purchase point of lay birds.

We went with chicks our first year, then picked up some point of lay birds in fall to ensure enough eggs. The older pullets were only $12 each (which is near half the cost of raising) and they came around to coming when called as chickens are very food oriented. We certainly didn't need the extra eggs it turned out. Have 4 young girls at this household so are circulating in chicks each spring, selling out year old hens.

 

[KFox]

I was having a tough time deciding between chicks and ready-layers. I have two children that are home-schooled and chicks were the way to go for us. I think it's a personal decision that is made based on what is best on each situation. My kids have learned that chicks are quite a job. It takes work and money to make them happy and productive. The chicks are fun to play with and watch but there are also issues like keeping them safe, making sure food is dry, keeping water debris free and pasty butt.

In the beginning, I was not for having chicks in the house either but thanks to Rubbermaid and BYC members, it's been easier than I thought!

 

[schellie69]

When I started I got starter pullets. Then the next year I got 4 chicks, this year I now have 7 chicks. I was not ready to start with chicks since it did seem over werlming with all the reading I had done. The farmer I got them from had to thin out his pullets because his wife had cancer I went and got 5 the first time then went back a couple months later and got 5 more from the same person. Just make sure that if you get starter pullets from more then one place keep them in different areas for at least 30 days just to make sure they are all healthy. Good luck.

 

[babyrnlc]

We did both!!

We got 2 laying hens and several chicks. We then added 3 point of lay pullets and after giving away one pullet chick and a few roos, we now have a fully integrated flock (5 laying, and 5 three month old babies). The kids had a chance to raise chicks from day olds and we got eggs while we waited. The older girls have actually tamed down and are as tame as some of the chicks.

We did not have any problem integrating them and did it quite early. By 5 weeks old they were in the coop with the big girls (they had a separate coop that opened to the same run and the door was small enough that the chicks could run into there if the big girls were mean and they could not follow. They never really were, except at treat time our head chicken would send them to their room. Oh and at bed time, she would too, it was funny! By 8-9 weeks they were too big and we had to leave the door open, I was a little nervous, but they did fine. We even had them all in a tiny coop while I built the new one. They are 3 months now and almost as big as the girls and they share the same coop and even roost next to each other.

If I had it to do over, I would do it the same way!