Need help--planning to start a flock!

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banjomoon

banjomoon

Chirping
6 Years
May 11, 2013
22
4
64
East Nashville
My Coop
My Coop
Hi! I've been thinking about getting backyard chickens for a couple of years, and I think this summer is the perfect time. I am busy reading books and reading lots on the internet, but I had a question for those of you with experience. My husband and I are teachers, so I was hoping to get day old chicks in late May or early June. I contacted a local hatchery (is that what they are called?) and she said that their last hatching was last week because otherwise the birds don't mature in time to start laying before the nights get longer.

So, really I have two questions:

-Should I just get older pullets in June and not worry that they aren't day old? (The main worry for me is that they won't be docile and tamed, but perhaps with a good hatcher...)

-Or, should I keep looking and find day old chicks, but then just get over the fact that they may miss the summer for prime laying?

-OR, should I wait until next summer or a summer down the road and get chicks in February or March (although I will have less time during the day.)

I should give you some background: I live in Nashville with a pretty large fenced in yard. I have a toddler (16 months.) Chickens are allowed by city ordinance, and my plan is to get 3.

Any and all advice is welcome!
 
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I think with young kids, I would choose day old chicks because they will grow up together - whereas hens may be hostile or afraid of them. If you visit "where am I , where are you," thread you can post on your state thread - maybe you can find local chicks or even older ones that have been raised around kids and socialized from the start. A good rule when kids + chicks meet is to only allow children to play with chicks when you are present - they are very fragile and especially can't take being dropped or squeezed. Children should only handle chicks when they are sitting on the ground. This also allows the chicks to approach on their own and not feel trapped.
 
I would just go on craigslist whenever you're ready and find someone local with chicks. I would get day old chicks rather than older ones, so you can grow then yourself and you and the chickens will get to know eachother better. If you interact with your chicks at least once or twice a day, they should be docile. That's really all it takes.
 
HI there, I am new to chickens too this year. I went to our local store and ordered my chickens in April to be delivered May 1st, day olds. But because I wanted eggs now, I went down the road to a friend of mine just at noon today and came home with 5 of her hens. Once my chicks get feathers and are big enough I will integrate them to the new flock. By then we'll have the big coop built. Right now they are in a 4' x 8' chicken tractor over one of my garden beds. It has a roosting area but I just went out to check on them (the sun just went down) and they are all under the upper area on the grass. I am a bit worried that they will get damp and sick so that is one concern that I have for bringing birds to not just a new area but a very different area then they were in, they were in a barn.

I say go with the pullets and get some new chicks next year if you like. I am also going to run a lamp on a timer in the big coop so that I can get eggs all winter.
 
I say get chickens now! If you want to add in the future, it will be more complicated, but I say it is worth it to have fresh eggs this year.

You can tame up a hen or pullet almost as good as taming up a chick for a beginner, it depends a lot on natural personality! Red sex links are hands down some of the friendliest girls I've ever had, and they lay very well. They were friendly even when not raised well. Most hens will not give your children any trouble, at least not any more than a dog or cat would.

This is just my advice. I'd also say: get 4, if you can. Even numbers helps make sure that each chicken has a buddy.
 
Thanks, y'all! How very welcoming and helpful. I found a person very nearby who hatches chicks year-round! The planning continues! I am reading A Chicken in Every Yard from the library currently. Very helpful. I am looking forward to reading more about gardening with chickens. Any gardening with chickens experts out there? We have two raised beds with veggies, a border with perennials (hostas, nandina, azalea, lenten roses, etc). I have already read that chickens can devour hostas, so that area will have to be off limits.
 
banjomoon said:
Thanks, y'all! How very welcoming and helpful. I found a person very nearby who hatches chicks year-round! The planning continues! I am reading A Chicken in Every Yard from the library currently. Very helpful. I am looking forward to reading more about gardening with chickens. Any gardening with chickens experts out there? We have two raised beds with veggies, a border with perennials (hostas, nandina, azalea, lenten roses, etc). I have already read that chickens can devour hostas, so that area will have to be off limits.
Click to expand...

Chickens will either devour or destroy (through scratching) everything. Except a few woody or evergreen type plants, well-established bushes, and trees. They will most definitely get everywhere you don't want them to, if they are allowed to forage for long enough. Unless your yard is very large, I would plan on fencing off anything that's not grass, and free ranging for short periods of time. This is just my experience.

I do think there's a gardening-with-chickens thread out there somewhere...
 

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