Quote:
Beware and don't say you all weren't warned...that chicken-math thing is not an old wive's tale...it's very true and I'm afraid that you have already been bitten.
Sure, it starts with those 11 or 12 cute, fluffy little fuzzballs...they look soooo tiny in that big box....and then you find out how fun they are, and when that first egg comes, it's like party time!
Then you realize that next year they will take a break and shed out those feathers, which means no eggs, or very few, for a while. Now you're hooked and being a good planner you realize,.."Hmmm..I'd better get a few more next spring before these girls start their molt..." and there you are. Hook-line-sinker...welcome to the club!
Would it be better to get them at a different time of year so they molt at different times
Probably not a bad idea but don't count on the girls to totally cooperate...they may or may not molt at the same time...they may drag it out or wait awhile or get it over with quickly. I think spring is the most popular time, not just because of all the "chick days" in TSC and other feed stores, and of course that's the way nature intended them to be, hatching chicks in spring so they'd be grown before winter hits, but also so we can hopefully have our first eggs in the fall...raising chicks at any other time of the year can be done it just may involve more work since you're not working in conjunction with the spring weather..more monitoring of the temps, heat/cold concerns,etc....but I've read if folks hatching their own all over the calendar. I've also read of folks who only keep them till they molt, then sell or send them to freezer camp and have the next batch timed to begin their laying when the older ones go--better chance of consistant egg production, but we're softies so we still have the first batch. Guess it depends on your goals....? (and of course, time, space, and money too)
Beware and don't say you all weren't warned...that chicken-math thing is not an old wive's tale...it's very true and I'm afraid that you have already been bitten.
Sure, it starts with those 11 or 12 cute, fluffy little fuzzballs...they look soooo tiny in that big box....and then you find out how fun they are, and when that first egg comes, it's like party time!
Then you realize that next year they will take a break and shed out those feathers, which means no eggs, or very few, for a while. Now you're hooked and being a good planner you realize,.."Hmmm..I'd better get a few more next spring before these girls start their molt..." and there you are. Hook-line-sinker...welcome to the club!
Would it be better to get them at a different time of year so they molt at different times
Probably not a bad idea but don't count on the girls to totally cooperate...they may or may not molt at the same time...they may drag it out or wait awhile or get it over with quickly. I think spring is the most popular time, not just because of all the "chick days" in TSC and other feed stores, and of course that's the way nature intended them to be, hatching chicks in spring so they'd be grown before winter hits, but also so we can hopefully have our first eggs in the fall...raising chicks at any other time of the year can be done it just may involve more work since you're not working in conjunction with the spring weather..more monitoring of the temps, heat/cold concerns,etc....but I've read if folks hatching their own all over the calendar. I've also read of folks who only keep them till they molt, then sell or send them to freezer camp and have the next batch timed to begin their laying when the older ones go--better chance of consistant egg production, but we're softies so we still have the first batch. Guess it depends on your goals....? (and of course, time, space, and money too)
