Should I or shouldn’t I buy more hens?

[Chichi_08]

I’d like to buy more RTL hens this spring. However, I currently have 7 hens (almost a year old). If I do buy some, can they be housed with the original crew or should I have a second coop built? Also, I’ve heard that laying hens after a year will slowly stop laying and prior to that their eggs become “runny and watery”. If this is the case, should I get rid of my current crew and purchase an entire new crew in the spring? Sorry for all the questions, still learning.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Keep hens for about two years if you want peak production. If that's your only concern, get some of the "power-house" producers like Isa browns or Leghorns. Dual-purpose breeds (Australorps, Golden Comets, etc.) will produce for longer, but not produce as many eggs within a shorter time-frame.

I've never noticed eggs being watery or runny, no matter the age of the hen.

Yes you can integrate with the original crew.

 

[lazy gardener]

A lot depends on how much room you have in your coop and run. Minimum space requirements are 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. You can plan on 2 good laying years from most birds before production decreases considerably. Some folks do an all out/all in management style, while others plan their space so that they add a few new birds every year, and remove a few of the oldest ones every year.

 

[Percheron chick]

Adding new pullets to your flock every year is a great way to keep your numbers up. Your original group will produce well next year and even into their 3rd and 4th depending upon breed. Don't worry about replacing them quite yet. Have pullets in the pipeline so you don't have to go without.

 

[Folly's place]

I add a few birds every year, either hatched here, or ordered as chicks. A few birds may die every year, and some will produce very few eggs, and so having newbies keeps egg production up. Also, it's fun to try out new breeds, or add birds of breeds you like.
I've never done the 'all in, all out' thing; some birds stay for life, and some don't.
Mary

 

[rebrascora]

The thing you have to be aware of is that, if you introduce new birds (other than day old chicks from a hatchery) they can bring with them hidden and sometimes deadly viruses and infect your whole flock. Even buying from a NPIP certified breeder does not guarantee they are virus free, so you need to weight up the risks and consider quarantine, although there are some diseases that can remain dormant for months, so a quarantine might not fully negate the risks.
The eggs from older hens should not go watery and certainly not 2 or even 3year olds. Pullets will usually lay right through their first winter, but they will stop for several months and moult the following late summer/autumn and each year after that their winter break from laying will become longer but they could continue to lay eggs up to 8 or 9 years old if you are lucky. Often their eggs get slightly larger with each consecutive season, so that can be a bonus to keeping them.

 

[Chichi_08]

A lot depends on how much room you have in your coop and run. Minimum space requirements are 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. You can plan on 2 good laying years from most birds before production decreases considerably. Some folks do an all out/all in management style, while others plan their space so that they add a few new birds every year, and remove a few of the oldest ones every year.

My coop and run is 10 x8. We had 10 pullets to start with but have lost a few. Ideally, I’d like to add a few others and keep the original crew however I’m not set up for quarantine. I’m debating on a second coop for the new ones

 

[Chichi_08]

Has anyone ever introduced chicks to an exsisting hen house? Is it easier than introducing pullets?

 

[lazy gardener]

Coop and run 10 x 8 does not identify what is coop and what is run. Your coop/run was overcrowded, no matter how it was broken up if you had 10 birds.

 

[aart]

Has anyone ever introduced chicks to an exsisting hen house? Is it easier than introducing pullets?

If you set up your coop to brood the chicks right in the coop,
then yes, it is much easier to integrate them younger.

Still need to know how big your coop and run is....
.....accurate dimensions and pics will help immensely.