silly question: summer hatch?

[starkist72]

i'm taking the risk of looking like an idot by posting this...

"spring chicks" hatching has always been a part of my preschool SPRING curriculum. I'm sure the chickens have sufficient time to feather out, and acclimate to the climate before winter. how late is too late to hatch chicks?

we're in new england

this is our first time keeping a few of the chicks we hatched, and it looks like i'm giving away at least 1 (or 2) of the roosters i had hoped were hens. i obviously can't keep a single bird, and my state only allows sale of 6 (plus i'd like to keep "our own" hatched chicks in the coop so my kids can watch the lifecycle from start to finish)

how much time do i have?

 

[SIMZ]

That's a good question and a calculation many of us probably do on here!

They should be feathered in and ready for "chilly" weather by 6-8 weeks as long as they've been acclimated to it (for me that's 40-50). I'd be comfortable with 12-16 week olds in temps in the 30's, but would want them to be at least 16 + weeks for winter -- especially cold winter. So here I would be fine hatching through all of August - even later with a broody hen. I'd feel that would give them plenty of time out of the brooder to acclimate to colder temps and be mostly adult by the time the real cold set in.

Of course, if you have an inside area in a garage or barn with some heat you can hatch year round.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, I do think they need to be acclimated. I worry about overnight lows a lot more than any daytime temperature as far as cold goes.

I've had acclimated 5 week olds go through nights where the lows were in the mid 40's Fahrenheit. I've had chicks just under 6 weeks old go through nights in the mid 20's. They did spend the night in an unheated coop that had good draft protection and plenty of good ventilation up high.

 

[donrae]

Every fall we get folks on asking if it's too late to get chicks in their area. Even in New England, folks hatch in September (and later) and do just fine. Chicks are much tougher than they look, and cold isn't near dangerous as folks think it is. Give them access to a warm area when they're little, and harden them off to your climate.