Spring vs Fall

[goodag2]

My wife says that hatching chicks in the Fall is not advisable as they will suffer more from the cold temps of Winter than they do from the warm/hot temps of Springtime. Opinions, please.

 

[peeps7]

I don't think it matters. If you hatched in the fall then you would have to keep them in with a heat light on them when it was cold. You do plan to keep them inside for the first few weeks right?

 

[silkiechicken]

People hatch year round. In winter months I have to keep them under light for 7-8 weeks rather than as few as 3 in the summer. I brood outside.

 

[speckledhen]

There is less chance of coccidiosis in the cooler months than in warm weather. One advantage of brooding and raising youngsters in fall or late winter/early spring.

 

[silkiechicken]

Speckled hen has a good point there too. I would also avoid mid summer hatches because if the chicks grow up in dry cocci free areas, and then the big rain hits, their bodies can be very quickly over run and they can get sick very quickly because they never built up a good immunity and the protozoa flourish.