Starting a flock

[super silkie]

I would go with chicks that is what I started with and my chickens and I are very close because of it and plus they are very funny to watch but mine are pets if you want them just for eggs start with laying hens

 

[EZFarms]

I prolly will have them for thr rest of my life to. i actually have a few who will sit inside anf watch tv with me xD its cute.
My parents have been bitten to when i asked for more chickens originally it was no then i showed my dad silkie bantams amd now hes as anxious as i am to get them in feb haha

 

[lillyandme2]

I was totally new to the whole chicken thing but I wined long enough DH gave in told me I could only get two I said no way so i got 10 day old chicks from a mail order hatchery within one week I was at the local farm store and go figure I brought 2 more home hubby just rolled his eyes he knew he wasn't going to win lol so I would say go with chicks just remember build your coop and run like your going to have double the number of chicks you plan on cause you soon will be adding more. we started last year in April and this year were adding 10 more in February can't wait to get the new girls. We sell eggs to off set feed cost. They will always be pets with benefits for us good luck keep reading you will always learn something new

 

[Epent12]

I started my flock with some broiler chicks, and then my father's friend gave me a pair of bantams, now I have ± 40 chickens on my flock

 

[LindaB220]

Great thread. Love it.

 

[abserbean]

I started with four day old chicks last year. Those girls are not just livestock, they are pets. They have been hand raised, love my kids and me, and are a delight. Since then I have rescued an older hen, and purchased a pullet to be her friend when my flock wouldn't accept her. The rescue hen has laid all of one egg in five months. She is not quite two, but she was raised as a single chick and is scared of chickens, so she is +too stressed to lay. The pullet we brought home promptly went into a molt, so she hasn't laid in the two months we have had her either. So the older hen gets you eggs right away theory doesn't always work! All of ours are pets though, so while we appreciate the eggs, they are just a bonus. It really depends on what you want. If they are for pets and you want to bond with them, I would go with baby chicks.

 

[Triple Willow]

It depends on your goals but I would go with chicks from a hatchery. They are not that hard to raise. A lot of people want the instant gratification of instant eggs from an already laying hen or a soon to be laying pullet. What's wrong with waiting a little while and working for it??? It is a whole lot more rewarding to raise the birds yourself and watch them go from an egg (or as a chick) all the way to laying eggs. You learn a lot about them as you watch them develop. There is a VERY slim chance that I would ever bring an adult bird into my flock. It is not worth the risk of killing them all by introducing disease or sickness. *A bird can look and act perfectly healthy (even after the 30 day isolation) yet be a carrier of a deadly disease or sickness.* There are many many many people who will sell you sick birds knowing full well that the birds they are selling you are sick or knowing that birds on their farm have been exposed to serious sickness/disease. It is hard to believe but THEY DON'T CARE. I worked too hard raising my birds to risk carelessly killing them all with "one new bird" introduced to my flock. I say get a book (Story's seems to be the best at the moment) and read read read. Learn all you can. There is good information on this website but finding it can be next to impossible sometimes. (The best thing would be to find a farmer who has raised/kept chickens for decades and learn from him or her.)

Last February I started out with 18 eggs given to me by a friend and a flea market incubator he sold me cheap. By March, 14 chicks hatched, all survived "chickhood". Now not only are those pullets great layers (and have layed an acceptable amount of eggs all winter), one has raised chicks of her own that will be laying probably by the time their moms are a year old. Seeing all of that in one year is very rewarding.

 

[chickwhispers]

I agree with the above poster. It really depends on you. I too started out with chicks and am glad I did. However, I have a friend who has done both, taken in adult hens, and chicks. She has the room to do that. I don't. To start though if you have the time to start off with chicks I think that's the better way to go. The whole thing is a learning curve, and eventually you will need to learn about having chicks. No matter how much you read in books, online, etc., (And I do recommend reading everything you can), there is no replacement for the experience. Good Luck no matter what you choose!

 

[Our Roost]

Cited from my own personal experience. 3 years ago we entered Tractors Supply to get some grain for the minature horses we had. They had their "Spring Chick Sale" going on. Ducks as well were on display. The whole store was in a "PEEP". The wheels started turning on our way home and we had a healthy discussion regarding grand relatives and how they managed to raise chickens during the depression era as a food supplement. What a grand idea and adventure to pass on to our children and grandchildren we thought! I'll be darned if I didnt get hog tied into following our grandparents footsteps!The adventure had started.
First came the erection of the coop and run area with much forethought and planning. It ended up being the Taj Mahal. We had plenty of room for plenty of chickens and we felt comfortable that all we needed was chickens. 10 was what we imagined but 25 was what we purchased. Since we were earmarking some for meat and some for eggs, we went with more than less. 5 selected breeds and 5 of each breed. We ordered them via their hatchery and Tractors Supply. All hens were what we ordered. They arrived at the local post office per scheduled delivery and we got a phone call that they needed picked up immediately! 25 peeping little chicks making lots of noise brought lots of attention I suppose.
A medium doggy cage was used to house them at first. A heat lamp, bedding, starter food and water was added along with some side supports to keep them from getting out. Every morning there after their spce became less and less! I needed a brooding box big enough to hold 25 chickens with more bedding, more water, and more food! Maybe an additional heat lamp also. How did they get so big so fast?
You ask about getting an older hen too show them the ropes. Trust that birds have inherant qualities and know exactly what to do without much teaching. Dipping their tiny beaks in water and feed is about all that is needed from the start. I wouldnt have traded our experience of raising them from chicks to adults for anything else. Intoducing new chickens to your current flock is another story in itself. You will find that chickens raised together stay together and breed doesnt much matter until they mature. Hope this little bit of jargon helps you!

 

[pheasant1]

If you're just starting out chicks can be risky and unwanted adults have already developed personalities and habits that you would have to adjust to and it's not always a good fit. I prefer chicks (or hatching eggs) so I don't bring any problems to my property be it biosecurity or an unruly bird that's going to upset the already established community.
I strongly suggest to anyone starting out, start with birds about same age, old enough they don't require any artificial heat,
yet young enough that you can grow with them, learn their needs and watch them develop personality.
When that first egg comes, it's like icing on a cake.
I would say a good age is about eight to ten weeks old, what we call started birds.