To get chicks or not to get chicks

[fiddlebanshee]

This is my dilemma. We're going to move in about 2 months. We will be living on a 14 acre wooded lot that we want to have free ranging chickens on in order to deal with the tick population since my dh has lyme disease.

These are the options i am considering:
1. if we wait to get chicks until we have moved we will not have them outside eating ticks until much later in the summer/early fall, which makes them miss the high season for ticks.
2. if I get chicks now they will be big enough to get outside immediately after we move. This also means that I'll have to have the coop ready and waiting before we move, as well as caring for the chicks while we are packing, and moving them to a new location. Two questions here:
a. will all this moving be too stressful for the chickens?
b. will all this caring for them and building the coop and moving them while moving house be too stressful for me?
3. The third alternative is to get adult chickens soon after we move. Will this be doable, are adult chickens for sale during the summer, and where would I look for them. I think I like this option best.

Advise anyone? What would you do in my situation? I have never had chickens so I don't know how attached the get to the place they grow up and how many issues we might have with moving them.

 

[Kelly G]

How about buying some started chicks when you get there??? Just a thought. Everyone who purchased "Easter Chicks" will probably be trying to get "rid" of them when they aren't cute anymore.

Just a thought.

Hey, by the way, Guineas have a TERRIFIC reputation for taking care of tick problems...just another thought

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Yes I know about the guineas but unfortunately they also have a great reputation for being loudmouths! Part of the symptoms of lyme disease is an extreme adversity to sound, so guineas and my DH can probably not share the same 14 acres, lol. This is part of the reason why we are moving to this remote and large lot -- to have silence. So no roosters and no guineas.

ETA: Where would one look for started chicks? Craigslist? Feedstore? Paper?

 

[lovinlife]

You could always get some hens off Craig's List after you move. That way you know for sure you have hens. After that, you could get some chicks to raise (which you will eventually succumb to anyway once you get chicken fever).

For ticks, guineas really are the best. I have two and they're not quiet. They don't roost by the house, though and it's easy enough to not hear them. And they don't make noise constantly. Guineas are hard to rehome as adults, though. So they're best bought as chicks and raised there.

good luck with your new place! Peace and quiet are priceless.

 

[Kelly G]

I agree - Craig's List is a great place to start!

I'm sorry about your husband's condition...no wonder you want to get rid of ticks!!!

 

[Ozark Chicken]

CL is a good source and usually in may they will be a lot of 3 to 6 month old chickens for sale that were FFA projects that need rehoming

 

[AZKat]

If the main thing that you're looking for is tick control, you could also advertise on Craigslist for 'retired' hens or for unwanted roosters. You could probably get those for cheap or free.

 

[trunkman]

I'd get full grown chickens after the move is complete. Try Craiglist, that's where I purchased mine.