Too late to start chicks in NH?

[chickengeorgeto]

...Why?...

I don't think that the eggs laid in the last half of a hens laying season produce as healthy, as strong, or as vigorous chicks as those that are produced in the Spring when a chickens' reproductive system is in its best operating condition.

There are ways around this but it requires either a different flock or at least a very special diet. There is also a larger chance that late produced eggs will hatch at a significantly reduced rate than those eggs laid in the Spring. This is usually seen as fully developed chicks that die in the shell before pipping begins.

Just as brown egg layers lay a paler egg in the Fall than in the Spring, there are micronutrients absent or at least present at a reduced rate in Fall produced eggs than in Spring produced eggs.

Now this is not absolute true when dealing with a commercial hatchery because they have more to lose by shipping weak chicks but the fat days of Summer will always produce stronger, more healthy chicks. Then when the rain, the sleet, and the snow start blowing sideways, free range chickens will be in position to better cope. What ever you decide to do, do it in good faith and remember that your chickens are your chickens so do with them as you feel best.

 

[Timothy Menezes]

I just picked up a batch of chicks yesterday. 4 Silkies and 4 white leghorns. Wasn’t planning on it until a pair of coyotes hit my flock pretty hard. Now the coyotes are dead and the new chicks are peeping away merrily.

I have done the spring chicks and fall chicks routine many times. Never noticed any difference in health or vitality of the chicks.

Weather here is mild so I guess that could be a minor issue depending on how insulted your coup or barn is. Like someone else said, the fall chicks seem to have a much more natural laying cycle as they start in the spring.

I think it was Dave Holdred(spelling?) or John Metzer pointed out in one of their books/articles that doing late summer or early fall chickens gives the layers more time to fully mature before laying. He stated something about the long summer days that springtime chicks experience puts their bodies under maximum pressure to lay asap.