What age should I get?

[SwampPrincessChick]

So perhaps I should start with a low number of chicks since it sounds like every year I will be craving another fluffball or two!
Sue

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So perhaps I should start with a low number of chicks since it sounds like every year I will be craving another fluffball or two!
Sue

I was going to say this is a serious disorder known as Chicken Math, but I see @SwampPrincessChick very kindly explained it already! There is no known cure, but group therapy, such as membership and regular activity here at BYC, is advised.

 

[MountainWoman73]

New to chicks and reading and researching all I can get my hands on before I actually bringhome some chicks. Purchased the coop and run yesterday but it will be a few weeks before we level the ground, assemble the equipment, and predator proof the area. My dilemma is whether I should get very young chicks (to be kept in the house for a few weeks until fully-feathered), already full-feathered chicks but still less than 6 months old, or adult hens.

My original plan was the fully-feathered chicks but I'm also very excited at the prospect of having very young chicks in the house for a few weeks while we set up the perfect outdoor habitat. I have two spare bedrooms I could keep them in and I have several dog playpens and gates and barriers from all my dog rescue.

I think my biggest consideration and concern is: what is the best age to introduce my three dogs to new family members? If I just put adults out in the pen the dogs will view them as prey and do a lot of barking and adjusting until I convince them they are "pets". I thought getting fully-feathered chicks (but not adults) would help the chicks get accustomed to all the barking of the dogs, but now I'm thinking having very young chicks in the house, where the dogs can see and hear and smell them with me safely supervising, might be the best way to let the dogs know that once these chicks move outside, they are NOT prey. I'm not sure I would ever allow the hens to free range when the dogs are outside, but I'm hoping it might be an option in the future. If not, I'm OK with making sure they aren't ever wandering the yard at the same time. It's a large, fenced in yard.

Thoughts, please?

I love having little ones in the house for a couple weeks because I enjoy their company. And though it depends on the temperaments of your individual dogs (I will never trust a husky), it did help my livestock guardian dog get used to the idea that these birds were hers to protect. She used to stand over them and watch them for hours. We called it chicken TV.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I was going to say this is a serious disorder known as Chicken Math, but I see @SwampPrincessChick very kindly explained it already! There is no known cure, but group therapy, such as membership and regular activity here at BYC, is advised.

I already tried all of those cures and nothing is working!

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I would suggest getting day-old pullets - you can "bond" with them more and they will be more friendly and less flighty as adult birds!

 

[Farmgirl283420]

So perhaps I should start with a low number of chicks since it sounds like every year I will be craving another fluffball or two!
Sue

That’s what I did! So far it has worked!

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

That’s what I did! So far it has worked!

But is it difficult to add new fluffballs to an existing, grown flock?
Sue

 

[GoosesGeeses]

 

[NatJ]

So perhaps I should start with a low number of chicks since it sounds like every year I will be craving another fluffball or two!

It usually works better to get 3 or more at a time. Chickens of any age do better if they are not alone. Getting three gives more than just one buddy, and means that if something happens to one you don't have a singleton left.

But is it difficult to add new fluffballs to an existing, grown flock?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It is usually easier of you have lots of space. That way if one chicken says "leave me alone" by pecking a chick, the chick has enough space to move away.

The general idea for integrating chickens of any size:

Set up a way for them to live next to each other for a week or more, letting them see and interact through wire mesh. This lets them get used to each other, and partly settle pecking order issues, without any major injuries.

At some point after that, let them be together under supervision. Depending on what happens, either just keep watching or pen up some of them again. Sometimes it works better to pen up the old birds while the new ones explore the coop and run, other times there is one bully (new or old group), and penning up that bird will let the rest get along peacefully. For any birds you pen up at this stage, try re-releasing them at various intervals (a few hours is enough in some cases, days or weeks are required in other cases.)

It usually helps if you have lots of space, and multiple feed & water stations, and if you provide a place for chickens to get out-of-sight of each other. Sometime like a board leaning against a wall can help: chickens can run behind it from either end, but cannot be trapped by a single bully chasing them.


When you introduce chickens, it is common for one group to try to bully another. The bullies will usually be: older, more numerous, the ones already living in that space, more self-confident in general.

When introducing chicks in particular, the new chicks tend to be less numerous, unfamiliar with the coop or anything else in life, and of course they are younger. All of this leads them to lack self-confidence as well. You can change some of those features, such as numbers (you can have more young birds than older ones), and who is familiar with where the living space (you can put the older ones in a temporary pen, and let the new ones become comfortable in the place they will all end up living.)


Some people wait to introduce young chicks until they are as big as the original chickens, because at that age they are less likely to be injured or killed (very young chicks are rather fragile in some ways).

Some people go the other direction, and introduce the chicks as young as they possibly can. Young chicks are more likely to be ignored by the older chickens (too young to be a thread to anyone's place in the pecking order), and it is fairly easy to set up safe places that a small chick can go but an adult chicken cannot (examples: a pallet lying flat or up on bricks, at a height that chicks can run under; a cage or pen with chick-sized openings.)

You might find this article interesting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-coop-brooder-and-integration.74591/

I probably forgot a bunch of details, but hopefully that is a start.

 

[jillybeansisme]

FWIW, do not raise baby chicks in the house for any reason. The amount of disgusting dust that will take forever to clean is awful. Raise them right in the coop in a box or in the garage or in a shed. Do not use a heat lamp and, instead, get a radiant heat plate. It's a little more pricey, but you won't chance burning down your house or coop. Make sure the coop you bought has plenty of ventilation and is easy to access for cleaning purposes; otherwise, seriously consider returning it if possible. You want to have a full access door for ease of cleaning, the nesting box should open from the side to keep it weather proof, the nesting box should be able to be accessed by you without going in the run, and you want to be able to stand up in the run. You only need 1 nesting box for 4-5 hens. Allow 12" of roosting space per bird. You need to decide what kind a chickens to get. Do you want egg layers, meat birds to eat, or dual purpose birds. Do you want bantams, which usually produce slightly smaller eggs, or do you want standards, which produce bigger eggs. Will they be your pets? When you look online at descriptions of the birds, please remember they are generalizations. My Silkies lay 5-6 eggs/week but all the reviews will tell you 2-3/week. Most farm stores sell chicks, some of which are sexed, but you can order sexed chicks from various hatcheries. If you get SRs (straight run), you will get roosters. Sometimes the sexed chicks turn out to be roosters too. Have a plan for them if you don't want roos. Think ahead. It's hot now, but does it get cold/freezing in the winter? If so, you'll need a heated waterer. In the summer, you need to be able to put frozen jugs in the waterer to cool it down. Make things easy. My feeder holds 20 lbs of feed and has 4 ports. My summer waterer has 3 ports and holds 10 gallons (I use a Rubbermaid trash can). I recommend day old or very young chicks. Chickens can live 10-14 years but won't lay eggs that long, at least not regularly. I suggest starting with 3 chickens and adding 3 more in a year or two (as you choose). Bantams need 2SF of space in the coop and 10SF in the run, whereas Standards need 4SF in the coop and 15SF in the run. You can get predator proofing (black PVC coated hardware cloth) MUCH cheaper on Amazon from a company called Landmark (I think that was the name). 4' x 100' for $180. You'll use it. I like the Chicken-Run automatic door (the metal one, not the plastic one). I'm on my 3rd year with it and I don't remember changing the batteries yet. It's really reliable. I use the L'il Cluckers blue drink cups and just got more of them from TEMU (6/$5). I use baseball netting over the free-range area. My coop has storage shelves on the back for extra bedding and feed. Keep your feed in a metal trash can or plastic tote. The run needs a dust bath in it. I use a tire I cut the sidewalls out of. A perch in the run is nice too. Carabiners are great for any doors that need predator proofing. Have fun!