What should a newbie start with?

[morsekathan]

My best pet chicken, Ethel, was raised from a chick. We got 5 of them. The others in the batch weren't as friendly as Ethel, but more friendly then the pullets we got before (and after). Ethel loved to sit on my lap and followed me around like a dog. She demanded attention and was a star. But then, chicks are a lot of work.

I think that 8 to 10 is too many for your set up. I agree that 6 is probably better. And the advice about getting a multi-aged flock is spot on. Your hens will tap out after a while, and nothing is worst than 5 hen who don't lay but you love. Henrietta is 6 now; she hasn't laid in 2 years (well maybe an egg or two). All her sister hens have died of natural causes, but what am I supposed to do with her!

 

[seth22]

If you've got toddlers or pets, I'd say get some Wyandotte chicks. Great demeanor around kids, ours like to come over and get pet, sometimes they try to get in the truck with us if we leave the doors open. We've had ours since April and they've gotten to where they'll let me pick them up without much of a fuss, they'll flap their wings a few times and calm down. They don't chase my son, they don't peck at us. The dogs and chickens get along with each other. They even kill snakes! I've found three this year with their heads pecked off. The only one who's afraid is my wife. She's a big chicken.

 

[Venumfire]

I did a lot of reading but with so much information out there i just seem to get more confused instead of informed. My question is: should i start with chicks, pullets or adult hens? These will be pets and egg layers. Next question is how many (I originally was thinking 8-10) My coop, being built now, will be 4'x8' and the run 8'x20'.

I know you mentioned alreadying doing a lot of reading. While in the end it is all based on personal preferences, this site goes in depth about advantages and considerations of each age group and breeds to help you decide. https://www.serenitysprouts.com/agechoices

There is also a calendar based on time of year which age groups are best based on saving electricity or maximizing egg production: https://www.serenitysprouts.com/forum/chicken-tip-forum/best-time-of-the-year-to-get-chickens

 

[Liz Field]

I've only experienced starting with chicks, my first batch being 1 week old - they have turned out extremely tame and come running when they see me - my last batch, the Austrolorps pictured, I got at 4 to 6 weeks - they didn't need heat anymore and were free ranging after about 3 weeks in a cage in my laundry room - they bonded with me just fine, but not as well as the sex linked ones I had from 1 week - they are still very friendly and do come running to me also - it is important to me to be able to interact with all my animals, as they are all pets, including the goats and turtles! - so I would recommend starting with chicks if it's important to you that they are friendly and interactive with you - good luck!

 

[Tammylynn1972]

I say go ahead and get pullets! Nothing better than brooding and raising baby chicks! They should be laying by summer depending on the breeds you choose.
8-10 sounds like a good number to start!

Totally agree! 100 percent

 

[Anon112]

A lot of great advice in here. I'll just throw in my $.02, as I've acquired chickens at many stages of life.

Eggs
After many of my flock were massacred, I decided to hatch a few eggs from the chickens who had been killed so that I could continue their "line". I got a brooder online and hatched them in my bathroom. While it was really fun to go through the 21 days with them, I was also very anxious. I think that I made some errors in how I tried to keep the humidity, and only 2 of the eggs made it all the way. Watching them hatch was amazing.

Chicks
I raised the chicks that I hatched, but I also had the experience of raising chicks that were hatched in the PreK where I work and they needed a home for the chicks. Raising chicks is really fun. They develop so fast! One day they can hop up on a little box. The next day they suddenly have little tail-feathers! Raising chicks also means that you are mama--it makes it much easier to handle the chickens as they age. The major downside for me was that I would worry when I was at work--you read so many horror stories about how chicks can die or injure themselves. I personally spent a lot of time checking on them. Again, rewarding, but if you are emotional like I am or a bit of a nervous Nelly, very time consuming. Also, both batches of chicks were obviously not sexed, and so I worried that I might end up with a bunch of roosters. By luck of the draw I've never had more than two roosters at a time. I'm not sure what I would have done if 3 or 4 had been roosters. I'm a big softie and would not be able to cull an animal because of gender (or give one away knowing it was headed for the stewpot).

Pullets (older than 8 weeks)
I really liked the phase where my chickens were old enough to be out in the coop without additional heat, but not quite "adult ladies". What I think of as "the teenage years" were really fun. Watching them really learn to fly, establish their personalities, develop a pecking order, etc. They are much less dependent than chicks, but you still get some of that young animal bonding tome if you are good about handling them and interacting with them each day. If they were not handled before they got to you, they might be more skittish and if might take some time and patience to get them to let you easily pick you up or to come running over to you. Based on what you wrote in your intro, I think pullets might be a good fit for you.

Adult Chickens
Early in my chicken-owning adventure, I ended up getting a chicken from a local farm. We'd had a dog attack and our one survivor was lonely. The lady hen we ended up with was great. She laid for about a year after we got her, then her production slowed down. For the last year that I had her, she didn't lay a single egg. HOWEVER, she had more common sense than all of the other chickens put together. She was vigilant, cautious, and made sure that the hens stayed safe. She just made good decisions. Because I enjoy animal personalities, I don't mind feeding a hen who isn't laying. I do think that if you buy adult birds, you should make sure that you know how old the birds are. If you purchased 3 year-old birds, your whole flock wouldn't have a ton of time left, and you'd have to be thinking about how to add younger birds to the flock.

I do think it sounds like pullets are the best fit for you. However, later on down the line you might be into the idea of hatching your own eggs or raising some young chicks. I think that chickens have their own charms (and stressors!) in all phases of their lives.

Good luck with your flock!

 

[susanb1222]

I did a lot of reading but with so much information out there i just seem to get more confused instead of informed. My question is: should i start with chicks, pullets or adult hens? These will be pets and egg layers. Next question is how many (I originally was thinking 8-10) My coop, being built now, will be 4'x8' and the run 8'x20'.

 

[tvaumat]

Based on your coop dimensions you should go with 6-8 birds, You can add more later so start with less. Eight birds supply more than enough eggs for our family of 4. In fact, I sell some of the eggs making enough to cover the cost of feed and nesting material.

Our coop is a 5x6 and our run is 8x8 (they are rarely in the run, as they free range the backyard mostly). Two years ago (June/2018) we started with 4 pullets, 12-14 weeks old. Two Buff Orpingtons and two Americaunas (Blueish Greenish eggs). About 3-4 months later we added 4 more 10 week old birds(maxing out our space which was a mistake). The other mistake was the 4 new were all different breeds (a Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Welsummer, Silver Laced Wyandot). Being single means they got picked on more.

 

[Smurfnibble]

I started with pullets!! They are great because you get the satisfaction of eggs very soon after setting up, and there’s no moving them around from house to coop!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I did a lot of reading but with so much information out there i just seem to get more confused instead of informed. My question is: should i start with chicks, pullets or adult hens? These will be pets and egg layers. Next question is how many (I originally was thinking 8-10) My coop, being built now, will be 4'x8' and the run 8'x20'.

If they are going to be pets, I would suggest starting with chicks and not getting any more than four for that amount of space. You can always add more later.