when should i get my chicks??

[Eva Haley-Lock]

i live in Madison Wisconsin, My dad and I have not started the coop or run yet... but I'm so anxious to get the chicks I can't wait!! I herd its good to get them in April, but i cant convince my dad to get started on the coop yet. I have done all my research, there is nothing else i can learn about chickens. I'm also looking for a good place to buy chicks. i don't want to ship.

 

[Domd28]

Get them soon, you'll have a few weeks before they feather out. If you wait until April, getting them local could become a challenge. Mine will stay in the garage for 4-6 weeks, under a heat lamp. If there is snow on the ground, I'd wait before you build. Try a local feed store or Tractor Supply for the birds.

 

[QuailGuy88]

I would say April or March is a good time to get chicks if you want them to be laying by the end of the summer plus by then it will be getting warm enough to build a coop. You really can get chicks anytime of the year so is all comes down to what time works best for you

Oh, and tractor supply is a good place to get chicks (I'm getting some tomorrow), however; they don't always have the ones you want.

 

[Eva Haley-Lock]

thank you so much for responding so quickly! i am totally ready to buy the chicks, my dad...not so much. i whould love it if you could post something encouraging him to buy the chicks sooner!

 

[Domd28]

I'm not sure how I'd be able to encourage him to change his mind. They sooner you get them the sooner the eggs will come. It takes about 4 months for eggs to start then it don't stop till they molt, but that is only for a couple weeks tops. We picked ours up 2 weeks ago, this way they will be laying by end of May early June time frame. We have 10 eggers, this go round and 15 meat birds.

 

[Eva Haley-Lock]

aww! your chicks are so cute! what breeds do you have?

 

[Domd28]

australorp and ameraucana. The meat are cornish cross.They are not pictured.

 

[Eva Haley-Lock]

they're super cute

 

[mortie]

Tell him your friend in the Green Bay area has chicks hatching this weekend and her friend in the UP hatches them year round and doesn't even brood them indoors!

Mine are getting ready to hatch now and I have no coop, and we have several inches of snow on the ground. I figured the sooner I started them, the sooner I would be reaping the rewards of my efforts - delicious fresh eggs! Even if you got your chicks today, it would be at least a couple of weeks before you would need a coop for them. C'mon dad!

*Note to Dad: As a fellow wisconsinite and a parent, I feel your pain! I figure my chicks hatching this weekend can brood in the basement for a couple of weeks and then I can move them into the garage (obviously with a heat source) and I'll just have to park outside for a few weeks. This gives me several weeks in which to come up with a coop which I will have to build with no help from my husband, he's not really interested in this chicken thing. That's okay, I'm pretty handy, for a girl! I know how it is when kids get impatient but I think you'd be safe getting chicks now and just think, the sooner you get them, the sooner they'll start laying eggs for you! Plus, you can have your kiddo help you build the coop and learn some handy lifeskills. Win all around! Go Badgers!

 

[Eva Haley-Lock]

thankyou thankyou thankyou!