When to add chickens: Pullets in the fall or chicks in the spring?

[Dreammaker]

Hello!

First time poster here. My husband and I are from MA and are about to embark on our chicken-keeping journey. He is constructing a beautiful coop modeled after Carolina Coops. The coop is 6x5 and the attached run is 6x16 (which includes the portion that's under the coop, which is raised about 2' up). We are planning to have somewhere in the range of 6-8 birds (standard size). The coop and run should be ready to go probably in September, maybe October at the latest? This brings me to our dilemma...

Should we go with started pullets in the fall or wait until spring and raise baby chicks? I have 3 small kids, so TBH, I'm a little intimidated about the prospect of raising chicks. It seems like a lot of work. I am also really excited and impatient and want birds and eggs ASAP. I originally planned on pullets and if, down the road, we are doing great with chickens, attempt raising chicks. Again, we are in MA, so I am wondering if pullets would be able to adjust to the cold if we got them in September/October. I am assuming the pullets would be around 16-20 weeks. Really just depends on where I purchase them (online hatchery? local farm/breeder?). Of course, we'd choose cold-hardy breeds bred to handle our climate.

Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

You could go either way.

I would finish the coop and run before making a final decision. If you get it done much earlier than you expect, or much later, it might affect your decision.

Personally, I've always started with baby chicks. There are more breed choices that way, they grow up knowing me, and I avoid many kinds of diseases and parasites.

If you have the coop built first, and no other chickens yet, you can brood the chicks right in the coop. That avoids all the messiness of chicks in the house, and there is no question of when to move them out to the coop!

I have found baby chicks fairly easy to raise. They need plenty of space, shelter from predators & bad weather, a warm spot and plenty of cool space, dry bedding, chick starter & water. Your coop with a heat lamp in one corner will probably work just fine. Be careful how you secure the heat lamp, check with a thermometer to be sure it's the right temperature, then order the chicks or head for the nearest store that sells them.

Having said that, I will admit: chicks from the store may be mis-labeled, so you do not get the breed or sex you want. Even chicks ordered directly from the hatchery may have some percent mis-sexed, and they may send substitute breeds if they don't hatch enough of the ones you want. If you buy pullets, they can be old enough to recognize breed and gender, so you can be more sure of getting what you are trying to buy. So I can see good reasons why you might choose pullets instead of baby chicks.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

If you know it is going to be cold in a couple of months you might want to start as soon as the coop is done so they will be already laying eggs by early spring, good luck in whatever you decide...

 

[aart]

We're doing a pitched roof (7/12 pitch). I have no idea what that means; my handyman-type husband determined that.

Large overhang(12") all around with open soffits high and low will be great for winter ventilation.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Welcome to BYC. I encourage you to add your location, with as much, or as little, specificity as you desire "MA" "New England States" "NE US", etc as you fee comfortable with. Location often impacts the recommendations we offer in response to various questions.

Whether you choose chicks now, or started pullets, they will be fully feathered and ready for MA temperatures before you get cold. ...and what Chickens consider cold (they are wearing down jackets, after all!) and what we as owners consider cold tend to be two radically different numbers. Don't take them from living in a house heated to low 70s and toss them out in the 20s - but if they've been outside a while, they will acclimate to the native temperatures. Even a "cold snap" isn't really a concern for them, the way it is for us. Heat is climate condition that most often does chickens in. We have chicken keepers with flocks in unheated coops in northern Canada, in Alaska, etc.

The key to keeping chickens in the cold is draft-free ventilation. Warm moist air from their breath, plus ammonia from their droppings, is actually much worse for them than a few degrees of temperature "loss" be ensuring your coop is well ventilated. Just make sure there are no drafts on the birds as they roost and nest, so those down jackets can do their jobs.

The better question, in deciding which to do, is when you want your eggs, and what breeds do you want? Naturally, as light levels begin to decrease in the fall, chickens tend to decrease their laying. Chickens who haven't started laying by the time the days get short may delay start of lay a month or more, until the days begin to lengthen (or they can't hold it anymore). and while no breed lays exactly when predicted (very early layers, like the sex linked hybrids used for high egg production *generally* start to lay within 16-20 weeks of hatching, while "late layers" like my Brahma might not start laying until they are seven months old - meaning a purchase of that breed of chicks now would likely see eggs in February or early March). Even if you buy started pullets now, and they begin laying this fall, you should expect a reduction in egg production during the shortest days of daylight.

 

[aart]

That's a tough call.
I too started in the fall with an adult flock.
Eggs right off the bat was great!
The lice, scaly leg mites, and respiratory issues they brought with them was not so great and took a few years to get under control.

But I bought from a another backyarder, not a hatchery.

 

[Dreammaker]

You could go either way.

I would finish the coop and run before making a final decision. If you get it done much earlier than you expect, or much later, it might affect your decision.

Personally, I've always started with baby chicks. There are more breed choices that way, they grow up knowing me, and I avoid many kinds of diseases and parasites.

If you have the coop built first, and no other chickens yet, you can brood the chicks right in the coop. That avoids all the messiness of chicks in the house, and there is no question of when to move them out to the coop!

I have found baby chicks fairly easy to raise. They need plenty of space, shelter from predators & bad weather, a warm spot and plenty of cool space, dry bedding, chick starter & water. Your coop with a heat lamp in one corner will probably work just fine. Be careful how you secure the heat lamp, check with a thermometer to be sure it's the right temperature, then order the chicks or head for the nearest store that sells them.

Having said that, I will admit: chicks from the store may be mis-labeled, so you do not get the breed or sex you want. Even chicks ordered directly from the hatchery may have some percent mis-sexed, and they may send substitute breeds if they don't hatch enough of the ones you want. If you buy pullets, they can be old enough to recognize breed and gender, so you can be more sure of getting what you are trying to buy. So I can see good reasons why you might choose pullets instead of baby chicks.

Thanks for your input! I totally agree about needing to get the coop built first. That will help drive our decision. Valid points about chicks vs pullets... We'll see how far we get in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Here's our progress. Pardon the kids' toys We have the coop set on a foundation of concrete pavers and compacted dirt, used pressure treated lumber for the base, and added a predator apron that extends about 2' out all around. It's now buried in a couple inches of loam so we can eventually put grass seed down in the fall. Next up: roof rafters and roof (corrugated metal). Those branches will be trimmed back to make room for it. Long way to go, but we're so excited to make this dream come true!

 

[Pullet Press]

Hello!

First time poster here. My husband and I are from MA and are about to embark on our chicken-keeping journey. He is constructing a beautiful coop modeled after Carolina Coops. The coop is 6x5 and the attached run is 6x16 (which includes the portion that's under the coop, which is raised about 2' up). We are planning to have somewhere in the range of 6-8 birds (standard size). The coop and run should be ready to go probably in September, maybe October at the latest? This brings me to our dilemma...

Should we go with started pullets in the fall or wait until spring and raise baby chicks? I have 3 small kids, so TBH, I'm a little intimidated about the prospect of raising chicks. It seems like a lot of work. I am also really excited and impatient and want birds and eggs ASAP. I originally planned on pullets and if, down the road, we are doing great with chickens, attempt raising chicks. Again, we are in MA, so I am wondering if pullets would be able to adjust to the cold if we got them in September/October. I am assuming the pullets would be around 16-20 weeks. Really just depends on where I purchase them (online hatchery? local farm/breeder?). Of course, we'd choose cold-hardy breeds bred to handle our climate.

Thank you!

Welcome to BYC!
I think that (now this is just my opinion) you could decide to (if they are still available) raise them in July-August time, giving them enough brooding time, but also letting y'all finish the coop beforehand. Maybe raise them in late June even so that they have time to fully feather out, I don't know.
Good luck on your endeavor! Your kids will probably love the birds!
By the way, when I started chicken-keeping, I got chicks instead of pullets and they (all but one) survived. The one that died was a sickly one (I get at least one in most of my batches).

 

[Dreammaker]

Shaping up nicely. The birds will tear up that compacted dirt. No fault with your predator skirting though. 2' should deter any diggers. Are you doing a flat roof, or adding a pitch to it? and where do you plan to locate your ventilation???

(also, fully agree on the metal roofing - excellent choice)

Thanks! We figured the compacted dirt would be messed up. It was really just to give a nice flat base. It's on a sloped area, but the coop and run will be nice and level. We're doing a pitched roof (7/12 pitch). I have no idea what that means; my handyman-type husband determined that.

For ventilation... 2 windows above the nesting box, same on the opposite wall. One smaller one above the door to the coop that leads into the run. On the "back wall," facing the tarps, we will model after Carolina Coops: 2 large window/doors that open up above a drop-down door to make cleaning up easy. Lastly, a cupola with ventilation on all sides. All windows will have hardware cloth and, like Carolina Coops, will have plexiglass inserts that can be propped open or removed, depending on weather.

Looks and sounds pretty good!
Is that picket fence on the property line?
Doesn't look like you have much room to get between picket fence and run wall.

Thank you! No, our property extends about 20' past that. We had the same thought initially. Past the fence, it's a sloped, densely wooded area covered in poison ivy, so we just put the fence there to keep our kids out and dress the yard up a bit. There's about 3' of space between the coop and fence. We figured we wouldn't need to access that side too much, anyway. We'll be putting the door to the run on the same side as the nesting boxes.

 

[Sally PB]

We have the coop set on a foundation of concrete pavers and compacted dirt,

Think about putting something over the dirt. They will scratch through that and be down to the concrete in no time.

Wood chips and leaves make an excellent flooring material. It breaks down into compost for the garden if you want, absorbs the nitrogen and moisture from the droppings, looks neat and tidy, and is easy on the birds' feet, which is very important too.

The great thing about those pavers is that you won't get anything burrowing underneath!