Adding to Your Flock: Thinking Ahead

During the winter months, farmers and homesteaders look forward to spring planning. That includes ordering garden seeds, flower bulbs, and planning on new additions to the flock. The question on how to add is one that most chicken keepers ask themselves. Do you buy adult birds, or stick with ordering chicks? Do you hatch eggs of your own flock, or do you order eggs from a breeder? Hatchery versus small breeder? 

Let’s go through some of the options so you can determine which way works best for you!

Buying adult birds:

Some of the pros to buying adult birds is that they are more than likely already laying. The work that it takes to grow chicks out to laying age is already done. This is a great option for those that do not have the time or desire to brood chicks. Laying hen prices vary greatly depending on breed. Some show quality birds are going to be pricier than production egg laying breeds. 

However, there are some cons to buying already laying hens. You may not know what you’re getting. The hens may be older than advertised, meaning they may not be as productive as a younger pullet. Another issue people run into when buying hens is that they may have bad habits (egg eating, aggressive, excessive broodiness, etc.). These are all things that could occur when purchasing older birds, some of which I’ve personally experienced. Another thing to note about buying adult birds is they may carry other diseases, which you have to be careful of if you have an already established flock. Quarantine is a must if buying adult birds that you want to integrate into your flock.

One of the best things to try to find is started pullets. These are usually 12–15-week-old birds that are on the verge of laying. These are usually your most cost-effective birds since you will get the full laying potential from them.

Chicks: 

Buying chicks seems to be the most popular route for adding to the flock. Buying them from local farm supply stores or ordering chicks from hatcheries or specialized breeders are great options. Some pros to purchasing chicks, is that you know exactly how they are raised and cared for. Hatcheries and farm suppliers can also offer sexed chicks to make sure you get pullets (although not always 100% accurate, a few roosters do seem to squeeze through). This is a great option if you are unable to keep roosters. Buying chicks from breeders is also common. Many specific breeds or traits can be found from specialized breeders, however, most of the time the chicks are straight run (roosters and pullets). If you are looking for something particular, a breeder may be the way to go. 

Some cons to raising chicks are that they are susceptible to illnesses and are very sensitive to changes in their environment. They have to be watched closely to ensure proper care is given. It takes a while to grow chicks out to laying age. Some production breeds such as leghorn or golden comets can mature as early as 16 weeks, whereas black copper Marans can take up to 8 months to lay their first eggs. These are all things to consider when looking at raising chicks. One way you can set your chicks up for success is to make sure their nutrition is the best it can be. I grow chicks out on Chickhouse Reserve. This is a great stepping stone feed to transition them on to Henhouse Reserve once they are laying age. 

Hatching eggs: 

Free chicks, right? If your flock has a rooster, hatching your own eggs is another good solution when thinking about adding more birds to your flock. One thing to consider is that they will be straight run chicks, meaning 50/50 roosters to pullets. Another way to get eggs to hatch is to buy them either from a local chicken keeper who has a rooster(s) or from a breeder selling fertilized hatching eggs.
One of the pros to incubating and hatching your own eggs is that it is cost effective. Purchasing hatching eggs is also cheaper than buying chicks of certain breeds, just know, it is a gamble. Most breeders, like myself, do not guarantee hatch rates on shipped eggs. There are too many factors that go into shipping and incubation that are out of their control. This is one of the cons to buying hatching eggs that need to be shipped. I have personally had great success with hatching eggs and great fails with them. It’s truly a gamble. At this point in my program, I rarely source eggs and mostly hatch from my own stock. However, a lot of eggs were hatched from other breeders in order to get to this point.

Whichever way you decide to add to your feathered family is up to you! I have done all three ways and they all work, but each have their challenges. Some of the things along the way can be out of your control, but one thing you can control is the flock’s overall nutrition. The Henhouse Reserve and the Chickhouse Reserve have been game changers for my flock in all stages. From day old chicks to mature laying hens, I have noticed big changes in the birds since switching to these feeds. These are all things to consider with spring fast approaching!