When to buy chicks for egg laying

Posted by Erica (Dawnfire) on July 8, 2011 at 5:37pm

Okay sad news is that we messed up and lost our last chicken today. The weather has felt better to me and I've been bad about checking our last chicken's wading dish and my husband went out to check it today and found it empty and our last girl dead. I'm shocked it happened so fast. She had water to drink just not to stand in. But that aside... We need to start over. We also need to build the new coop and micro climate. However I want to be without eggs for as short a time as possible.

 

So when should I get my new chicks for the shortest time from chick to egg layer?

You need to be a member of AZ Herb Forum to add comments!

Join AZ Herb Forum

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • ed fancher July 11, 2011 at 8:50pm

    They all take about the same amount of time from chick/hen. The heat is something we generally lose a hen every other year to the heat, they just have to have somewhere to go that is shady and water.

    That said, we just had a load of chicks delivered (see my post) and they are supposed to have been sexed...females.

    If you'd like 4 I can certainly spare them. the min order was 25 and I've got 6-10 sold. i don't need an egg farm, a half doze layers would be fine with me. We have a rooster and couple of older hens that don't lay but are pets. If you'd like some chicks, let us know.

     

  • Becky July 8, 2011 at 7:16pm

    I like to get chicks in September.

    That way the weather is good for them to go outside at 6 weeks, they grow during the low light, cold months and start laying just when the light is good again. 

     

    • Rachel > Becky July 8, 2011 at 8:39pm
      I second this. I would definitely wait until at least August to get baby chicks so you're putting them outside in mid-late September at the earliest. It sounds like you have a bit of development to do in the chicken part of your yard. So as tempting as it is to get adult replacement birds now, you could be looking at doing the same thing to them, better to wait and build some nice shady habitat for them so you don't have to worry about the heat for nearly a year.
    • Erica (Dawnfire) > Rachel July 9, 2011 at 8:48am

      I agree completely about waiting and getting chicks. As soon as the weather gets a little better here we already have plans to just build the new coop. I just really wanted to know when was the best time to start over since last year I bought a couple of chicks in late summer and they seemed to take longer to lay than the ones I'd bought in late winter/spring. However I will say the ones I bought late summer lasted the longest this year.

       

      It's so frustrating the battle with the heat but I know it can be done so we are going to make a second try at this.

This reply was deleted.