How to Start a Productive Laying Flock

Backyard Chicken Raising – How to Start Your Flock

How do you start a laying flock of hens? Should you start them in chicken coops or hen houses? Should you hatch your own or buy day-old chicks? There are many ways to start a laying flock, but which way is best for you? If you want to raise chickens in your backyard, discover valuable tips for determining the best way to begin your laying flock.

So you have decided that backyard chicken raising is something you would like to try. Backyard chicken raising can be a lot of fun and also give you an opportunity to produce your own healthy organic eggs for the kitchen table. Before you can get your chickens you will need to build a chicken ark or hen house to house your pullets. Once you have built your chicken ark or chicken coop and have purchased all of the other necessary supplies, you are ready to start your laying flock. But where do you begin in your backyard chicken raising endeavor?

There are many options for starting a flock of laying hens for the backyard chicken raising beginner…

There are many ways to start a laying flock including setting fertile eggs under a broody hen, hatching them yourself in an incubator, or buying day old chicks or started pullets. Another way is to buy second-year layers that already have a year’s worth of experience laying eggs. With all of these options, which one is best for you?

Are second-year pullets a good way to start?

Pullets that have already laid eggs for a year are usually a poor choice. Egg production normally decreases each year so you will be starting out with hens that will not produce as many eggs. The quality of the egg may also be lower and it’s possible that they could begin molting and stop laying altogether. Moving chickens from one location to another can often distress the birds, causing them to molt. Molting is when birds lose their old feathers and have new ones take their place.

Now that we have ruled out second-year pullets we have four other main options: We can hatch eggs under a broody hen or in an incubator, or buy day-old chicks or started pullets. If you are new to raising chickens you probably don’t have a broody hen or an incubator yet. Backyard chicken raising beginners should usually stick with buying live birds because hatching your own eggs requires a lot more work and expertise

Should you buy live hens or hatch your own?

Buying live birds has many advantages. If you decide to hatch your own chickens you will usually end up with a fairly even mixture of males and females. And since your purpose for raising chickens is to provide your family with eggs, you will only want hens, not roosters. Buying live birds gives you the opportunity to buy only the sex you want. Hatching your own eggs means you will either be forced to kill the males or raise them for meat. Raising chickens for meat takes a lot more work, but if you don’t mind slaughtering and dressing out your birds this may be something that would interest you.

The advantages of buying started pullets…

The easiest way to start a laying flock is to buy started pullets. Using this method eliminates the need for any special equipment or broody hens. You won’t have to spend money on an incubator or learn how to use it correctly and you won’t have to care for young chicks. With started pullets they will typically be about nineteen or twenty weeks old so no special care will be necessary. For the backyard chicken raising beginner this is often the ideal method for starting a laying flock.

Another advantage to buying started pullets is that it will eliminate some work on your part. Chickens should be given plenty of room in their chicken arks or chicken coops, but if they are overcrowded you will usually end up with a cannibalism problem. The dominant birds will peck other birds which can cause bleeding and eventual death. If you buy started pullets from commercial growers you can have them debeaked so they will not be able to peck each other. Hatching your own eggs will require you to debeak the birds or give them more room than you may have available.

Day old chicks are a good way to start a flock of laying hens for the backyard chicken raising beginner…

Day old chicks are another great choice for the backyard chicken raising beginner, but they require a bit more work than started hens. Be sure to have them debeaked. Debeaking can be a scary thing to do for a backyard chicken raising beginner. It’s very easy to cut the beak in the wrong spot which can cause the chick to bleed to death. Since the cost is very small it is usually best to get them debeaked by the commercial grower you are buying them from.

If you decide to buy day-old chicks you will need to keep them in a brooder where they can be kept warm and protected for the first several weeks. Started birds don’t need this extra attention. Since hens will usually start laying at about 4 or 5 months of age you will have to wait several months longer before you start getting eggs from your flock. Once you have some experience under your belt you can give incubation a try. Hatching eggs in your own incubator can be a lot of fun and very rewarding.