Jump to content
Janey4

Hen shopping

Recommended Posts

Sorry more questions!

I went on Friday to where I was hoping to get my hens from (next week) and he’s sold out of the colours/breeds I wanted, which was a little disappointing. I hadn’t been for a few months and I just underestimated how popular they would be and perhaps missed the boat a bit, but I’m only getting the roof put on my run on Thursday.

Im trying to find other places to get them from, but how close should they all be in age and is that more important than them all coming from the same place? (I do think I will compromise on colour, to get them all at once but just wanted to ask the question.)

Also is the main advantage of POL, eggs sooner/more developed birds? I’d be quite happy to have some slightly younger ones, but would they need different feed/care? (Obviously not teeny chicks but pullets.....is that the correct lingo?!

Thanks again for everyone’s advice, it’s so helpful to actually be able to ‘talk’ to people about these things, however good online articles are!

Jane x

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Janey4 said:

...how close should they all be in age and is that more important than them all coming from the same place?

IMHO: The age isn't so much important as the size is. The girls I recently introduced were much younger than my current hens, and a little smaller - but I picked the biggest of each that the breeder had so they'd be as big as they could be when they went in. Incidentally, there was no fighting at all. 

If you're introducing all of these hens as completely new birds (and not to an existing flock), you'll probably find age and size is somewhat irrelevant as they'll all be introduced to new ground at the same time and thus no pecking order will have been established. Regardless of their size and age, they'll all be 'equal' to begin with.

Coming from the same place can be important for 'quarantine' issues; however, if you check with the breeders as to what vaccinations they have had (if any) and pick healthy looking birds, you'll more than likely be ok - especially if they have been vaccinated.

1 hour ago, Janey4 said:

Also is the main advantage of POL, eggs sooner/more developed birds? I’d be quite happy to have some slightly younger ones, but would they need different feed/care?

If you're buying them all at point of lay (POL) or older, you'll be able to feed them all the same food like layers pellets.

The main advantage of POL is that the birds will start laying for you sooner, as you say. It may take them a few weeks to get going, but you'll notice the combs on their heads change from a pale pink to a deeper red when they're coming in to lay. When they first start laying it'll be normal for some eggs to be soft shelled or very small; you might also get a slightly bloody egg shell (discard these, even where the shell is otherwise fine).

I'm sure others will have advice too, but I hope that helps. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you do get younger hens, you should feed them grower pellets untill they start laying.

I would get them all from the same place. That way you’ll get them all at the same time and you won’t have issues with having to put them in quarantine. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes Cat tails, I'm definitely going to get them from the same place, even if that means having to wait a bit longer for what I want. I don't want to make things more difficult for myself (and them!) before I've even started!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...