Our pullets are female chickens that have been raised to at least 15 weeks of age. For details, please see the product page for the breed you are interested in. Show
All of our breeds will grow to become laying hens when mature. Occasionally we have laying hens available, please email for availability. At what age do your pullets typically start to lay?There are many variables that affect when a particular pullet will start to lay. One is the breed. We offer a number of different breeds, all of which are good layers. Our normal heritage breeds, which usually start to lay at around 26-28 weeks of age, include: Black Australorps, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes. For an earlier laying hen, we also offer several hybrids, each of which was developed to be an excellent egg layer. These include White Leghorns (a white egg layer), and two types of brown egg layers: Red Stars (also known as ISA Browns or Red Comets) and Black Stars. These usually start to lay a few weeks earlier than the heritage breeds, beginning to produce eggs at around 22 weeks. They tend to be very consistent layers. Please note that because many different variables affect when a particular pullet will start to lay, we cannot make a guarantee as to when your pullets will begin laying. Where do the chicks come from that you raise?All of our pullets first arrive at our farm as baby chicks ordered from well-known Murray McMurray Hatchery, Cackle Hatchery or Hoover’s Hatchery. We then start raising the chicks in our brooders, which supply the warm, draft-free environment that the young chicks need. VaccinationsAll of the started pullets that we have for sale have been vaccinated against Mareks. Accuracy in Determining GenderWe guarantee a 99% accuracy in sexing – that is, in identifying which chickens are females – and will refund you for your pullet if “she” turns out to be a male. Definition: What is a Pullet?A pullet is a female chicken. Typically “pullet” refers to a female chicken that’s less than one year old. Once they reach a year, they’re referred to as hens. When chicks hatch, typically about half of them will be males and half will be females (in a small hatch, you may have a higher percentage of males or females, but for larger hatches, it’s normally about 50/50). If chicks haven’t been sexed to determine which are males and females, they’re referred to as “straight run chickens” or simply “straight runs.” As they’re sexed, then they will be separated or grouped into males (cockerels) and females (pullets). Sexing at hatcheries is typically about 90% accurate. We purchase pullets from hatcheries, then we raise them and sell them as started pullets. Since sexing isn’t 100% accurate, we also have some cockerels available at times. What breeds do you offer?It varies during the year. I update the website frequently, so the website is the most reliable list of what we have available. What is your minimum order of pullets?For started pullets, you can as few as ONE started pullets. This is a distinct advantage of buying started pullets of chicks for some people since many hatcheries have a minimum order size for chicks of 15 or 25. What are the advantages of buying started pullets rather than buying chicks?While day old chicks are a viable option for many people, for others, buying started chickens has some distinct advantages. Here’s a list of advantages, most of which we’ve discussed previously, above:
Do you ever have cockerels (young male started chickens) available?Yes. I do have some cockerels available, though not as many as the pullets. If you want a cockerel of a particular breed, please send me an email ( Can you ship live chickens? What is your shipping policy?We ship within the continental United States. We do not ship to Hawaii, Guam, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands. We also do not ship to other countries or continents. We normally ship on Tuesday mornings. Your birds are hand-selected and placed in a shipping box that we designed for optimal safety. We include some fruit piece for hydration. We include enough so that the birds can handle the occasional postal delay. While we ship USPS to all areas, we DO NOT guarantee overnight delivery. We do guarantee live arrival and that you will be satisfied with your birds. If you have issues with the birds when they arrive, please take a picture and email it to me. Or if we made a mistake in filling your order, please send me a picture. That helps me and my staff avoid making the same type of mistake in the future. How To Find Out Shipping Costs Before Placing an OrderTo find out how much it will cost to have your order shipped to you, do the following:
If you run into any problems with calculating shipping costs, be sure that you correctly entered your destination state and pressed “update.” If any problems persist after that, please let us know. What are the best breeds for beginners?I recommend Red Stars (also known as ISA Browns , Red Comets or Red Sex-Links). Why? Because they are excellent layers, they lay brown eggs (which many people prefer), they start to lay at a younger age than a number of our other breeds, and surprisingly, they’re very easy to tame. Start feeding them at the same time each day. Avoid overfeeding. That way, when you come out to the coop, they’ll be ready to eat, and they’ll be anticipating your arrival. Move slowly and gently. Once they start to come to you when you bring them food, start holding out some feed in your hand. After a bit, with this kind of training, they’ll be eating out of your hand. This will work with other breeds, too, but I’ve had some of the best results taming the Red Stars. Which breed is your best brown egg layer?The Red Star is our most prolific brown egg layer. They start to lay at an early age (not as early as the White Leghorns, but earlier than other breeds). What is the best type of egg-laying chicken to buy?All of our started chickens will grow to become layers when mature. The best egg-laying chicken for you is going to depend on your requirements. Our best layers are the Red Star and White Leghorn. These two breeds of chickens are often raised in large or small commercial egg-laying operations because they lay so well. ISA Browns are a very nice breed to raise in a home flock. Then hens tend to be friendly toward people. White Leghorns, on the other hand, tend to be somewhat flighty. In my opinion, they are not as pleasant to raise, but they are excellent producers of white eggs. If you care a lot about the looks of the chicken, Silver-Laced Wyandottes are a very attractive breed. They are very stately. Many people like Barred Rocks because they resemble the types of chickens that they’ve seen on family farms all their lives. Rhode Island Reds are another very traditional breed that lays very well. Different breeds can tend to have a little different “personality” from each other. But it’s hard to go wrong when choosing a breed. If you are unsure of what to get, buy an assortment of several different breeds and raise them to see which ones you like the best. What are juvenile chickens? Do you have juvenile chickens for sale?Juvenile chickens are young chickens. Chickens that are not mature yet. While we prefer to call our chickens “started pullets” or “started chickens” some people refer to chickens of the same age as ours as “juvenile chickens.” In short, we sell juvenile chickens — all of our started pullets could also be considered “juvenile pullets.” Started Pullets at a Glance1 Pullet Minimum Order size Vaccinated for Marek’s Ages: start at 15 weeks old We ship started pullets throughout the continental United States (49 states) More InfoBuying our started pullets is one of the quickest ways to raise a flock of laying chickens. It’s also an excellent way to start raising chickens, particularly if this is your first flock, because the more challenging work of raising young chicks has already been done for you. How much is the point of lay?Point of Lay is the phrase we use to describe pullets that are approaching the age when they will start laying eggs. How soon they start laying depends on their parent stock as well as the condition of brooding and rearing. Expected laying ranges between 18 to 22 weeks of age.
How much does laying a chicken cost?Started pullets, which are young female chickens that are about 4 weeks old,, cost on average $15 to $25 each. Laying hens can cost anywhere from $10 (for mixed breeds) to $100 (purebred from a hatchery).
What is a good price for laying hens?You can expect to pay anywhere from $3 to $30 per chicken, depending on the age and breed of the chicken. For our example, we will use the Rhode Island Reds, a popular breed for many backyard flocks.
What do you feed point of lay chickens?Once your chickens start laying eggs (around 20 weeks of age) they should be switched to a layer feed. Layer feeds are formulated for chickens laying table eggs (those used for human consumption). Broiler feeds are formulated for those chickens producing hatching eggs (breeders).
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