Female chickens are known by a variety of names that correspond to their life stages, "pullet" being just one of them. What's in the name is important, as chickens' nutritional needs change at each stage of life. Providing the correct nutrition at each life stage is vital for proper bone development, good health and egg-laying potential. Generally speaking, chickens are called chicks for six to eight weeks -- from the time they hatch to the time they develop the characteristics that make them obviously males or females. Then the young females are called pullets, the young males called cockerels. Farm suppliers, meanwhile, call female chicks of laying breeds pullets even before they've developed, to differentiate them from male or meat chickens. Around 6 months of age,
these pullets will begin laying small eggs known as pullet eggs irregularly for a few months. By the time they're a year old, they're full-fledged hens. Chicks eat chick mash or crumble and need supplemental heat until their pullet feathers grow in. Switch them to pullet mash to ensure they get optimal nutrition needed to develop strong bones and a healthy reproductive system for laying eggs. Pullets will need layer mash to obtain the
proper calcium to produce pullet eggs. Improper nutrition at this point can lead to egg binding and other potentially fatal problems when the pullets mature into hens. References Photo Credits Mathisa_s/iStock/Getty Images Writer Bio Indulging her passion for vacation vagary through the written word on a full-time basis since 2010, travel funster Jodi Thornton-O'Connell guides readers to the unexpected, quirky, and awe-inspiring.
Quick facts
Under proper care, healthy, well-bred chicks make for good layers. Selecting the right type of
chick is key to efficient production. Small-bodied commercial White Leghorns that produce a lot of eggs at a low cost are the best layer hens. Some commercial brown egg-laying chickens lay nearly as well as White Leghorns. If you are interested in producing eggs and meat, consider raising some good egg-type pullets and some broiler crosses for meat, rather than trying to use a dual-purpose breed that isn't best for either purpose. Pullets refer to young chickens that are less
than one year of age. Order sexed pullet chicks when purchasing layers. You don’t need males in a layer flock unless you want fertile eggs for hatching and most city ordinances for backyard chickens prohibit roosters. Commercial hatcheries and jobbers can provide healthy chicks or pullets for layer flocks. | It's best to delay the sexual maturity of
pullets to permit better body growth before they begin egg production. An increase in day length encourages early sexual maturity of the pullet. Chicks hatched between April and August can be exposed to the natural day length because the day length is decreasing during the latter part of the growth period. These birds will respond favorably to increased light stimulation when they are physically ready to come into production. Producers with small flocks should consider starting
chicks after March, since less heat will be required to brood them. Brooding is the process of raising chicks, which includes keeping their body temperatures warm. To maintain the chicks’ body temperature, flock owners use warming houses called brooders. Consider purchasing started pullets. Evaluate the cost of raising a started pullet yourself so you can compare it to your dealer’s prices. Here
are some tips and tricks to help you calculate costs. Multiply your chick cost by 1.1 to allow for possible death or culling. From hatch to 20 weeks-old. Leghorn pullets will eat 16 to 18 pounds per bird. Mature birds will eat from 20 to 22 pounds per bird. Assume equipment costs will depreciate over a 10-year
period and housing costs over a 20-year period. Include costs for litter, heat for brooding, lights, medication, etc. Allow for any payments made for labor to care for the flock. Convert your figure to a per-pullet basis for comparison. HousingLate spring and summer housing needs for brooding and rearing chicks and pullets are minimal. You can use any small building that meets the floor space needs of your chicks and pullets. After brooding, you can raise pullets in a fenced range or yard with a covered shelter for protection. You can buy brooding, feeding and watering equipment from local feed and farm supply outfits. Some of the equipment you can build yourself. You can also check with local farmers for used equipment. Remember to always clean and disinfect any equipment before introducing the birds. You may use roosts for pullets over 6 weeks of age. A roost is a perch that birds use to rest on at night. Use rounded, 2-inch, non-metal materials placed 12 to 15 inches apart. You can slant the roosting rack from the floor to about 24 inches high on the wall. You could also place it on a screened platform over a dropping pit. Allow 6 linear inches of roosting space for pullets. |
Thoroughly clean and disinfect the house and equipment before starting chicks. For used houses,
Brooders are warming houses used to maintain the body temperatures of young birds. There are numerous heat sources you can use to warm the brooder including: infrared lamps, simple light bulbs or small electric elements. Heat sourcesInfrared lampsInfrared lamps are a good heat source for brooding chicks. Use porcelain sockets approved for infrared lamps. Suspend the lamps at least 15 inches from the litter using a chain or wire (not the electric cord). One 250 watt infrared lamp is generally sufficient for heating 80 chicks with an average brooder house temperature of 50 F. You can add one chick to this estimate for every degree over 50 F. It’s best to provide more than one lamp. This will make sure the chicks are with heat if one lamp burns out. You can supply more heat by lowering the lamps to 15 inches above the litter or by using a higher-wattage lamp. You can reduce the heat by turning off some lamps, using smaller lamps or raising the lamp to 24 inches above the litter. Always base chick comfort on their body temperature, not the air temperature. Other heating methodsYou can purchase small brooders with electric heating elements. You can also use a simple light bulb brooder similar to the one shown. You can simply change the bulb size in this unit to adjust the temperature. Most of the larger brooders use gas or oil as fuel to more adequately supply heat. Monitoring temperatureWhen using a brooder, start the chicks at 90 to 95 F. Make sure to take this temperature 2 inches off the floor, under the edge of the hover. Reduce the temperature by 5 F per week until the chicks no longer need supplemental heat. You can watch the chicks to gauge their comfort level. If the chicks crowd together they need more heat. If the chicks move away from the heat source, they’re too hot. Allow 7 to 10 square inches of space under the brooder for each chick. Start the brooder the day before the chicks arrive and adjust it to the proper temperature. FeedingComplete feeds from the local feed store are a good option for small flock owners. Farms that have good mixing facilities for other livestock can use local grains mixed with the proper commercial concentrate. Follow the directions provided by your local feed supplier. A starter mash is generally fed for the first 6 to 8 weeks. Place the feed on chick box lids or trays for the first few days. Make sure the chicks have water as soon as they arrive. Provide 1 linear inch of feeder space per chick at the hoppers at first. You can increase the space to 2 inches once the chicks are 2 weeks old. After 8 weeks of age, pullets are then given a grower or developer mash. You can then increase the feeder space to 3 to 4 inches per growing pullet. Once the pullets start laying (about 20 weeks of age) you can start the birds on a laying mash. A hanging tube-type feeder 15 inches in diameter will feed about 30 birds. The birds will waste less feed if you fill the hoppers half full and adjust the feeder height or size to meet the birds’ size. You should have at least three sizes of hoppers to use for growing birds. A yard or range can supplement pullet diets with green feed. Make sure chicks or pullets have chick- or pullet- sized grit available at the appropriate age. Try to keep your growing pullets within body-weight guidelines provided by the breeder. WaterProvide a one-gallon water fountain per 50 chicks during the first 2 weeks. Increase the number or size of waterers from 2 to 10 weeks to provide 40 inches of watering space per 100 birds or 1 gallon capacity per 10 birds if using fountains. Use a platform under waterers to avoid wet litter. Automatic waterers can save you labor, even with small flocks. Make sure chicks and pullets always have access to fresh, clean water. Keeping the birds healthyIsolate your birds
Control parasites
Have a vaccination program
A local veterinarian, or county Extension educator can assist you with flock health and other management problems or will direct you to a competent source of help.
Routinely clean the house
Preventing cannibalismCannibalism often occurs in growing and laying flocks and is hard to control once it starts. The following factors can play a role in cannibalism.
Proper care can often control most of these factors. You can use a pick-paste remedy in small flocks if the problem hasn’t gotten out of hand. Beak trimming provides a permanent solution. Many hatcheries will beak-trim chicks at one day-of-age, if you request. Birds can be beak- trimmed at any age if done properly, but it should be avoided at times of stress or when pullets are coming into production. Reviewed in 2018 How do you tell if a chick is a pullet?Pullets have rounded feathers on their necks. Cockerels also have pointed feathers on their backs known as saddle feathers. Cockerels also have curved tail feathers known as sickle feathers. Pullets have straight feathers on their tails; all feathers on pullets have rounded ends.
What makes a chicken a pullet?Young female chicks are called pullets, young males are called cockerels, adult males are called cocks or roosters, and adult females are called hens. A genetic female chicken with a male phenotype is called a pollard.
How old is a pullet chick?Hens over the age of 12 weeks are in this phase, and are known as pullets. This period of their lives usually lasts until 20 weeks old, though it can be longer. The name 'pullet', though, is generally used for any hen under one year.
How can you tell the age of a pullet?The average age when a pullet starts to lay is about twenty weeks. Some sex link birds start to lay at sixteen weeks, while Orpingtons' can go to twenty-eight weeks! Pullets continue to put on body mass between twelve and twenty weeks. If the pullet is about the size of an adult hen, she is near the twenty-week mark.
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When does a chick become a pullet
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