When To Get Baby Chicks: The Best Season To Get Chickens
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A common misconception among homesteaders or those who want to raise backyard flocks is about when to get chickens. While spring seems like the best time for chicken keepers to get their baby birds, this post shares our preference to get chicks in a totally different season– late summer!

Spring time has always been the most popular time to get get new chicks. This is when you will easily find them at local feed stores and you can easily find different breeds. The thought behind spring being a good time to get chicks is because the days are starting to become longer and the weather is starting to turn warmer. The cold winter is finally over and people are starting to think about adding more chickens to their chicken coop, or wanting to start raising chickens for the first time.
We have learned a thing or two about raising chickens and have found a different time of year to be much better suited for bringing new chicks to the flock! Whether you are adding more birds to your farm, or just starting out and getting chicks for the first time, this method and timing of introducing new birds in the late summer will come with many benefits that you just don’t get when getting new chicks in the early spring. We use this method with our farm where we sell eggs and meat (you can purchase from us here!), but this method will also work great if you have a small flock or just a few backyard chickens.

For new chicken owners
If you are brand new to raising chickens, there are a few important things you will need to consider and prepare for when you have young chicks. Some things to consider before you get new chickens are:
- You will need to create a safe and warm space that is the correct temperature with something called a brooder. (more on that below) And will need to provide the correct square feet of space for the amount of chicks so that they do not get overcrowded.
- You will need to ensure that they have access to fresh water and nutritious pellets to help the young birds grow properly.
- You will have to learn how to identify sick birds and what to do to keep your chicks healthy.
- You will need supplies such as a chicken coop, chicken tractor, nest boxes, brooder plate, etc.
We have an entire guide that will walk you through everything in detail on how to prepare and prep for getting chickens. We have raised chickens for over 8 years now and have learned a thing or two about keeping a healthy flock! You can find all of the details with the link below.
What is a brooder?
One thing that is essential to have for baby chicks is a brooder to serve as a heat source. This is what will keep your chicks warm and cozy. A brooder is a warm environment to mock the mama hen until your chick has feathers. Typically, some sort of small area or box with supplemental heat to ensure it stays at optimal temperature. A good choice in supplies for setting up a brooder would be a Rubbermaid tote and a heat lamp. (The plastic bottom is much better than a cardboard box.)
Now, the weather conditions can affect the need and length for a brooder. If it is warmer weather, like in the summertime, you will not need to run it as often. However, if there are cooler temperatures outside, you will need to ensure that the brooder is warm and kept on 24/7 to keep an optimal environment for the chicks. They do not have their full feathers yet to keep them warm, so a brooder and warm environment are crucial, especially in colder climates. Typically, a brooder is the best option for a couple of weeks. You want to provide this special care until the birds have enough feathers. The brooder temperature is very critical to keep the batches of chicks healthy.

The best time of year to get egg layers
While some may argue spring is the best time of the year to get baby chicks, the perfect time to get egg-laying hens is actually Fall! Ideally, we get day-old chicks around July, which will begin to lay eggs around November. We order the chicks from a hatchery directly shipped to our postal service as many local farm supply stores do not have chicks in the fall. This is also the best way to get a little bit of a discount if you are ordering a larger number of chicks.
Another benefit of getting chicks in the early fall is missing a molting season. Young pullets (hens) are much more likely to lay in the winter months than older hens. Since hens molt every 16 months, there’s a higher chance we skip the first year of molt during winter when birds are also less likely to produce an egg with limited daylight. Molting is when chickens shed their old feathers and grow new feathers and they typically stop laying eggs during this period. Length of daylight and molting are some of the main reasons a chicken will stop laying eggs or why egg production decreases can. You find more reasons why hens stop laying eggs and how to troubleshoot in this post here.
Another reason it is a good idea to get chicks during this time is because the brooder with supplemental heat for the small chicks needs to run less to keep warm during July because it’s very warm outside. This saves us a significant amount of money not needing the heat lamp turned on.

The best time of year to get meat breeds
Chickens raised for meat, also known as broilers, are different than egg layers because they are ready to be butchered at just 8 weeks of age, so their lifespan is much shorter than egg-laying hens. Different breeds of chickens will have different growth rates, so the age can vary depending on which breed you go with. We find that Cornish Cross birds. We’ve trailed many meat chicken breeds or dual-purpose breeds, and the Cornish Cross is the best source of delicious, hardy meat in a short period of time.
We raise enough broilers to do smaller batches of birds between May and October, but the best time to raise broiler chickens in Iowa is late August into October. Broilers cannot handle hot weather or fluctuations in temperature very well. August means you run the brooder less, and by the time they get to pasture, it is cool. There is also much more variety in bugs for birds to peck in the fall! We’ve lost very large quantities of birds due to them piling up during a spring storm, or overheating in the summer, but in the fall we lose very few meat birds. You can find more details on the best time of year to raise broilers in this blog post here.

The farm-fresh eggs all winter are worth it
A chicken owner may be nervous to take on having new chores the colder months approach, but you will be very impressed to have farm-fresh eggs all winter long. Many birds hatched in spring quit laying entirely during winter– but you will be well stocked on eggs with this trick! We find the chores during the winter months for chicken keeping are worth the results of having farm-fresh eggs during this time! Not only are you producing your own eggs during this time, but eggs from chickens you have raised yourself are significantly better in quality and nutrition. Learn more about why farm-fresh eggs have more benefits than store-bought here.
