4 Reasons Why Spring is the Best Time of Year to Get Chickens

Raising chickens from the time they are day-old chicks is a very rewarding experience.  Baby chicks are super cute; however, they require quite a bit of daily care for the first few weeks of life. 

While chicks are available year round, you are more likely to find a larger selection of breeds available during the spring (March through June).  When chicks are hatched in the spring, they will mature at a normal rate, decreasing their risk of developing reproductive issues as they begin to lay eggs.

Keep reading to find out the 4 reasons why spring is the best time to get chicks.

1. More Chicks are Naturally Available in the Spring

Chickens can lay eggs year-round; however, they will lay fewer eggs during the winter months when the days are shorter.  Hens require at least 14 hours of daylight to trigger ovulation, leading to laying an egg.

Some chicken farmers will provide artificial light for their hens during the winter months to help the chickens to continue to lay eggs through the winter.    

Fertility in chickens decreases in the heat of the summer. The optimal temperature for chickens is between 70 to 75 degrees F, and any extreme variations outside of this range can lead to decreased fertility. Roosters can have a reduction in sperm production and hens will lay fewer eggs when there are very high temperatures.

Based on the shorter days during the winter and heat negatively affecting fertility, spring is the natural season for chicks to hatch.

The majority of chickens alive today are hatched in industrial incubators. These incubators provide the ideal temperature and humidity to hatch eggs. Broody hens are not used in many cases since the farmers can hatch more eggs using an incubator than the few eggs at a time that a hen will incubate.

2. Chicks Have Higher Survivability During Warm Months

When chicks are shipped from a hatchery, they are shipped in an insulted box with some bedding. Chicks can live on the nutrients from their yolks for the first day of life, so they do not need feed immediately.  Some hatcheries will include a nutrient gel to provide for the chicks during the one day travel, but this is generally not necessary.

During shipping, there is a minimum number of chicks per order (usually 10) for the safety of the chicks.  On average, chicks have a body temperature of 104 degrees F, which makes them tolerable of warm conditions but sensitive to cool temperatures.  By including several chicks in the shipment they are able to huddle together to keep warm, increasing their chances of all arriving alive.

During the winter, cold weather makes it more difficult for hens to keep the eggs warm enough which can impact the survivability of the eggs hatching into chicks. In addition, if chicks get too cold or experience drafts before their flight feathers have emerged, they have an increased rate of mortality.

3. Chicks Hatched in the Spring Mature Normally

When chicks are hatched in the spring, they will mature at a normal rate when they are exposed to a minimum of 14 hours of daylight per day. As they mature, the days will naturally become shorter and there will be less daylight.

When chicks are hatched in the late fall through winter, their bodies can mature at a faster rate since the days are becoming longer and they are exposed to more sunlight sooner, resulting in them reaching egg production sooner.

This is problematic because their bodies are not yet fully developed to be laying eggs, which can lead to reproductive issues, including smaller eggs, eggs with thin shells, and prolapse.

Prolapse is a serious condition but it can be reversed if caught in time. It is typically treated by placing the hen in a place where she is away from other chickens that might try to pick at her vent. She will need exposure to daylight reduced by placing a blanket over a crate or moving her into a basement, this way her body won’t be triggered to produce another egg to lay until her body is fully healed.

4. Chicks Hatched in the Spring Can Lay Eggs in the Winter

Chickens start laying eggs about 18 to 22 weeks of age, with larger breeds taking as long as 24 to 26 weeks of age.  If you bought chicks that hatched in March, then they will start laying eggs roughly in August or September.  

Typically, chickens will lay eggs their first winter if they were hatched in the spring. By their second year of life, they will most likely pause laying during the winter.

I have Barred Plymouth Rock chickens that were born on May 12. The first 2 chickens laid their first eggs on October 29. That’s exactly 24 weeks! They continued to lay throughout their first winter, although egg production did go down a bit. We went from about 9 eggs per day to about 7 eggs per day from 10 chickens.