The Farm Team recently made an exciting announcement: we’ve been raising chicks to replace our aging flock of laying hens! This process is different from our usual flock transition and has provided an excellent opportunity for members of the team to learn new animal husbandry skills. In the past, we have purchased in a new flock of pullets which are adolescent chickens. They are usually primed to start laying their first eggs about a month after arriving on the Farm and can take up to two months to get fully up to speed. Due to inventory setbacks with our pullet supplier, the Farm Team had to make a choice: wait until October 2025 for new pullets or buy in chicks to get started as soon as possible. The Team jumped into action and mid-March, freshly hatched chicks arrived on the Farm.
This new flock is a different breed of chicken than our current flock. These ladies are Rhode Island Reds and boast beautiful rusty red and brown plumage. They will be bigger than the current Novogen hens we have and will need more feed and water as a result. The chicks were settled into their new home as soon as they arrived, with plenty of water stations, heat lamps, feed and wood shavings to give them the best opportunity to grow. Our flock started with a “Flock Builder” feed that has a higher base protein content than adult chicken feed to promote a healthy growth rate. Additionally, we started them on a probiotic supplement to give their digestive and immune systems a boost. The Farm Team took several steps to ensure biosecurity concerns and reduce risk between the two flocks. This included PPE, changing outer layers of clothing and strict adherence to hand washing guidelines. It will take about 180 days for the chicks to start laying eggs, approximately six months. It was essential to maintain temperature for the chicks around 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the beginning and slowly decrease the temperature as their feathers grow in. The amount of feed they consumed per day also slowly increased, starting with about 25 pounds/day and ending with 100 pounds/day when they were moved into the outdoor coop.
The chicks were moved outdoors the second week of May, when the overnight temperatures had stabilized at a tolerable level. They are currently locked in the hoop coop while they continue to acclimate to full-time outdoor life and grow. This helps to slowly introduce more variety into their diets with insects, weeds and cover crops like hairy vetch and sorghum. Chickens who have a varied diet have better health outcomes in addition to better tasting, higher quality eggs! The little ladies are now about the equivalent of graduating the fifth grade, and by the end of June will be at the pullet stage. The Farm Team is optimistically looking at the start of August for these new hens to be producing eggs consistently.
If you are interested in an August-start Egg CSA share from our lovely new ladies, the Farm Team will be launching sign ups soon. In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for the Wait List to receive advance notice and priority timing for registration!