Pullets vs Chicks vs Hatching Eggs: How to Start a Flock
Should you start your flock with chicks, point-of-lay pullets, or hatching eggs? Compare cost, effort, time to eggs, and sexing to pick the right path for you.
One of the first real decisions you will make as a new chicken keeper is how to actually get your birds. You can buy day-old chicks and raise them from the start, bring home nearly grown point-of-lay pullets that are almost ready to lay, or hatch your own eggs in an incubator or under a broody hen. Each path has its own cost, effort, timeline, and surprises, and there is no single right answer. The best choice depends on your budget, patience, space, and how soon you want eggs.
This guide compares chicks, pullets, and hatching eggs head to head, so you can pick the route that fits your situation. We will look at what each one means, what they cost, how much work they take, how long until you get eggs, and the all-important question of how many hens you will actually end up with.
Gear for Each Starting Path
RentACoop Brooder Heating Plate for Chicks
$49.95 on Amazon
Safe radiant warmth, the heart of a good brooder for day-old chicks.
MATICOOPX 20-Egg Automatic Incubator
$75.99 on Amazon
Humidity display, egg candler, and automatic turner for hatching at home.
Sav-A-Chick Sav-A-Chick Electrolyte & Vitamin Supplement
$9.82 on Amazon
Hydration and vitamins for the first days, especially shipped chicks.
Mile Four Mile Four Chick Starter Grit
Fine grit so young chicks can grind feed and digest properly.
The three ways to start a flock
Before comparing them, here is what each option really involves:
- Day-old chicks: tiny newly hatched birds you raise in a brooder. The most common entry point, affordable and widely available from hatcheries and feed stores.
- Pullets: young hens, usually 16 to 20 weeks old and sold as point-of-lay, that are close to or just starting to lay. You skip the brooder stage entirely.
- Hatching eggs: fertile eggs you incubate yourself over 21 days, either in an incubator or under a broody hen. The cheapest and most hands-on path.
Starting with day-old chicks
Chicks are the classic way to begin, and for good reason. They are inexpensive, available in a huge range of breeds, and let you raise your flock from its very first days, which many keepers find deeply rewarding. The trade-off is the brooder stage. For the first several weeks, chicks need a draft-free enclosure kept near 95 degrees Fahrenheit in week one, dropping about 5 degrees each week, plus chick starter feed, clean shallow water, absorbent bedding, and fine grit once they nibble anything beyond starter.
Chicks are also fragile and need daily attention, including watching for problems like pasty butt. And then there is the wait: a chick will not lay until around 18 to 22 weeks of age, so plan on four to five months before the first egg. If you buy sexed pullet chicks you will mostly get females, while straight-run chicks come unsexed, meaning roughly half may turn out to be cockerels.
Starting with pullets
If you want eggs sooner and would rather skip the fragile brooder phase, point-of-lay pullets are the shortcut. These young hens are around 16 to 20 weeks old, already feathered, of known sex, and often laying within a few weeks of coming home. They can usually move straight into a finished coop, no brooder or heat plate required, which makes them a low-stress option for beginners who feel daunted by raising chicks.
The catch is cost. Because someone else has fed and raised the bird through its most demanding weeks, pullets cost considerably more per bird than chicks. Breed selection can also be more limited than the vast catalogs available for chicks. For many busy households, though, the convenience and the head start on eggs are well worth the higher price.
Hatching your own eggs
Hatching eggs is the most economical and arguably the most magical path, but it is also the most demanding. You will need an incubator that controls temperature, humidity, and egg turning across the 21-day incubation, or a reliable broody hen willing to do the job naturally. A beginner-friendly incubator with an automatic turner and a humidity display takes much of the guesswork out, but even then hatching requires attention and a tolerance for uncertainty.
Two realities define hatching: not every egg will hatch, even in skilled hands, and you cannot control sex, so expect roughly half of the chicks to be cockerels. That means you need a plan for the males, since many areas restrict roosters. Once chicks hatch, you are right back to the brooder stage with all its requirements. Hatching is wonderful for the experience and for growing a flock cheaply, but it is the steepest learning curve of the three.
| Factor | Chicks | Pullets | Hatching eggs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost per bird | Low | High | Lowest (plus incubator) |
| Time to first egg | ~18-22 weeks | Few weeks | ~21 days + 18-22 weeks |
| Brooder needed? | Yes | No | Yes, after hatch |
| Sex certainty | High if sexed | High | None (~50% males) |
| Effort level | Moderate | Low | High |
| Best for | Most beginners | Fast, easy start | Experience and low cost |
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Which path is right for you?
For most first-time keepers, the choice comes down to chicks or pullets. Pick day-old chicks if you want the full experience, the widest breed selection, and the lowest per-bird cost, and you do not mind a brooder and a few months' wait. Choose point-of-lay pullets if you want eggs quickly, prefer to skip the fragile brooder stage, and are willing to pay more for that convenience and certainty.
Save hatching eggs for when you have a little experience, a brooder setup ready, and a real plan for the cockerels you are likely to get. It is a fantastic project, but it is the most variable and hands-on option. Whichever route you take, line up your gear before the birds arrive, and your flock will be off to a healthy start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I start with chicks, pullets, or hatching eggs?
For most beginners, started chicks or point-of-lay pullets are the easiest entry. Day-old chicks are affordable and let you raise birds from the start, but they need a brooder and weeks of care before laying. Pullets cost more but are nearly ready to lay and skip the fragile brooder stage. Hatching eggs are the cheapest and most rewarding, but also the hardest, with no guarantee of how many hatch or their sex.
What is a pullet?
A pullet is a young female chicken under a year old that has not yet completed her first year of laying. When sellers offer point-of-lay pullets, they mean hens around 16 to 20 weeks old that are close to or just starting to lay eggs. Buying pullets lets you skip the brooder stage and the wait, since you get an almost-ready layer of known sex rather than an unsexed chick or an uncertain hatch.
How long until chicks start laying eggs?
Chicks typically begin laying around 18 to 22 weeks of age, though it varies by breed, with production breeds maturing faster than heavy or ornamental ones. From a day-old chick that means roughly four to five months of feeding and care before the first egg. If you want eggs sooner, point-of-lay pullets at 16 to 20 weeks shorten that wait dramatically, often laying within a few weeks of coming home.
Do I need an incubator to hatch eggs?
You need either an incubator or a broody hen. An incubator controls temperature, humidity, and egg turning for the 21-day incubation, and a good one with an automatic turner and humidity display makes the process far more reliable for beginners. Alternatively, a broody hen will hatch and raise chicks naturally if you have one. Hatching by either method is rewarding but demands attention, and not every egg will hatch.
How much do chicks, pullets, and hatching eggs cost?
Day-old chicks are usually the cheapest birds, often a few dollars each, but add the cost of a brooder setup and weeks of feed. Point-of-lay pullets cost more per bird, often several times a chick's price, because someone else did the raising. Hatching eggs are inexpensive per egg, but you pay for an incubator and accept that only some will hatch and roughly half may be cockerels.
Can I tell the sex of a chick when buying?
It depends on how the chicks are sold. Sexed pullet chicks are vent- or feather-sexed at the hatchery and are usually female with high but not perfect accuracy. Straight-run chicks are unsexed, so expect roughly half to be males. Hatching your own eggs gives you no control over sex, so plan for about half cockerels. If you need hens and cannot keep roosters, buy sexed pullets or point-of-lay pullets.
What do I need before bringing home chicks?
Chicks need a brooder: a draft-free enclosure with a reliable heat source like a brooder plate set near 95 degrees the first week, chick starter feed, clean water in a shallow chick waterer, absorbent bedding, and fine chick grit once they eat anything beyond starter. You will also want a thermometer and a plan to lower the temperature about 5 degrees weekly. Pullets, by contrast, can usually go straight into a finished coop.
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