Pullets — Young Hens to Grow On

Pullets for sale are younger birds — 8 to 15 weeks — for people who want to raise their flock on and pay less per bird than point of lay.

Pullet or point-of-lay hen?

Buy pullets if you want to tame birds young, spread the cost, and don't mind waiting two to four months for eggs. Buy point of lay if you want eggs within weeks and less work. Our pullets are past the heat-lamp brooder stage, fully feathered and hardy, and are sold vaccinated and sexed as females.

Raising pullets to point of lay

Feed a grower or pullet-developer ration (around 15–16% protein) until roughly 18 weeks or the first egg, then switch to a layer feed with added calcium — starting layer feed too early can cause kidney problems, and starting it too late gives thin shells. House them draught-free with dry bedding, provide grit, and give them safe outdoor access to build immunity and leg strength. By 8 weeks a feathered pullet needs no supplementary heat through a Sydney winter. For feeding stages and flock health, see the NSW DPI poultry pages.

Chickens are flock animals — most listings have a minimum of three birds. Farm pickup or local Sydney delivery.

What pullets cost to raise

A pullet bought at 10 weeks and grown to point of lay at 20 weeks eats roughly 3–4kg of grower feed over that period — a few dollars a bird — so the saving versus buying point-of-lay is real if you have the setup and the patience. The other cost is time: daily checks, clean water, and a secure coop while they are still small enough to be vulnerable to cats, hawks and foxes.

Handling and taming young birds

Pullets bought young are the ones you can properly tame. Sit with them, hand-feed a little scratch or mealworms, and move slowly around the coop — birds handled gently between 8 and 16 weeks stay calm for life and are far easier to health-check, worm and move. Keep at least three together; a single pullet is stressed and noisy.