The Chicken Lady

09/08/2026

🐔 **Still thinking about adding a few fresh faces to the hen house this August?** 🥚

A quick reminder that we still have a few delivery runs coming up later this month, with **young Brown Shaver pullets just about to start their first laying season**.

📍 **South Canterbury**
📍 **Central Otago**
📍 **Otago**

Our pullets are professionally reared from day-old chicks, fully vaccinated and carefully grown through to point of lay – ready to settle into their new homes and start doing what Brown Shavers do best. 🥚🥚🥚

Numbers on our upcoming runs are filling, so if you've been thinking about topping up your flock, replacing older hens or getting started with your own backyard eggs, now is a good time to get your order in.

🥚 Great little layers
🌿 Well-reared, healthy pullets
🚚 Convenient collection points along our regular delivery routes
🌾 Premium layer feed also available to order for collection with your hens

**Order online and select the collection point that suits you.**

🐔 The best eggs start with the best hens.

www.thechickenlady.co.nz

09/08/2026

🐔 “When will they start laying?” 🥚

It’s probably one of the most common questions we get!

Our household pullets are sold at around 18 weeks of age – point of lay. But “point of lay” doesn’t necessarily mean there’ll be an egg waiting for you the next morning.

Point of lay generally refers to the 18–22 week window when young hens are maturing and coming into egg production for the very first time.

Some will get cracking almost immediately. Others might take a few weeks – and that’s completely normal.

☀️ Time of year matters. Longer daylight hours encourage egg production, while shorter winter days can slow things down.

🏡 A new home takes some adjusting to. New surroundings, a different coop, new flock mates and a change in routine can all mean they need a little time to settle.

🌾 Good nutrition is important. A quality layer feed should make up the bulk of their diet, with treats kept to a minimum while they're developing and coming onto lay. Make sure they are using their feeder.

🔎 And keep an eye out for hidden nests! Once they're free ranging, that first precious egg isn't always laid where you'd like it to be.

Signs they're getting close include combs becoming larger and bright red, and generally starting to look more like a mature laying hen.

And then, one day…

🥚 There it is. The first egg.

Often tiny, sometimes a funny shape, and disproportionately exciting for something that fits in the palm of your hand.

Give them time, good feed and a comfortable home and let nature do the rest.

The best eggs start with the best hens. ❤️🐔

07/08/2026

There's something incredibly satisfying about collecting your own fresh eggs each day. 🥚🐔

But the secret to a great backyard flock doesn't start with the first egg... it starts with how the pullet was reared.

A well-reared point-of-lay pullet has had the best possible start:
🐥 Grown steadily from day-old with the right nutrition.
🌿 Developed properly with room to move and explore.
⚖️ Carefully monitored throughout rearing to ensure healthy growth and development.
💉 Vaccinated and reared under strict biosecurity standards.
❤️ Raised with the time, care and attention needed to become a productive, healthy layer.

By the time she arrives at your place, you're not just buying a chicken – you're investing in months of careful rearing that can't be done on the cheap.

The reward?

🥚 Fresh eggs just a short time after settling in.
🥚 Knowing exactly where your eggs come from.
🥚 Happy hens scratching around the backyard.
🥚 A fresh supply of one of the most versatile ingredients for breakfasts, family meals and home baking.
🥚 The simple pleasure of collecting warm, fresh eggs each morning.

For us, it's not about selling chickens. It's about giving people the opportunity to enjoy the experience of keeping healthy, productive hens and sharing fresh eggs with family, friends and neighbours.

We know that a quality pullet makes all the difference, and the best eggs really do start with the best hens. ❤️🐔

02/08/2026

Another weekend done… and just shy of 1,200km travelled to get our pullets safely to their new homes 🐔

From the first delivery yesterday morning to the last one tonight, it was fantastic meeting so many new and returning customers. Thank you to everyone who came out to collect your birds.

People sometimes ask about our delivery fee. The reality is that travelling the South Island with healthy, professionally reared point-of-lay pullets takes a huge amount of planning, time and kilometres. We charge a small, nominal delivery fee to help contribute towards the trip, but once diesel, road user charges, vehicle costs… (and any treats I happen to find along the way 😉) are taken into account, it comes nowhere near covering the true cost.

Delivery to Waimate township has always been, and will continue to be, completely free.

We don’t run these delivery routes because they’re profitable - we do it because we know how difficult it can be for people to access quality point-of-lay pullets. Whichever of our delivery routes you collect from, we’re committed to bringing our birds closer to you.

To everyone who welcomed us this weekend, thank you for supporting a small New Zealand business. We genuinely appreciate every order and hope your new girls settle in quickly and reward you with plenty of fresh eggs.

⚠️ Missed out? Our next batch of Brown Shaver point-of-lay pullets will be ready in just three weeks, with deliveries along our regular South Canterbury, Central Otago and Otago route however we have limited quantities available , so if you’re planning to add to your flock before October we’d recommend securing your order soon via our website…

Thanks again for another fantastic weekend! 🥚❤️

01/08/2026

This is exactly why we emphasise why a high quality layer pellet should be the primary feed for your high performance hens.

28/07/2026

The real reason we’ve added a Fairlie stop to our South Canterbury pullet delivery run…

27/07/2026

We rear high-performing layers… but occasionally one slips through quality control and thinks it’s a Labrador… 😂🐔❤️

26/07/2026

🐔 Southland (and South Otago!) thank you!

We were blown away by the response to our very first Southland delivery route, even if it did mean a really early start to the day!!

It was fantastic to meet so many new customers from across the region and see so many Brown Shaver pullets heading off to their new homes.

Because the first run filled so quickly, we’ve added one extra Southland collection day from the same batch of young point-of-lay pullets.

📅 Saturday 8 August 2026

📍 Lorneville
📍 Winton
📍 Gore
📍 Clinton
📍 Balclutha
📍 Milton

Our Brown Shaver pullets are professionally reared from day-old chicks and are just coming into lay for the first time. They’re the same high-performing commercial birds selected for excellent egg production, making them an ideal choice for backyard flocks.

✔️ Professionally reared from day-old chicks
✔️ Healthy, young point-of-lay pullets
✔️ Reared in our RMP-audited facility in South Canterbury
✔️ Ready to become productive members of your backyard flock

If you’ve been thinking about getting chickens, now is a great time to start enjoying fresh eggs from your own backyard.

Orders are essential so we can ensure your birds are on board for your chosen collection point. We don’t carry spare birds for customers who haven’t pre-ordered.

🌐 Order online:
www.thechickenlady.co.nz

We look forward to seeing of you on Saturday 8 August!

22/07/2026

SOUTHLAND, we’re fully allocated for our delivery run on Saturday BUT….

we’ve added another date!

Saturday 8th August…

Order here:

Brown Shaver point of lay pullets available at 19 weeks of age. This is a second 'Southland Special' delivery route, with collection points in at Lorneville, Winton, Gore, Clinton, Balclutha & Milton on Saturday 8th August 2026.

21/07/2026

🐥 Freshly hatched and already living their best life. ❤️

These little Brown Shaver chicks are just a day old, snug under their heat source, happily chirping away and settling into life.

Over the next 18 weeks they’ll grow into healthy, free-ranging point-of-lay pullets, ready to join backyards across the South Island. The batch you’re seeing here will be our November point-of-lay pullets.

It’s always amazing to think that every great laying hen starts out this tiny.

🐔