Started Pullets for Sale — Heat-Hardy Point-of-Lay Hens for Arizona
If you are looking for started pullets for sale, you have already made a smart call for the desert — a young hen past the fragile brooder weeks arrives with a head start on an Arizona summer. Started pullets are point-of-lay and near-laying hens: sexed females grown out of the delicate day-old stage, so you skip the brooder and get much closer to eggs. This collection covers what a started pullet is, the heat-hardy layer lines we grow for the low desert, how our birds ship and arrive alive, and how to settle a ready-to-lay hen into Phoenix or Tucson heat.
Key Takeaways
- A started pullet is a young sexed hen grown past the brooder stage; we generally grow pullets to about 8 weeks, with 12-week birds (improved hardiness) and 20-week point-of-lay hens in the works.
- A point-of-lay pullet is around 20 weeks old and ready to start laying within weeks of arrival — not the four-to-six-month wait a day-old chick needs.
- Every bird ships USPS, leaving early in the week (usually Tuesday) and reaching most of the Phoenix area by Thursday. There is no local pickup.
- Every live bird carries a free 48-hour live-arrival guarantee. It is the only guarantee we make, and it is honored.
- Pullets ship as sexed hens, so keepers under an HOA or city code that restricts roosters avoid the surprise-rooster problem.
- Heat-hardy layer lines lead the list: Leghorn (close to 300 eggs a year), Easter Egger (about 250), Black Australorp, and Rhode Island Red.
- Part of every purchase — even the $47 Desert Flock Field Guide — helps put free chicks in the hands of local 4-H, FFA, military, and teacher families.
What is a started pullet?
A started pullet is a young female chicken raised past the fragile day-old stage but not yet laying, or only just begun. In practical terms it is a hen someone else has already carried through the brooder, so you take on a hardier bird and skip the heat lamp, the round-the-clock temperature checks, and the weeks when chicks are most vulnerable. We generally grow our pullets to about 8 weeks, and we are working to offer 12-week birds with improved hardiness and 20-week point-of-lay hens for keepers who want eggs as soon as possible.
For a desert keeper, that head start matters more than it does in a mild climate. A pullet has its adult feathering and a working appetite, so it handles the move into an Arizona setup with a wider margin than a day-old chick would.
What is the difference between a pullet and a point-of-lay hen?
A pullet is any young hen under about a year old that has not finished maturing; a point-of-lay pullet is that same bird right at the edge of laying, usually around 20 weeks. An 8-week started pullet is well past brooding but still a couple of months from its first egg, while a 20-week point-of-lay hen is ready to start laying within weeks of settling in. An adult hen is already in lay and gives you eggs right away.
How old are started pullets when they start laying?
Most hens begin laying around 18 to 22 weeks of age, which is why a 20-week point-of-lay pullet is described as ready to lay. An 8-week started pullet still has a couple of months to grow, but she does the growing in your setup, adapting to your feed, water, and climate the whole way. One Arizona caveat: a pullet coming into lay during the peak of summer may hold off or lay lightly until the worst heat passes, because summer egg drop is normal in the low desert.
How much do started pullets cost?
A started pullet costs more than a day-old chick because it carries weeks of feed, space, and care that someone else has already covered. Prices move with breed, age, and availability, so check the current listings for what is open, and a 20-week point-of-lay hen sits at the top of that range because she is closest to eggs. Availability is limited by design: most of our desert-proven birds are reserved for Flock RX and Flock Protection members.
Are started pullets a good choice for beginners?
For many first-time desert keepers, yes. The brooder stage is where new keepers lose the most birds, because day-old chicks cannot regulate their own temperature and a swing in a hot Arizona garage can go wrong fast. A started pullet is past that window, so a beginner takes on a sturdier, more forgiving bird and reaches the rewarding part — a hen in the run, and eggs — sooner and with less risk. Either way, the desert basics — water, shade, and heat-ready feed — are what keep the birds alive.
What to Look For When Buying Started Pullets in Arizona
Any seller can list a "pullet." Here is what predicts whether a young hen thrives through her first desert summer and lays well.
Desert-Selected Genetics
Heat tolerance is partly heritable, so a pullet from stock bred and grown through Southwest summers starts with an edge no amount of care can hand a generic bird. Look for a source that breeds for the climate you keep in, not one that ships the same catalog to Minnesota and to Yuma. Six seasons of selecting for the birds that hold up in Arizona heat is the difference behind the feathers.
Confirmed Sex, Not a Gamble
The whole point of a started pullet is that it is a sexed female, grown to an age where sex is clear — that removes the surprise-rooster problem straight-run chicks carry. Buy from a source that grows its pullets out and stands behind the sexing.
Clean, NPIP-Tested Stock
Ask whether the breeding flock is NPIP-participating and tested. Our stock is NPIP TX-4601, Pullorum-Typhoid (PT) Clean, and Avian Influenza (AI) Clean — testing that protects your flock and is required to ship birds across state lines.
Age and How Close to Laying
A started pullet can be anywhere from about 8 weeks to point-of-lay, and the age decides how soon you see eggs. Read the listing for the exact age so you know what you are getting and when to expect the first egg.
A Clear Live-Arrival Guarantee
Ours is a free 48-hour live-arrival guarantee on every live bird: if a bird does not make the trip, photograph it per the guarantee terms and reach out within the window, and we make it right. It is the only guarantee we make, and for a keeper who has opened a silent box before, it is the reason to try live shipping again.
Features That Set Desert-Proven Started Pullets Apart
Bred for the Desert
Our pullets come from breeding stock developed over six years of Arizona and Southwest heat, so heat tolerance is built in rather than hoped for. A hen whose parents laid through a low-desert July carries a resilience a breed label alone cannot promise.
Large-Comb, Light-Bodied Layer Lines
We lean toward birds built to shed heat: big single combs, close feathering, and a lean-to-moderate frame that keeps a hen laying deeper into the season instead of shutting down at the first heat wave.
Grown Past the Fragile Stage
A started pullet has already cleared the brooder weeks — the riskiest stretch of a bird's life — in our care, not in your hot garage. You take delivery of a hardier bird with adult feathering and a working appetite.
Ongoing Guidance After the Sale
Every order comes with access to Arizona-specific help by phone, text, and email, because desert care is different care and the questions come after the box arrives.
Started Pullets vs. Chicks: Which Should You Buy in Arizona?
Choose Started Pullets If
You want eggs sooner and would rather skip the brooder and the heat lamp entirely. Pullets are past the highest-risk weeks, ship as sexed hens, and — at point of lay — can start laying within weeks. The trade-off is a higher price per bird. This is the desert-friendly choice for a nervous first-timer.
Choose Chicks If
You want the widest breed selection, the lowest per-bird price, and the experience of raising birds from day one. The trade-off is a longer wait for eggs and a brooder to run through the delicate first weeks. See our desert-proven chicks.
Cost and Timeline Side by Side
A chick is the lower up-front cost but needs roughly 18–22 weeks and a brooder before the first egg; a started pullet costs more but trims most of that wait. Many desert keepers split the difference — a couple of point-of-lay pullets for eggs now, plus a few chicks to raise.
Benefits of Starting With Desert-Proven Pullets
Eggs Sooner, With Less Risk
A point-of-lay pullet skips the brooder and lands you within weeks of the first egg instead of months, without running a heat lamp through an Arizona summer.
Heat-Adapted From the Start
A pullet from desert-selected stock grows into the traits that carry a hen through a low-desert summer, so you are not fighting your climate with a bird built for a mild one.
A Flock of Real Hens
Because pullets ship as sexed females, you are building a laying flock, not a coin-flip that turns into cockerels. For HOA and city keepers, that removes the single most common first-year headache.
How to Settle a Started Pullet Into an Arizona Flock
Pick Your Breeds, Age, and Quantity
Choose from current availability, decide how close to laying you want the birds, and order enough that the flock stays social — three hens is a practical desert minimum. Check your city's flock-size limit.
Have Shade and Cool Water Ready Before She Arrives
Water is the number one thing that keeps a bird alive in the low desert: full shade from noon to five, and light-colored waterers kept cool. A dark waterer left in the sun can climb past 120°F, and chickens stop drinking warm water. Plan five or more gallons per ten birds on a hot day; the waterers we run are on our Flock-Tested Picks.
Feed for the Stage and the Heat
A pullet not yet laying does best on a grower ration around 18–20% protein; switch to a layer feed at 16–19% protein once she comes into lay. In Arizona, lean to the higher end for the calories birds burn in the heat. See our Flock-Tested Picks.
Receive the Birds and Watch the First Days
Open the box in a calm, shaded space and let the birds find water first. Electrolytes for the first few days ease travel stress. If adding to an existing flock, house them alongside but separated at first, then integrate slowly.
Read also: Desert-Proven Baby Chicks · Heat-Hardy Chicken Breeds · How to Keep Chickens Alive Through an Arizona Summer
Frequently Asked Questions
Do started pullets need a rooster to lay eggs?
Which breeds handle Arizona heat best?
Can I pick up pullets locally instead of shipping?
When do pullets ship, and how do they travel in the heat?
Can I add started pullets to a flock I already have?
Do you sell birds at other ages?
Is it legal to keep hens where I live in Arizona?
Do you support military, teachers, or 4-H/FFA families?
Sources
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Managing chickens in extreme heat. https://extension.arizona.edu/news/managing-chickens-extreme-heat
- University of Minnesota Extension. Preventing heat stress in poultry. https://extension.umn.edu/poultry-care-and-management/preventing-heat-stress-poultry
- eXtension Small and Backyard Poultry. Managing Backyard Chickens During Extreme Summer Temperature. https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-management/managing-backyard-chickens-during-extreme-summer-temperatures/
- Mississippi State University Extension Service. Protect backyard chickens from extreme heat. https://extension.msstate.edu/news/feature-story/2026/protect-backyard-chickens-livestock-extreme-heat
- Wasti, S., Sah, N., & Mishra, B. (2020). Impact of Heat Stress on Poultry Health and Performances. Animals, 10(8), 1266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10081266