A chick becomes a pullet at around 6 weeks of age, when she’s fully feathered and no longer depends on a heat source to stay warm. She’ll remain a pullet until she either lays her first egg or turns one year old, depending on which definition you follow. That 6-week mark isn’t arbitrary. It lines up with real changes in feathering, diet, housing needs, and social behavior that make the pullet stage genuinely distinct from the chick stage.
The 6-Week Transition
For the first six weeks of life, a chick is growing its feathers, building bone, and relying on a brooder for warmth. By week 6, the down has been replaced by a full set of juvenile feathers, and the bird can regulate her own body temperature. This is the clearest physical marker of the chick-to-pullet shift: she no longer needs supplemental heat.
At this same age, the social pecking order in a flock is typically fully established. Chicks start sorting out dominance as early as one week after hatch, but by six weeks the hierarchy is set. You’ll see subordinate birds crouching or running away from dominant ones, while the bolder pullets claim first access to food and roosting spots.
When Does a Pullet Become a Hen?
This is where definitions split. Some chicken keepers say a pullet officially becomes a hen when she lays her first egg. Others use a simple age cutoff: under one year old is a pullet, over one year is a hen. Both conventions are widely used, and neither is wrong. If you’re buying birds labeled “pullets” from a hatchery or farm store, it usually means they haven’t started laying yet.
Most pullets reach “point of lay,” the stage right before their first egg, between 16 and 24 weeks old. Lighter, more productive breeds like Leghorns tend to mature on the earlier end, while heavier dual-purpose breeds like Orpingtons and Brahmas can take closer to 24 weeks or longer.
Signs a Pullet Is About to Lay
Several visible changes signal that eggs are coming soon. The comb and wattles, which may have been small and pale through the early pullet stage, will swell and turn a deep red. The pullet will look fully grown, with clean, tight feathers. She may start squatting when you reach toward her, a submissive posture that mimics mating behavior.
You can also check the pelvic bones. Gently cradle the bird against your side with her rear end facing you, and place your hand over the vent area. You’ll feel three prominent bones. If they’re still close together, laying is likely a few weeks away. If they’ve started to separate, expect eggs soon. First eggs are often small, irregularly shaped, or even shell-less, which is completely normal as the reproductive system calibrates.
Feed Changes at the Pullet Stage
The 6-week mark also triggers a diet change. Chick starter feed is high in protein, typically 18 to 24 percent, to fuel the rapid early growth of muscles, bones, and feathers. Once a bird enters the pullet stage, she should switch to grower feed, which drops the protein to around 16 to 18 percent. The lower protein supports steady, even growth without pushing weight gain too fast, which can cause skeletal problems in heavier breeds.
The transition doesn’t need to happen overnight. Mixing starter and grower feed over the course of a week gives the birds’ digestive systems time to adjust. Then, once pullets approach point of lay (around 16 to 18 weeks), you’ll switch again to a layer feed that includes added calcium for eggshell production.
Moving Pullets Out of the Brooder
Because 6-week-old pullets are fully feathered, they can move from a brooder to an outdoor coop as long as outdoor temperatures are at least 50°F. Cold-hardy breeds can handle temperatures down into the 40s at this age. Between weeks 6 and 8, pullets grow rapidly and need roughly twice the floor space they had as chicks, so the timing works out well: they’re outgrowing the brooder just as they’re ready for the coop.
If you’re introducing young pullets to an existing flock of older hens, keep them separated but visible to each other for at least a week. This lets the birds establish familiarity before they share space, which reduces the intensity of pecking-order conflicts. Pullets are smaller and lower in the hierarchy, so giving them escape routes, extra feeders, and elevated hiding spots helps them avoid being cornered by dominant hens.
What Pullets Need That Chicks Don’t
Pullets are more independent than chicks, but they have their own needs. Roosting bars become important during this stage. Chicks tend to huddle on the ground, but pullets will start seeking elevated perches to sleep on, which is their natural instinct for predator avoidance. Providing roosts at varying heights lets them sort themselves out according to the pecking order.
Dust bathing also becomes a regular behavior. Pullets will dig shallow depressions in dry soil or bedding and roll around to work fine particles through their feathers, which helps control parasites and excess oil. If they don’t have access to a suitable spot, they’ll attempt “sham dust bathing” on bare floors, which is a sign of frustration. A simple box of sand or dry dirt in the coop or run solves this easily.
Chickens use over 30 distinct vocalizations, and you’ll notice pullets developing a wider vocal range than chicks. The peeping of a chick gives way to clucking, trilling, and alarm calls. By the time a pullet approaches laying age, she may start practicing the “egg song,” a loud, repetitive call that hens make after laying. Hearing this from a pullet who hasn’t laid yet is a good sign that her first egg is close.