Hello all, Im new to the site, and new to gardening aswell. Just moved to Cumbria to a lovely farm and planning to make the most i=of the garden we have here this summer.
I have been looking into getting some chickens. But my brother in law has suggested to me that I hatch my own. He has done this may times and more than willing ot help out. He has a Paraffin incubator which he will lend me and I can get the eggs local, it holds 200 but im only planning to put in about 10 eggs as really I only want 2 chickens. If anyone has any tips or advice I would be grateful. Also does anyone know the best time to get the eggs?
Heather
Hatching chicks
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Diane
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Hatching chicks is very rewarding - and as your brother is willing to help you then you should be fine.
I'd suggest that you make sure the incubator is clean and check that the temperature is stable before adding any eggs.
Get the eggs as fresh as possible - after a week or so the fertility starts to drop. If you want the hens for egg laying then have a think as to what breed you like the look of. Go to the Poultry Club site to find out more www.poultryclub.org
Do you want large hens - or bantam size? If you are after big brown eggs for your breakfast then choose Wellsummer or Maran - good layers and a docile breed. Another good layer of white eggs is the Leghorn - although can be a bit flighty. There are so many breeds out there - hybrids too - and cross breeds. Another good source of info is www.pekinbantams.co.uk (pekins are fantastic little birds). Also www.practicalpoultry.co.uk.
A good proportion of the chicks that hatch will be cockerels - will you be able to deal with this?
Now is the best time to get eggs - fertility is good. Have a look at the parent birds first if possible. Chicks hatched around about now will hopefully start to lay in the autumn.
Hope this helps a bit. Go for it - you'll find it fascinating.
I'd suggest that you make sure the incubator is clean and check that the temperature is stable before adding any eggs.
Get the eggs as fresh as possible - after a week or so the fertility starts to drop. If you want the hens for egg laying then have a think as to what breed you like the look of. Go to the Poultry Club site to find out more www.poultryclub.org
Do you want large hens - or bantam size? If you are after big brown eggs for your breakfast then choose Wellsummer or Maran - good layers and a docile breed. Another good layer of white eggs is the Leghorn - although can be a bit flighty. There are so many breeds out there - hybrids too - and cross breeds. Another good source of info is www.pekinbantams.co.uk (pekins are fantastic little birds). Also www.practicalpoultry.co.uk.
A good proportion of the chicks that hatch will be cockerels - will you be able to deal with this?
Now is the best time to get eggs - fertility is good. Have a look at the parent birds first if possible. Chicks hatched around about now will hopefully start to lay in the autumn.
Hope this helps a bit. Go for it - you'll find it fascinating.
'Preserve wildlife - pickle a rat'
Thank you Diane for your helpful advice. I hadnt thought about breed so will take a good look at the sites you recommended. Im not to sure about a cockerels. My brother in law said he wouldnt have a problem finding someone to take them if I didnt want to keep them. Im quite luck as all of his family are farmers and living in small villages really helps. Out this afternoon and was taling to the gamekeeper about it and he was full of advice, even said he would come and check the eggs to see if they were fertile for me!
Im sure my 2 boys will love to see it as well. They are 20 months and 3 years so will be a lovely experiance for them as well.
Im sure my 2 boys will love to see it as well. They are 20 months and 3 years so will be a lovely experiance for them as well.
hi, i am currently hatching chickens and turkeys which should be interesting. we have a cockerel that we keep so that we have a neverending supply of fertile eggs. i am picking up some pure breed eggs from my local rare breed centre and wll hatch out some of the heavier breeds so that we can eat the cockerels.we are trying to be self sufficient!! 
we have also been buying eggs thru ebay(turkeys)and will reserve judgement until they hatch only 50% are fertile so far but it does open up to new bloodlines and some very rare breeds.
my kids love watching the chicks and candling the eggs where you can see the checks move inside the shell but mine are a bit older. good luck bet you dont only do it once
we have also been buying eggs thru ebay(turkeys)and will reserve judgement until they hatch only 50% are fertile so far but it does open up to new bloodlines and some very rare breeds.
my kids love watching the chicks and candling the eggs where you can see the checks move inside the shell but mine are a bit older. good luck bet you dont only do it once
Thank you maree t and Johnboy for your replies. I know it would be easier going out and just buying two chickens but these are really just for pet and hopefully fresh eggs so the whole experiance of hatching and bringing them up from chick will be a wonderful experiance (thats if everything goes well) While I have the chance to lend a incubator I might as well give it a go. Maree - would love to here how you get on with the eggs from ebay!
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madasafish
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Well I'm hatching quail in a home made incubator : total cost for incubator nil as made from surplus parts/surplus packaging/old dimmer switch etc...
Hello Heather
Raising your own chicks is great fun and an especially rewarding experience if you have a broody hen to do all the work for you! It is a fine sight watching a mother hen teaching her brood the ways of the chicken world. Do you know of anyone with a broody that that they could lend you?
Do remember as others have said you will get a mix of males and females from any hatch. As the saying goes 'if you hatch, you must be prepared to dispatch' as nobody wants spare cockerels.
John
Raising your own chicks is great fun and an especially rewarding experience if you have a broody hen to do all the work for you! It is a fine sight watching a mother hen teaching her brood the ways of the chicken world. Do you know of anyone with a broody that that they could lend you?
Do remember as others have said you will get a mix of males and females from any hatch. As the saying goes 'if you hatch, you must be prepared to dispatch' as nobody wants spare cockerels.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
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alan refail
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I have to agree with John. There is nothing magic about eggs hatching in an incubator, compared to seeing them coming out from under a broody.
Yes, I know these are ducklings, but the broody just fancied a change!
Also, I have been worried since reading your first post that you want 2 chickens and that you are going to set 20 eggs in a 200 egg incubator. If you set 20 you will get at least 14 (7 hens and 7 cocks on average). And it's going to cost a lot to run a 200 egg incubator for three weeks. Broodies cost nothing and they know how to hatch. No need for checking temperature, humidity or turning eggs 3 or 5 times a day (I assume a parrafin incubator is not automatic). And, by the by, if you want fresh eggs, two hens are not going to keep you supplied. I suggest at least four - you will not find it difficult to sell or give the spares.
Alan
Yes, I know these are ducklings, but the broody just fancied a change!
Also, I have been worried since reading your first post that you want 2 chickens and that you are going to set 20 eggs in a 200 egg incubator. If you set 20 you will get at least 14 (7 hens and 7 cocks on average). And it's going to cost a lot to run a 200 egg incubator for three weeks. Broodies cost nothing and they know how to hatch. No need for checking temperature, humidity or turning eggs 3 or 5 times a day (I assume a parrafin incubator is not automatic). And, by the by, if you want fresh eggs, two hens are not going to keep you supplied. I suggest at least four - you will not find it difficult to sell or give the spares.
Alan
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
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Myrkk
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I'm with Alan and John on this. I bought my first chooks as day old chicks and they made the biggest mess on the planet... had to be cleaned out a minimum of 3 or 4 times daily and the dust was appalling. Ended up with very friendly chickens/cockerals though.
Now we've got bantams and they go broody and hatch the eggs out for us... far less mess and the chickens are still friendly provided you put the time in with them. The bantams will allow you to pick the eggs out and candle them so you still get the magic of it all and watching them hatch is amazing [though they always seem to hatch at night]. We've also found the hatching rate is higher than with an incubator but we haven't hatched that many clutches yet.
Re. having pet chickens..... if you are going to find it difficult to deaal with the cockerals you will inevitably end up with or don't have anyone to help you dispatch them then it may be better to get day old chicks from a breed you can tell the difference between the sexes at that age...... not sure if there is such a thing..... I can tell with ours but only because of experience and they are a few days old before I can tell. You'll still get the experience of growing them up to adults this way too...... chick racing is fun ;o)
Now we've got bantams and they go broody and hatch the eggs out for us... far less mess and the chickens are still friendly provided you put the time in with them. The bantams will allow you to pick the eggs out and candle them so you still get the magic of it all and watching them hatch is amazing [though they always seem to hatch at night]. We've also found the hatching rate is higher than with an incubator but we haven't hatched that many clutches yet.
Re. having pet chickens..... if you are going to find it difficult to deaal with the cockerals you will inevitably end up with or don't have anyone to help you dispatch them then it may be better to get day old chicks from a breed you can tell the difference between the sexes at that age...... not sure if there is such a thing..... I can tell with ours but only because of experience and they are a few days old before I can tell. You'll still get the experience of growing them up to adults this way too...... chick racing is fun ;o)
Where abouts in Cumbria are you ? I am in the South just hatching some Silkie chicks for Easter.
First can I suggest that you have a minimum of 3 pullets then if anything happens to 1 you still have 2 and they are not left alone, and secondly you will have to wait at least 6 months for eggs if you hatch your own = + 21 days for eggs to hatch a long time for little ones but if you buy pullets just weeks or days and they cope with children better easy to crush little chicks !!! I know where there are some Welsummers for sale ! but no knowledge of the breeder though a sign goes up every year so should be OK whatever you decide Good Luck regards Gill
First can I suggest that you have a minimum of 3 pullets then if anything happens to 1 you still have 2 and they are not left alone, and secondly you will have to wait at least 6 months for eggs if you hatch your own = + 21 days for eggs to hatch a long time for little ones but if you buy pullets just weeks or days and they cope with children better easy to crush little chicks !!! I know where there are some Welsummers for sale ! but no knowledge of the breeder though a sign goes up every year so should be OK whatever you decide Good Luck regards Gill
Gilly C- I live just outside Penrith on a farm. Where abouts are you? I know of a local breeder about a mile away from me, but this is just from WOM not an advert. Since talking about this locally and at work many people have given me names of breeders or advise on where to go and what to do.
I live in the sticks nearest place of any size is Grange over Sands so a fair way from you ! if the broody settles in a little hut or ark you just exchange the eggs she is sitting on for the ones you want to hatch ! as for how many if bantam maximum 8 or large fowl 12 some say 15 but personally I think that is too many some broodys sit tight and won't leave the nest then they soil the eggs I turf mine off once each day the one that is sitting was not eating so I have been tempting her with tinned sweetcorn Silkies easily lose condition when sitting though I always turf them off once a day I have still lost two after hatching and brooding it does take a lot out of them but in my opinion easier than an incubator ! maybe you could buy 3 then hatch 6 that way you would end up with 6 pullets about 4 eggs a day in summer 2 in winter ! good luck with whatever you decide