Single hen

[glorious chickens]

Hi well sometime in the near future i want to hatch some chicks hopefully some Rhode Island Red's but im a complete novice and i need some information on how to. I need to know what the humidity should be and the temperature should be in an incubator would the incubator tell me what these have to be for different breeds or do i have to try and find it out myself if so please can someone tell me please thanks hehe:D and if i do it through incubation then how do i introduce the chicks into the other flock of 4 that i have?? Oh an one last think if possibe does anyone know a website where i can get plently of info on this sort of stuff? thanks soooo much

Have a nice day Oh i forgot to ask i cant keep cockrels so im not sure what to do if anyone knows then please

can you tell me thanks oh hehe and how do you know whose male and female thanks again!!!!

[Griffin]

The temperature of the incubator depends on what type it is, still air or fan assisted. I bought mine (a Corti 25 automatic) from http://www.hatchitincubators.com/ and they were of assistance over the phone afterwards.

 

Humidity is tricky too, it depends on so many things and there is no definitive answer. It's trial and error, you need to find out what works best for you and what doesn't. Some incubate dry, others have humidity as high as 45% or so. It needs to be raised towards the end but then again there is a difference in opinion as to when exactly, day 19 or when they've all pipped. I've hatched out two lots of chicks and I still haven't mastered the art of my particular incubator. I've learnt new things each time, done things differently each time and I hope with my new found knowledge my third hatch later on this year will be even better. Or it might get worse

 

Incubating isn't easy. You can't just buy an incubator, fill it with fertile eggs and then 21 days later have all the eggs hatch. So many factors affect what the end result will be.

 

Once the chicks hatch they need to be moved eventually to a brooder and you'll need to wean them off heat gradually as they get older. Mine start off with an electric hen in a rat cage before moving out to a big run in the garage with a heat lamp. My eight week old chicks are now in their own coop & run in the garden. They'll not mix with my older chickens until they're of a similar size, so not until they're 16 weeks or so old.

 

It's very expensive and hugely addictive hobby

[BeckyBoo]

HI there, I can't help with the incubator bit as I have never used one. There's a few on here who have though and you could also try Practical Poultry which can be good for information on breeding. Obviously you need to consider what you would do with any boys you hatch, bearing in mind you can't normally sex them until they're around 16 weeks old and "Ooops, word censored!"ody usually wants boys so you may end up having to despatch half your hatched birds, (really, don't underestimate them as something you can deal with later, ie: cross that bridge when we come to it, dealing with the boys IS a BIG consideration when choosing wether to hatch) but once you've got your cute little girlies then really it's the same principle as introducing any new hen. Take it slowly, allow them to see each other, then progress to free ranging together (if yours do free range) then putting them together at night but apart during the day finally, let them all in together. The chicks need to be around 16 weeks old so they are nearly fully grown or they will get picked on mercilessly and there will always be a bit of pecking to start with but it normally works out in the end.

 

Then of course we need photos when they're cute and fluffy, and photos as they grow etc etc.....

 

BeckyBoo

 

Edited to say, another option is to hatch something you can sex at birth, ie: a cream legbar or similar, that way you can dispose of them as day olds which, whilst still not pleasant, can be easier in some ways. Personally I eat the boys I hatch, about 24 weeks is a good age for them and if that thought makes you recoil in horror to start with then I would say do think again about it because they are the most wonderful eating birds and at least you won't be pointlessly disposing of boys.

 

There really is no easy answer to cockerels if you can't keep them and it may be that it means you can't hatch because you WILL get boys in a brood Out of my last hatch of 7 I think I ended up with 4 boys

[glorious chickens]

Right ok well i can only fit a maximum of 6 more chickens you see so thats all im going to be doing im a vegetarian you see and i wouldnt be able to live with myself if i killed the boys probably sounds stupid but i cant help that haha. I wunder if anyone on here who lives nearby would like the boys or if i advertise it in local shop etc oh well it would be a while until i do it. Im thinking of buying the Brinsea Octagon 10 Fully-Auto which sounds quite good but i have also considered doing it naturally which i would prefer much much more as i simply like things done naturally but my babies are ex-bats and i dont know if i can get them to go broody could do with finding out more info on natural ways but dont know where to get the infomation from

[Egluntyne]

The forum has a policy of not assisting with the rehoming of cockerels, **Click** so you would be better off asking about that on another forum, such as Practical Poultry.

 

You do have to remember that on average, 50% of the hatchlings will be male, so the 'boy' issue is one that needs a great deal of thinking about before you embark on hatching.

 

I have a Brinsea Octagon 10 Automatic. It is basic but adequate. It did need a fair bit of tweaking to get the temperature and humidity right.

 

I would recommend that you do a lot of reading about the subject before you start. An excellent book is 'Incubation: A Guide to Hatching and Rearing' by Katie Thear.

 

There is also a 'sticky' on the forum about haching. **Click**

[BeckyBoo]

I hate to be a party pooper but you really will find it very hard to home the boys. Please don't hatch unless you have a guaranteed home for them because if it's important to you that anything you hatch is not eaten or dispatched then you really need to think hard. If you were to put say 8 eggs in the incubator hoping for 6 live hatches then probably 3 or 4 would be boys. Most people only want one cockerel if they want one at all so you have to have 4 homes ready to take them. Plus if you don't think you'd be able to dispatch them then you need to think about how you would deal with any deformed chicks because it does happen fairly regularly. I sound like such a moaner, but I had one boy that I couldn't bear to eat or dispatch and even though he was a pure bred dark Brahma boy and absolutely magnificent I still struggled to find a home that I was happy with.

 

Best of luck

 

BeckyBoo

[poultrypaul123]

Where exactly do you live?

 

This lady takes in any old hens, cockerels & unwanted birds...

 

http://www.little-misses-chickens.co.uk/

 

If you give her call she'll give you loads of helpful advise.

 

Thanks

Paul

[feemcg]

It is very difficult to find homes for the boys.....I've been lucky with most of my hatches and the boys have had somewhere to go. One of my hatches I had 8 boys and 3 girls.......so it's a very real possibility I'm afraid.

[glorious chickens]

Well i live in greater manchester i havent done or thought of anything definate if i were to do it, it would probably be in like 5-6months times. i just want to make enquiries now to see what its like etc i did about 6-8months of rsearch before i got my first chickens which were ex-bats haha! ive just fallen in love with them and would like to experience the hatching as well i want to do it naturally if i can get one of my hens broody i also would like a good book on natural hatching if anyone knows any id be very greatful :D:D Its just the boy's that im worried about and deformed chicks i would like to go to my local vet to investigate to see if they have any info on hatching as well as help with rehoming boys and dispatching deformed chicks:( i can fit a maximum of six more hens in my coop without extending for them hehe ill chick out (hehe couldnt help that) the lady you menioned earlier thanks again and any more advice id be very grateful :D:D:D:D

[BeckyBoo]

Hello again! Another thing worth thinking about cos I'm not sure if you'd get an ex batt to go broody, is to ask around to see if anyone has a broody hen you could borrow. It's getting towards that time of year, if you were nearer I'd lend you Speckle when she goes and I'd have the boys back off you. There might be someone nearer you who would do the same - it takes all the uncertainty out of trying to get humidity right etc and hens seem to have a way of knowing a dud egg and kick them out saving you having to deal with a sickly chick that is unlikely to survive.

 

I hope you can find a way to do it because although I've only done it twice, the feeling when you go down to check on the mum and her eggs and hear that cheeping is just amazing!

 

BeckyBoo

[Redwing]

As someone mentioned above you can get birds that can be sexed at a day old so perhaps you could consider buying some day old girl chicks? you will still be raising your own hens that way - you just won't have hatched them. Its a cheaper alternative too - my five day old chicks cost less than £9 - if you don't plan to hatch many chicks it would be much cheaper than an incubator

[glorious chickens]

Oh thats Fantastic ive never heard of this you see lol how and where do i find out more about this?? oh and do you have to bring them up seperately from another flock??

[Egluntyne]

You will need to raise any day olds in a brooder.....another piece of moderately expensive equipment, involving specialised heat emitters etc, unless you go for a home made one. There is plenty of info for you to google about these.

 

If you go for this option, be sure to get chicks of an auto sexing variety, ie that can be sexed on sight because of their colouring. Otherwise you will still have the problem of what to do with the boys, as ordinary day old chicks are sold unsexed.

 

They need to be kept indoors in the brooder, slowly being weaned off the heat, before they can go outdoors. at this stage, they make a terrible mess, with dander everywhere as they shed their chicky fluff and grow proper feathers.

 

The chicks must most definitely be raised apart from the other hens, who would attack and kill them, I am afraid.

 

You would have to keep them separate until they are at point of lay and then introduce them slowly. **click**.

 

There is an awful lot to think about.

[TAJ]

May Practical Poultry has an article on incubators for beginners. Personally I think the day old auto-sexing chicks would be an easier introduction to bringing up hens. I have loved raising my meat birds from day old - they are cute for about 2 weeks before they change into eating machines!

 

For laying hens I personally prefer to get them at POL because they have had all their vaccinations by that point.

 

Tracy