4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[alih]

I am thinking ahead to a time when I can hatch some chicks.

Having read all I can on here I still have quite a few questions about the practicalities.

 

 

- are there any good publications which cover the necessities and practicalities of hatching?

- does anyone know where I could obtain eggs from a reputable source in Manchester/ Cheshire?

- is the hatch rate generally 60%ish?

- how soon can the chicks be sexed?

- after hatching do I need to book time off work to go "ahhhhh" and look after the babes?

- how long is it before they can go out into the eglu and live like grown-up chickens?

- Egluntine, your incubator and electric hen looked great - the stuff I have read has managed to make it all look very complicated though, so would appreciate honest advice about how easy it is/ not to incubate and then know how warm to keep them etc.

- I have a farmer who will prob take the boys before anyone asks!

 

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance

[Jules.]

I am thinking ahead to a time when I can hatch some chicks.

Having read all I can on here I still have quite a few questions about the practicalities.

 

 

- are there any good publications which cover the necessities and practicalities of hatching?

 

I used "Incubation a guide to hatching & rearing " by Katie Thear.

 

- does anyone know where I could obtain eggs from a reputable source in Manchester/ Cheshire?

 

Ashtons Green Poultry. St Helens 01744 20596

- is the hatch rate generally 60%ish?

 

mine was, bob on.

 

 

- how soon can the chicks be sexed?

 

No idea!

- after hatching do I need to book time off work to go "ahhhhh" and look after the babes?

 

Why not set the eggs so they are due to hatch on a saturday, like we did?

- how long is it before they can go out into the eglu and live like grown-up chickens?

 

Not sure

 

- Egluntine, your incubator and electric hen looked great - the stuff I have read has managed to make it all look very complicated though, so would appreciate honest advice about how easy it is/ not to incubate and then know how warm to keep them etc.

- I have a farmer who will prob take the boys before anyone asks!

 

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance

[alih]

Thank Jules, that's great.

 

When you say "set the eggs to hatch on a Saturday" I thought they hatched after 21 days and we had no choice?! Or am I just being thick??

[BeckyBoo]

I am thinking ahead to a time when I can hatch some chicks.

Having read all I can on here I still have quite a few questions about the practicalities.

 

 

- are there any good publications which cover the necessities and practicalities of hatching?

- does anyone know where I could obtain eggs from a reputable source in Manchester/ Cheshire?

- is the hatch rate generally 60%ish?

- how soon can the chicks be sexed?

 

Depends what type you hatch - if you get a barred variety, for example cream legbar and there are others that I don't know the names of you can sex as they hatch - the girls are stripy and the boys are yellow

 

- after hatching do I need to book time off work to go "ahhhhh" and look after the babes?

I've never used an incubator so can't really answer the rest. BUT if you can get hold of a broody hen and use her it is SO easy. She will keep her babes snuggly and the right temperature and mine were hatched in a rabbit hutch outside and moved to an eglu at a week and lived outside from the day they were hatched.

 

- how long is it before they can go out into the eglu and live like grown-up chickens?

- Egluntine, your incubator and electric hen looked great - the stuff I have read has managed to make it all look very complicated though, so would appreciate honest advice about how easy it is/ not to incubate and then know how warm to keep them etc.

- I have a farmer who will prob take the boys before anyone asks!

 

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance

 

And you can decide what day to put the eggs either in the incubator or under the hen, so 21 days before the day you want them to hatch, then you've got the weekend to sit and go "awwwww" as they really are perfect at timing - 21 days on the dot!

 

BeckyBoo

[Aggienator]

There's an article in this month's Practical Poultry (I thin the first of two or a short series). I haven't any experience (yet) but it seemed fairly sensible basic advice.

 

Good luck

[Egluntyne]

I am thinking ahead to a time when I can hatch some chicks.

Having read all I can on here I still have quite a few questions about the practicalities.

 

 

- are there any good publications which cover the necessities and practicalities of hatching?

Katie Thear's book, A Guide to Incubation and hatching.

 

Inexplicably, I have 2 copies so if you'd like to borrow one for a read up, pm me your address and I'll pop it in the post.

 

- is the hatch rate generally 60%ish?

Mine was 3 eggs out of 8.....and 1 had to be despatched.

 

- how soon can the chicks be sexed?

 

Depends on whether you have an auto sexing breed such as a Cream legbarm which can be sexed on hatching. If not, you have to wait for the feathering and comb and wattles to develop.....or crowing!

 

- after hatching do I need to book time off work to go "ahhhhh" and look after the babes?

 

No....although you will be very tempted.

 

- how long is it before they can go out into the eglu and live like grown-up chickens?

About 6-8 weeks....depends on the weather and time of year.

 

- Egluntine, your incubator and electric hen looked great - the stuff I have read has managed to make it all look very complicated though, so would appreciate honest advice about how easy it is/ not to incubate and then know how warm to keep them etc.

It was my first time. There was a bit of tweaking to be done re temperature and humidity, but it seemed reasonably easy. I was a bit disappointed only to have 2 survivors from 8 eggs if I'm honest though.

[Lewis]

Thank Jules, that's great.

 

When you say "set the eggs to hatch on a Saturday" I thought they hatched after 21 days and we had no choice?! Or am I just being thick??

You set them 21 days before the Saturday you want them to hatch on

[Jules.]

I set the eggs Saturday lunchtime.

Saturday was the only day I could collect the eggs

 

This chart from Wheatcroft is useful, & I used it every time I turned the eggs- you can print it off

http://www.wheatcroftpoultry.co.uk/PISDownloads.aspx

the chart is right down at the bottom of the page.

 

Egluntine you used the same book as I did

[alih]

Thank you all for your very helpful replies - I have bid on ebay for a copy of the book but if I don't win then I will pay you postage, Egluntine, as would love to borrow your spare copy.

I will research a bit more - it looks as though I should really hatch in spring so will have to wait till next year...lots of time to investigate and will mean my oldies are 2 and 3 years old so a good time to rear ( so I shall keep telling OH ).

 

Egluntine, I would be quite happy with 2 out of 8 of they were both girls - do you think you will do it again?

[Charlottechicken]

If you do decide to wait and hatch next year, you may find good deals on incubators and brooders etc over the winter months. I bought my set up in December and paid considerably less than is being charged now Bear in mind how many eggs you want to incubate too, as to what size incubator you need to buy, and don't be put off by a manual incubator.

 

You will also need some feeders and drinkers for chicks, and then some for when they go outside and are separate from your other chickens. They will need a separate run for a good few weeks too.

 

Incubating the eggs is the easy part!!

 

Good luck with whatever you decide

[Egluntyne]

Egluntine, I would be quite happy with 2 out of 8 of they were both girls - do you think you will do it again?

Oh yes.

[alih]

If you do decide to wait and hatch next year, you may find good deals on incubators and brooders etc over the winter months. I bought my set up in December and paid considerably less than is being charged now Bear in mind how many eggs you want to incubate too, as to what size incubator you need to buy, and don't be put off by a manual incubator.

 

 

That's a really good point! am only slightly put off ny manual incubator as worried about doing something wrong- have seen a tiny Rcom one that only hatches 3 which is a bit too few...but it's fully automatic which means I am less likely to mess things up. With the hatch rate though I would not want to end up with only 1 chick whether it was a cockerel or a hen. They seem to go from few to many in one leap - Egluntine your type looked good though and is fairly reasonably priced....

 

has anyone bought eggs from ebay? Instinctively I think it would be unsatisfactory but would be happy to hear good accounts... thanks again for all your help

[Charlottechicken]

has anyone bought eggs from ebay? Instinctively I think it would be unsatisfactory but would be happy to hear good accounts... thanks again for all your help

 

Yep, 99p for six pot luck eggs (plus p+p of course), five hatched the lady is Dragonpoultry, and is in Wales. Rather chuffed as it was my first time hatching and all my equipment was the cheapest I could find.

[alih]

Charlotte you are an inspiration! Just been looking at your chicks on another thread - sooo cute!

[mostin]

Thank Jules, that's great.

 

When you say "set the eggs to hatch on a Saturday" I thought they hatched after 21 days and we had no choice?! Or am I just being thick??

You set them 21 days before the Saturday you want them to hatch on

 

So do you get a few days grace with fertilise eggs then? Just trying to work out how it all works. Do fertilised eggs remain dormant or something for a few days until they are "set". I thought they would have become infertile if they weren't incubated straight away?

 

I don't get it . Somebody please explain the chicken egg facts of life to me.

[Egluntyne]

Do fertilised eggs remain dormant or something for a few days until they are "set". I thought they would have become infertile if they weren't incubated straight away?

 

I don't get it . Somebody please explain the chicken egg facts of life to me.

 

You can keep them for up to a week, but they become less likely to hatch after that time. In nature, the hen doesn't 'sit' as such until she has a clutch of eggs, so that they all hatch at more or less the same time.

[mostin]

Do fertilised eggs remain dormant or something for a few days until they are "set". I thought they would have become infertile if they weren't incubated straight away?

 

I don't get it . Somebody please explain the chicken egg facts of life to me.

 

You can keep them for up to a week, but they become less likely to hatch after that time. In nature, the hen doesn't 'sit' as such until she has a clutch of eggs, so that they all hatch at more or less the same time.

 

Ahhhhhhh, light dawns . Thank you, font of all things chickeny .

[Phosphorus]

Thank Jules, that's great.

 

When you say "set the eggs to hatch on a Saturday" I thought they hatched after 21 days and we had no choice?! Or am I just being thick??

You set them 21 days before the Saturday you want them to hatch on

 

So do you get a few days grace with fertilise eggs then? Just trying to work out how it all works. Do fertilised eggs remain dormant or something for a few days until they are "set". I thought they would have become infertile if they weren't incubated straight away?

 

I don't get it . Somebody please explain the chicken egg facts of life to me.

 

 

It is best to set them under a broody or in an incy within 7 days of being laid, after that the success rate falls by a percentage a day. Some people have had successful hatchings after the 7 days though so not a strict rule. I think the egg stays dormant until it is put at the correct temperature under broody or incy, best to tilt the egg and change the tilt on a daily basis until set though (i.e. put under broody or incy) - keeps the germinal disc in touch with nutrients in the egg.

[mostin]

It is best to set them under a broody or in an incy within 7 days of being laid, after that the success rate falls by a percentage a day. Some people have had successful hatchings after the 7 days though so not a strict rule. I think the egg stays dormant until it is put at the correct temperature under broody or incy, best to tilt the egg and change the tilt on a daily basis until set though (i.e. put under broody or incy) - keeps the germinal disc in touch with nutrients in the egg.

 

Thank you, I'm beggining to understand the whole hatching process finally now. There certainly seems to be alot to learn about before embarking on this project. Lots of reading for me to do before 2010 when I might have a go .

[Jules.]

Mostin I nearly had a panic attack when B's incy arrived for me to use- what was I to do with it?!

But hatching is really common sense, looking back, as long as the temperature is kept constant, & the eggs are turned then & you keep accurate recoreds of this then there's not much more you can do. BTW I incubated the eggs "dry", only adding water to increase the humidity to 60-70% on day 19.

 

I think now that the first few weeks of the chicks lives will be the hardest part re the care they need, & that's something I'm not doing!

[alih]

 

Thank you, I'm beggining to understand the whole hatching process finally now. There certainly seems to be alot to learn about before embarking on this project. Lots of reading for me to do before 2010 when I might have a go .

 

Me too...am thinking about next spring but need to do lots of reading first

[mostin]

Mostin I nearly had a panic attack when B's incy arrived for me to use- what was I to do with it?!

But hatching is really common sense, looking back, as long as the temperature is kept constant, & the eggs are turned then & you keep accurate recoreds of this then there's not much more you can do. BTW I incubated the eggs "dry", only adding water to increase the humidity to 60-70% on day 19.

 

I think now that the first few weeks of the chicks lives will be the hardest part re the care they need, & that's something I'm not doing!

 

Thank's for that. I'm good at keeping records and things, so hopefully, if it's just common sense, as you say, it may not be as complicated as it sounds. the scientist part of me has to research every aspect of something before i embark on a new venture though .

[feemcg]

When I first started hatching I kept a log of hourly temp and humidity readings and kept tweaking the temp and worrying about the humidity. Now I just fling them in, check the temp gauge a couple of times a day and that's it until day 18.........apart from taking them out every other night to candle.....I love that part