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[mary4kids]

We used to have chickens when I was a little girl. I used to love seeing chicks coming out of their shells. Although we never used an incubator. I have decided to give the same experience to my children. We have a huge garden. So we have the space. So googled a bit and found I might be able to do this with my yogyrt maker and a dimmer switch. I got my dimmer switch today through the post. So I set it up trying to lower temperature. I got to 38 degrees in the end and 50% humidity in it. Just now I put 4 eggs in there but eggs are shop bought free range from various farms 07 . Temperature went right down as soon as eggs went in and little thermometer was showing 36.1. Do you think thats alright? If in the end none of the eggs hatches I might get a proper incubator. Right now I cant afford it lol with its been christmas

 

[chrismahon]

Hello Mary4kids and welcome to the forum. It is likely that the eggs you bought are not fertile so won't develop anyway. Modern practice is not to run flocks of laying hens with cockerels like they used to. But there are other factors to consider:-

Successful incubation requires vary careful control of the temperature (within 0.2C) as well as humidity and the eggs need to be turned side to side, along the axis of length, by at least 90 degrees three times a day for the first 15 days to prevent the chick growing against the side. Without a good incubator the chances of a successful hatch are slim. Although it is possible to hatch chicks in other ways there is a lot of luck involved and the results can be weak chicks that die early anyway. You will find that the survivors from a badly controlled hatch will be mainly cockerels, as they are stronger.

The biggest problem comes with the rearing afterwards. Young chicks need heat and (particularly in Winter) this will need a heat lamp, which needs careful setting, as well as other equipment.

Half the hatch will be cockerels anyway and you need to consider how you will deal with them as rehoming is extremely difficult.

You will then need a permanent home for the remainder. It is important that you don't end up with just one chick as they can't survive on their own and will need company. In Winter almost no-one is hatching so that will be difficult.

At this stage I would suggest abandoning the project and buying Katie Thears book 'Incubation: A guide to hatching and rearing". This will give you an idea of what is required and the cost of all the equipment can be evaluated. In my experience hatching is relatively easy, it's the rearing afterwards where the problems start. For this reason many opt to buy chicks at around 6 weeks old and they will be available mid-April time.

 

[mary4kids]

Thank you for your reply. My childrens schools have chickens. So I thought if in the end we dont want to keep any of them I could give then to school. One of my children goes to special school and they have at least 100 chickens I think I will abonden the experiment as humidity was 70% this morning. Temperature and humidity fluctuating so much that nearly certain non will hatch even if they are fertile. One of the eggs from corner shop who I know buys them from local farms and I was certain that egg would be fertile. Shame

 

[Marigold]

Hi Mary and welcome to the Forum.
I can relate to what you say about wanting chicks for your children, as back in the 70s I got worn down at last by my eldest crying herself to sleep at night for weeks because she wanted some. We ended up with 8 Silkie chicks, a week old, at which she you can't sex them. 6 were cockerels ......
Like you, I tend to want everything done yesterday, but when you're thinking of taking on livestock of any kind, it's good to consider what's going to happen in the next few years. Chicks are sweet and fluffy for about 6 weeks, after which they get big very fast and need a secure outdoor run and coop, which need to be ready in advance, quite considerable outlay for the quality which will last for at least their lifespan of up to 6-8 years,(in addition to the cost of an incubator and brooding equipment) The reason people don't usually hatch at thus time of year is that chicks also need sunshine to develop properly, unless reared in a hatchery with lots of special 'daylight' light. Whilst they can be kept in a brooder box indoors for a few weeks, they take up a lot of room as they grow, and are very messy and produce a lot of feather dust, not good in confined spaces. It can be done, have a look in our hatching and rearing section to find out what it entails though. Also, you need fertile eggs from a proper breeder, and at this time of year most non-commercial hens are not laying, again because of lack of light which causes hormonal changes. Any eggs produced by a mixed flock running with a cockerel are probably not very fertile either, until the Spring breeding season arrives. Very few laying hens nowadays ever even see a cockerel, relatively few people keep them, and all the eggs you buy in winter from egg farms will be from flocks of single-sex hens living under extra electric light to keep them in lay, so the eggs are 100% non-fertile.
Integrating any surplus 'spares' with a larger flock would also be far from trouble free, as chickens are always very resentful of newcomers and young birds would be mercilessly bullied. Also, the school would probably not welcome cockerels. Like any pets, chickens aren't toys, they're a long term commitment, and their care devolves upon the adults once they've grown up and are no longer fluffy and the kids have got tired of their new 'toys'!

 

[mary4kids]

Thank you all for advices. Like I said before we used to keep poultry when I was little. That is until II was 15. I am 40 now and would like to give same experience to my children. My oh sounds not very pleased with my idea though. He is a city man. So has not a clue what I am talking about. I dont want to have a farm full of chickens lol. Just couple of who woukd give me fresh eggs. Yogurt maker still going though. I thought what if. I will wait until christmas and if no signs then will get rid of them. How do you put pictures here by the way?

 

[valeriebutterley]

Hello Mary,
sounds to me as if you need a couple of Columbian blacktails or other demon layers. Blacktails are really pretty delightful little hens, intelligent, friendly and quirky, and will be part of your family at or even in, the backdoor, very quickly!
In a few weeks they will be obtainable easily as point-of-lay pullets.
As for posting pics on this forum, I must have tried at least a dozen times, and despite complicated advice, no one else in my family including a very clued up granddaughter had managed it either!!

 

[Marigold]

Good advice there from Val, I think. I agree about Columbian Blacktails, brilliant little birds.
I think it comes down to this - if you want the children to share the wonderful experience of hatching healthy chicks, you'll need to buy or borrow a proper small incubator, such as the little Brinsea Advance, which takes up to 6 eggs and has a lovely clear dome so you can all watch the hatch. This incubator would be easy to sell on eBay afterwards to recoup most of the cost. You would also need a brooder box for the chicks and a heat lamp for the weeks they need to spend indoors under heat. If you did this, you would need to buy some proper hatching eggs of your chosen breed.
If you just wanted chicks, without the expense and uncertainty of hatching, you could buy chicks from breeds which can be sexed at hatch, so you would be sure of ending up with hens not cockerels. I have a Buff Sussex (see my avatar) and a Cream Legbar, who lays blue eggs, that I bought as chicks for this reason, and they're now 5years old.
Or of course you could simply do what many people starting out would choose, and get some point of lay pullets, about 16-18 weeks old, who would come into lay a few weeks later and give you plenty of eggs for at least 2-3 years. I would suggest thinking of three, rather than two, so that if/when one dies you aren't left with just one lonely hen. Then you would just need to get the coop and make a run where they could be shut in when necessary, even if most of the time they were free ranging in the garden. If you did that next Spring, you would have your first year of keeping chickens with your children, and could maybe then decide whether you want to breed more later on. If you got the right breeds of pullets, who would go broody you could even use them to hatch out eggs for you the next Spring, without needing any extra equipment apart from a broody coop and little run.
As you haven't kept hens for a few years, you'll find a lot has changed for the better, as I did after a long gap a few years ago. Have you found the main Poultrykeeper website? (see link at the bottom of the page above the banner advertisement.) lots of help and ideas on there.

 

[mary4kids]

Thank you to you both for a great advice. I will definitley get columbian blacktail eggs then and a reliable incubator.

 

[Marigold]

If and when you decide to take the plunge, this link to a recommended breeder may help.
http://chalkhillpoultry.co.uk/index_a.html
I've got my stock from Chalk ?Hill Poultry for years now and have never been disappointed. Not sure where you live, and it may be too far for you to collect hatched chicks or pullets, but they do sell C.Bs at point of lay and also would post hatching eggs, in the breeds they list on the Prices page. It's good to get a recommendation to a reliable breeder, especially for hatching eggs. Many poor quality eggs are for sale on eBay and a lot are just a ripoff. Getting eggs by post is always a gamble as even if carefully packed and actually fertile in the first place, the shakeup they get in the post can affect success, so it's good to know that at least they've come from healthy well cared - for parent birds.