Quote:
Originally Posted by
superchemicalgirl 
I'm in the Valentines Day Hatch right now with shipped eggs and I'm actually surprised at how well they did. I received 7 eggs from one girl in Georgia, one was broken upon arrival but the other 6 developed. I received 18 from Texas and 5 didn't make it. We'll see what actually hatches next week but this is much better than I usually do on shipped eggs.
There's also going to be a "free" swap for the hatch - you can swap in groups of 6 eggs. What you send, you'll receive back. If you send mutts, you'll get mutts back, likewise the same for pure. My eggs in the bator now are from a similar swap and I got some pretty cool breeds - mostly olive eggers but some ancona, too.
I'm hoping to sell or eat most of what I hatch, no room here. But it's the fun. Maybe Jack can inspire Chris to build me a hoop house, too, although right now I'm hankering for him to build me a greenhouse and a cold frame, first.
Wow, you are hatching like crazy! I did have pretty good luck with shipped eggs, but I want maybe 6 each of 4 different breeds, which isn't very practical.
I love my lone Ancona, - totally flighty, but full of character.
We are sprouting hoop houses here like you are hatching eggs! These cost roughly $1200 each if you do it yourself, but they are very large 20 x 24. We have 2 in the garden that get moved seasonally (pulled with a tractor). Then Jack needed a tractor shed so he built another covered with tarps.
After quarantining chickens in the garden hoop house this winter and seeing how happy they were out there (it seems bright even in the dead of winter), we decided to build another, covered with wire (and plastic for the winter).
The pipes are chain-link fence pipe, bent with a bending jig. I use the term "we" loosely. My only role in building has been standing on the pipe while it is being bent. 
