? about fertile eggs & hatching, why only spring?

[Wise Woman]

I guess this is a dumb question, but I don't know the answer. Can you only hatch chicks out at a certain time of the year or can you do it all year long? Just curious if they have a season, like goats for example, or if they can lay fertilized eggs year round as long as they are with a rooster. I just was curious because the feed stores only have them in the spring and the online hatcheries seem to only have good supply in the spring. If it can be done year round, why do they sell out or have shortages of certain breeds? I realize they could have problems with hatches, but I just wonder why they only have a good supply in the spring? I am sure there is a good reason, I just don't know what it is. LOL!!!

 

[schellie69]

You can hatch eggs anytime of the year. I think most hatcheries hatch in spring due to weather you don't want to send chicks when it is really cold or to hot. If you have a broody or incubator and have a place to put them so they don't get to cold then you could hatch year around if you wanted to. I only use broodies so most of my hatching happens when they go broody.

 

[ChooksChick]

Quote:
This is mostly due to the egg-laying rate increasing, the shipping temperatures being hospitable, and the fact that chicks that are hatched in the Spring will generally lay a few weeks younger than chicks hatched as the daylight hours are getting shorter, which seem to mature more slowly.

Chicks hatched in the Spring may also go through their first fall without molting, so you get more eggs out of them before they quit their SECOND fall for a molt. This isn't always true, but sometimes.

 

[Wise Woman]

Thank you. That makes sense. I didn't think about shipping temperatures. I guess you would get more eggs in the spring/summer with the longer daylight hours than in the winter. I figured there must be reasons, but couldn't figure out what. That is what I get for trying to think prior to 8 am!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Actually, most hatcherys hatch all year round. They sell the most in spring so they have shortages that time of the year. Turkeys, ducks an some chickens only lay in spring so they show sold out the rest of the year.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

I don't know if this is universal or just my flock, but my roos are much more interested in mating when the hens are laying the most. I had 50% clears (unfertilized) when I hatched a batch in January, and now it's around 5%.