best hatcheries for hatching eggs?

[Truscifi]

I want to order hatching eggs to hatch out myself, but I want to get 2-3 different breeds without getting 3 dozen eggs. Where should I look?

 

[Illia]

Breeders.

Hatcheries often ask a lot for their eggs, moreso than even good breeders do, and the eggs come from hens who often are in poor enough conditions that the eggs may actually end up as good as the ones you see at the store, depends on the hatchery though. But your best bet is to get from a breeder because many offer more than 3 different breeds, and will gladly get you only a few eggs of each breed.

 

[Truscifi]

Hmm. I'm in FL and ggogling doesn't get me any results for FL breeders. Any ideas on where I should look?

 

[Oregon Blues]

Go to the "where am I where are you" forum and find the thread for Florida. There is an index for the states as a sticky at the top.

Or go to the genetics forum and find the thread for the breed you want.

 

[Illia]

Yep, googling for chicken breeders just doesn't work but honestly if you want hatching eggs, you can get them from any state. That's the big plus about them. Go for any breeder you fancy, and chances are very high that they ship.

Best thing to do is ask around the breeds threads in the breeds/genetics/showing section or look through breeder club directories.

 

[greathorse]

Why eggs? If you are looking at hatcheries why not buy the chicks? They will cost you about the same maybe less and you could very well be in for a huge disappointment with eggs. Most folks use eggs only if the breed they are looking for is not available in chicks. If you can pick them up yourself the odds are much much better, but if they are shipped eggs are a crap shoot at best. If you want the experience of hatching eggs find a local person selling eggs, odds are they have a rooster and hatch something you can pick up locally. Shipped eggs are a huge gamble. Take it from a person that has spent many hundreds of dollars on eggs and hatched a very few chicks. \\ Just my advice.

 

[Illia]

I've spent hundreds of dollars on eggs too and NOT gotten few chicks. It is a gamble, yes, but the key to it is being prepared for that, buying at the right time of year, from reputable packers/shippers/breeders, and also having the right set-up for receiving, storing, and incubating the eggs. When I first started out I got great fertility from great people, but no chicks and didn't realize til later it was a humidity issue.

I would get chicks if I could of certain breeds but honestly, chances are if I'm looking for eggs there's a good reason. Asking someone why eggs is the same as asking why chicks. There's pros and cons for both, and there's an underlying goal/reason for both.

 

[Snozzle]

I rather hatch my own too, it's just makes you feel more like a parent when you do it yourself
I would look for local people with eggs. I was surprised what variety there is in this area when I started looking. I got 6 eggs(3 different breeds) a few months ago from a guy 10 minutes away and 5 of them hatched. I always had good luck with local eggs. You can look on here, craigslist or e-bay and I'm sure you can find someone near you with the breeds you want.

 

[greathorse]

If the end result is the desire for chickens and the eggs cost as much or more as the chicks I struggle to think of one pro for taking the risk of shipped eggs. If one has the desire to experiment with hatching eggs, I suppose I can see the desire, but I would for sure look for eggs that are not flown. I am at high altitude and it seems shipped eggs really have a hard time here. I am and experienced hatcher and have high results in a very good incubator with my own eggs. Shipped eggs have been anywhere from zero to 90 percent for me, but I can tell you the 90 is the anomolly for me at least.

It is my beleif that eggs shipped in the air are subject to a wide variation of air pressure, hence the loose air sacs and in some cases bad results.

This is just my experience, others may have much better results.